Dragonfruit is an easy to grow fruiting cactus well suited to the growing conditions in South Florida. I personally categorize dragonfruit as the #1 easiest fruit to grow on my farm. Yes, it's easier than bananas. This is a true set it and forget it plant - plant it in a sunny location on a post, a pine tree, or a sturdy fence, water it in, and then walk away. If you forget to come back to it, it will be totally fine! It's a cactus and thrives in drought conditions!
my dragonfruits are growing up 5ft tall posts
This cactus flowers in the early summer as soon as the rainy season begins, each ostentatious flower promising a single fruit if pollinated by night time insects. Once the night time pollinators have paid their visit, the flower will shrivel up in the next day's sun eventually dropping and leaving behind a tiny baby fruit that will grow into the glorious dragonfruit in a few weeks time.
One of my favorite summertime activities is to go out at night with a flashlight and watch all of the different insects that are attracted to the dragon flowers. Its like a bug nightclub!
Look close - you'll see early morning pollinators in this flower
I look forward to dragonfruits ripening in my yard at the end of mango season, usually towards the end of July into August and September. A fresh picked dragonfruit is a real treat - mild flavored and ultra refreshing. The first dragonfruit at the tail end of mango season is a like drinking a cold glass of water after drinking nothing but sugary sweet lemonade all day.
I like to add dragonfruit to a fruit salad or to garnish a weekend cocktail- its seeded flesh makes a stunning visual addition to a bowl filled with multicolored fruit or a salt rimmed glass.
'Delight' is truly a both a visual and flavorful delight!
If you've ever purchased a dragonfruit from a grocery store, you likely found it to be bland and underwhelming. This is because the fruit are picked unripe and too early for shipping purposes. The green fruit have to travel hundreds, if not thousands of miles to reach your kitchen counter. Eating your own vine ripened dragonfruit from the backyard is a rewarding experience and the flavor payoff is leaps and bounds ahead of the disappointment that is a commercially grown import.
In South Florida’s warm, humid climate, dragonfruit grows not just successfully—but easily. With a support structure and a sunny location, this striking cactus can reward you with blooms that light up the night and fruit that’s as delicious as it is beautiful.
Whether you’re just getting started or expanding your collection, we invite you to explore selection of dragonfruit varieties—handpicked for performance and flavor in South Florida conditions. We only offer self pollinating varieties that are guaranteed to set fruit with a little help from your night time insect friends.
👉 Shop our dragonfruits and grow something extraordinary with very little effort.