Japanese Groping In Train

The Pitahaya

regions:

your original home, the Pitahaya in Central America. Today it is found in many parts of the tropics.

This thriving Pitahaya climbed the steel structure of the glass house.

Growth:

Pitahaya When it is a climbing cactus, which is holding on with its prison roots support crops, or brickwork. The shoots are 3-leaf form, and no dangerous spikes, some species produce soft hairs and small spines unproblematic. The cactus blooms in the period between June and September. The flowers are among the largest in the world. They are up to 30cm long and reach a diameter of up to 25cm. You Sitting at the growing ends and are white or yellowish. A special feature is that they open only for one night. They give off a strong jasmine-like scent.

The plant consists of a number of these segments.

keeps Using these roots firmly stick the plant.

location:

summer

The Pitahaya may well be grown in a pot, this need not be very great. If the Pitahaya to reach a size at which they will also bloom, but some must be scheduled to accommodate the plant, especially for the winter. After all, you must also provide a climbing frame. A popular way to cultivate the Pitahaya, are shown in the chart below. In summer you can place the plant in full sun and sheltered spot outdoors. She can not be too hot for us. For a long time it rains, they must be protected from water prior to the oversupply.

Winter

In winter it can be kept in his room because dry air is well tolerated. Basically it is sufficient but also a cool, bright room. If the Pitahaya kept under glass, it grows best in a dry Succulent. There you can then grow to a permanently installed climbing frame or the glass house columns.

Popular opportunity to cultivate the Pitahaya.

cultivation / propagation:

There are 2 ways to increase the Pitahaya.

1) buy in the supermarket and fruit shop, fruit and a Pitahaya the seeds with a little patience, pick out the pulp. The seeds on a piece of kitchen roll and give dry overnight. The next day Ansaaterde deploy and press lightly. Pour easily formed and are waiting until the first seed leaves.

2) cutting a piece of a segment from Pitahayapflanze.
When on vacation, the opportunity of a large Pitahaya a segment to lose weight, you can, carefully packed and stored without problems for a few days, it should survive the trip home so well.
arrived home, it is vertically inserted about halfway into the ground.
placed on a warm, bright location, segment will soon be rooted and later begin to form new segments.

First is the cactus 2 small cotyledons.

then develop the first rung.

substrate:

Use sandy soil with moderate many nutrients. Torfreiches soil is not desirable.

develop from such buds, the flowers.

overblown flower. Clearly visible is already the beginning of the fruit.

casting:

Pitahaya When there is a cactus. After a final watering in the spring is cast again until the root ball is dry. In the winter, is cast at all practical. If they treat the cactus too much and always keep it moist, it will grow atypical and not likely to start flowering.

fertilizing:

2-3 fertilizer in the summer are sufficient.

One of the wonderful flowers in front view.

fruiting / harvesting:

The fruit is about 10 to 15cm long. The shell is red, pink or yellow in color and shaped with overlapping scales. Inside, the white-yellowish to reddish flesh.

Pitahaya fruit (whole and halved). Clearly visible are the black seeds.

fruit use:

The small black seeds are edible. The taste of flesh is refreshing and fruity. For fresh eating the fruit of a cooled, halved them and spooned out then. Also in fruit salads and soft drinks you can use the Pitahayafrüchte.

warning:

The small spikes are also a Verletztungsquelle.

genus Info:

A variety of cactus fruit are called Pitahaya or Pitaya.

genus Selenicereus
Occasionally, also fruits of Selenicereus megalanthus ( ) available. These are usually referred to as Yellow Pitahaya . The fruits have originally spines that are easily removed from the ripe fruit and will be removed before the sale. The variety one of the climbing cacti and is better suited for cultivation in desert-like climate than in the tropics.
Another species of this genus is the "Queen of the Night" ( Selenicereus grandiflorus, ), which is kept for their stunning blooms.

More cactus fruit which are referred to repeatedly as Pitahaya originate Cereus hexagonus ( ), Cereus peruvianus (apple cactus, ) and Acanthocereus pentagonus ( ). Case and the representatives of the genus Cereus is columnar cacti.

The

Hylocereus undatus	in our trade, as Pitahaya, various fruits come from Hylocereus undatus . Other common names are Red Dragon Fruit or Pitaya.
Hylocereus trigonus
Hylocereus guatemalensis
Hylocereus triangularis
Hylocereus polyrhizus
Hylocereus costaricensis

With a little luck can be found on markets or in specialty shops fruits of Selenicereus megalanthus , the so-called Yellow Pitahaya.

Text: Dominik re