Richard

From Stephen Facciola's famous book "Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants" (1998 Kampong Publications), p.64

Hylocereus ocamponis - Pitahaya roja. The skin as well as the sweet pulp of the fruit are a wine-red color. Usually eaten out of hand. Also grown as an ornamental hedge plant. Central America to Columbia.

From Julia Morton's equally famous publication "Fruits of Warm Climates" (1987 Florida Flair Books), p.348

H. ocamponis [Britt. & Rose] (syn. Cereus ocamponis Salm-Dyck) is a similar cactus [to H. undatus] cultivated in Guatemala, Colombia, Bolivia and Puerto Rico. It has more deeply undulate wings bordered with brown, and longer spines. The fruit is wine-red outside and inside and the pulp is sweet.

Facciola also references these two books, of which I have yet to obtain a copy:

1. Enrique Pérez Arbeláez "Plantas útiles de Colombia", 4th edition (1987 Sucesores de Rivadeneyra)
2. A.C. Zeven and J.M.J De Wet "Dictionary of Cultivated Plants and Their Regions of Diversity" (1982 Centre for Agricultural Publishing and Documentation)

Two suppliers are referenced by Facciola:

• (G18, page 598): K & L Cactus Nursery. 9500 Brook Ranch Road East, Ione, CA 95640.
• (P38, page 625): Fruit Spirit Botanical Gardens. Lot 69, Dorroughby, NSW 2480, Australia.

I obtained two rootings from K & L Cactus in 2007. The plant I obtained meets the description given by J. Morton and was also given a positive id by Michael Buckner, a local authority on Cacti of Central America. So I have a strong belief I have the correct plant, but the jury is still out until I can get it to fruit and/or I can get verification from a few other cacti experts.

It certainly has more robust spines than H. undatus, H. guatemalensis, etc. and a blueish hue on older pods -- which turns out to be a dander-like oxidation. The pods have the appearance of more upright cactus forms, yet they vine, twist and turn like other Hylocereus species. The pods however can be quite long - 6 feet is not unusual. The cross-section diameter is typically 3 inches.

I have distributed cuttings to a few collectors including Edgar Valdivia, and more recently Seng Hua of Mira Mesa CA.

My collection is putting out buds again and one has bloomed tonight. This is the second year of budding and thus there is a good chance I will get fruit for the 1st time. Here is a short photo summary of the plant over the last couple years:





(no flash)


(flash)


(view of sepals)

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oakshadows

Thanks, we are looking at starting a few from seed if we ever find any. Have you tried starting with seed? I guess with the plant that wouldn't be necessary.
Waiting for more pics.
Thanks

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Richard

Hylocereus from seed is problematic because most species will cross-breed. So if the collector has multiple Hylocereus then its a gamble what the seeds will be.

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oakshadows

With most things there is a gamble. Can you let us know what is the ease of growing from seed and maybe an idea of how long to fruit. We relize that some may take longer than others but an average would be okay. Will be buying from reputable dealer in Hawaii and feel confident. Thanks, your input is greatly appreciated.

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Richard

Here is the fruit of Hylocereus ocamponis. Stephen Facciola got it right when he called the fruit "outstanding". I think the Pitaya Group and the CRFG in general have done themselves a disservice by passing up "the spiny one".

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oakshadows

The picture makes my mouth water. It looks so delicious, hope we can find some fruit in the store. Thanks

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Richard

I doubt you'll find H. ocamponis fruit in any U.S. store any time soon. But it is not too late to plan a trip to Central America next year, where in its native range the fruit is ripe in June-July.

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caliboy1994

I have one of these courtesy of Richard, and it's rooting right now. Today I just noticed a little bud poking out of one of the nodes...

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sunfish

caliboy1994

Unfortunately, I have a bad camera. I'll try to get a clear pic tomorrow!

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caliboy1994

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caliboy1994

The bud is getting a lot bigger. To me, it looks a lot like a flower bud forming.

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caliboy1994

Richard, the bud coming off of the cutting you sent me is a flower bud. Should I remove it? It's still in the process of rooting, and I'm not sure if the cutting would be able to support a flower. Also, is this species self-fertile?

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GGamboa87

can someone help

Dragon Fruit Physical Graffiti - YouTube

caliboy1994

If it isn't the possibility that the plant isn't mature enough yet, could it be a nutrient deficiency of some sort?

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Richard

Great! Let it flower. If the plant is unable to carry it through to maturity it will drop it. Yes, the species is self-fertile. However, it still needs something to move the pollen from the anthers to the stigma. When the flower first opens -- typically around 9pm, the pollen is not fully ripe. Ideally, some bugs, fruit flies, or very early morning bees will come around to do the job between 2am and sunrise. You can of course do it yourself -- a toothbrush works great.

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caliboy1994

The flower bud already dropped. But now it's sending out new shoots!

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GGamboa87

I don't think its nutrient deficiency, I use my own compost (._.)

Just disappointed, today they fell off

Richard

There is a thread for Physical Graffiti over here: Dragon Fruit 'Physical Graffiti'

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caliboy1994

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"The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings."
~ Masanobu Fukuoka

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