Title image above is copyright © Günter

First published 17th November 2025

This post was inspired by Günter, who both gave me these cuttings and provided all the following information and photos — thank you Günter!

Maybe you are reading this because, like me, you have never been able to grow dragon fruit fruit — the cactus itself, no problem whatsoever, but the actual fruit? I gave up long ago, and maybe you did too. I know I’m not the only one, and I can think of at least two very seasoned and passionate gardeners who live only minutes from me who would outright tell you that you cannot grow dragon fruit in Wollongong.

I have also been told by a Sydney couple that I probably had started with bad cuttings, and just needed to start over with good cuttings. Well maybe, but for the number of cuttings I have ever started over the years, that’s an incredibly long run of bad luck that defies the odds!

And then I met Günter when he came by for a jujube tree. He made a casual comment about the garden and I think we spent the next hour talking about everything but jujube trees!

I was in absolute awe when he talked about his dragon fruit — flowers the size of dinner plates and individual fruits up to a kilogram each easily. I should mention here that he lives much further south again than me and that right there knocks the “wrong climate” argument. He also disputes the ‘bad cutting’ theory. Just look at these ‘Purple Haze’ fruits — and those aren’t fairy secateurs!


‘Purple Haze’ dragon fruit
copyright © Günter

My interest was very much coming back to give it yet another crack! Now, I knew that dragon fruit was commercially grown somewhat in this style (though in more open space not as practical in a backyard):


Growing dragon fruit
copyright © Günter

That is, grown up a stake/pole of some description to about 1 to 1.5 m and then forced to flop out/overhang. But I thought this was simply to make care and harvesting much easier. it turns out there is much more to this!

After Günter had dropped off a mass of cuttings, I later emailed:

I have a few NOIDs [No IDentification] here, some go back to my grandmother, and others are also years-old, and I have never seen so much as a bud on any of them. I just let them be as curios — they’re quite endearing the way they climb up anything — but now I’m motivated to reverse all of that. A few people in the Illawarra will claim you can’t grow them here, but to grow them [where you are] proves all that wrong.

Many thanks again.

To which Günter replied:

…best is to have them grown in a type of umbrella shape…my first NOID was from a friend. She had them grown up a giant gum tree, it will just keep growing without the need to produce fruits.

If the branches hang down it creates a stress hormone in the plant to say “push out some fruits (seeds).”

Then try to have them not more than your head height and let the branches hang over. Once this is achieved give it Potash fertiliser from September onwards every 2- 3 weeks till February in the flowering/ fruiting season which starts in October through April depending on variety…on my Sugar Dragon [another dragon fruit cultivar] I get easy 150 fruits in a season, other varieties less. I guess between 50-80 fruits depending on weather and other issues.

And in a separate email:

And yes for sure you can grow them in the Illawarra… not in the highlands as frost will kill them.

Now who, like me, never did grow them this way because of space or some other practical reason, whilst also never realising its importance?

Who wants to argue with Günter’s results?!

I replied:

Riiiiiigggghhhhttttt, that does make a lot of sense! I have been scouring all over [for reasons why I can’t ever grow the fruit] and all I was getting was the same rubbish over and over — not enough sun, too much watering, not enough fertilising — stuff you could say about anything! Meaningless crap.

THIS is priceless! Thank you so much Günter! I'm not on Facebook, or any social media, but thanks for the [Facebook] link [https://www.facebook.com/groups/815895532204559/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT].

I’m definitely going to write this all up in a blog post!

Which you just finished reading!

And how better to end it, but with these awe-inspiring photos by Günter to enjoy?!


Growing dragon fruit
copyright © Günter


Dragon fruit flower buds
copyright © Günter


‘Dragon fruit flower buds
copyright © Günter


Dragon fruit flower developing
copyright © Günter


Dragon fruit flower
copyright © Günter


Dragon fruit flower being pollinated by a bee
copyright © Günter


Massive dragon fruit fkowers
copyright © Günter