Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 15 May 2024

What does a dragon taste like? Does Dragon Fruit come from a monster cactus? Learn why you need to grow your own

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya trees on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya trees on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya on trellis

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya red fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya red fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya purple fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya purple fruit

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya Yellow Parlora

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya Yellow Parlora

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya flower

Hylocereus and Selenicereus Dragon Fruit or Pitaya flower

🐲 What does a dragon taste like? Does Dragon Fruit come from a monster cactus? Learn why you need to grow your own. 🌵

🔴 You may have tried a Dragon fruit from the store l, but do you know how it grows? On a cactus tree!

🔴 Names: varieties of Hylocereus and Selenicereus - these fruit bearing cactus plants are also called Dragon Fruit or Pitaya.

🔴 Commercially grown fruit sold in a grocery store may be tasteless. You need to grow your own good variety to have tasty, sweet, flavorful fruit!

🔴 Dragon fruit comes in many varieties. Colors of flesh differ: white, pink, dark red and even purple. The outside of the fruit can be red/pink or yellow.

🔴 In commercial groves, Pitayas grow like cactus trees, over a strong support - big "umbrella frames" ☂️

🔴 It is an easy plant, with low water needs, takes both sun and semi-shade.

🔴 Our favorite variety is Yellow Dragon Fruit Palora, (Selenicereus megalanthus). It is the sweetest and has the most flavor of all. We shared some recipes earlier.

🔴 Can be grown in container with a wooden trellis. And the flower is beautiful, too!

📚 Learn more about Dragon Fruit
🍹 Recipe: What to do with a Dragon fruit?

🛒Grow your own Tasty Dragon Fruits

#Food_Forest #Recipes #Nature_Wonders

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 22 Sep 2025

🐲 The taste you will never forget

Dragon  fruit  collage  -  yellow,  red,  purple,  white  varieties

If you only know dragon fruit from the grocery store, you probably think it looks pretty but tastes bland. That is because most commercial fruit is picked early, shipped far, and loses its sweetness. The truth? Homegrown dragon fruit is juicy, sweet, and full of flavor. The best of all is the yellow variety, Palora (Selenicereus megalanthus), a cactus fruit from Ecuador that bursts with tropical taste.

🌵 Pitaya or Dragon fruit – what is the difference?

Both names describe the same climbing cactus. In Latin America it is called Pitaya, while Asia and English speakers say Dragon fruit. There are three main kinds:

Some hybrids give purple or magenta flesh. All are beautiful, all are easy to grow at home.

⚡️ Do red, white, and yellow taste different?

Yes. White types are mild and refreshing. Reds are sweeter and juicier. Yellows are the sweetest of all.

⚡️ Flowers from a fairy tale

Close-up  of  a  blooming  dragon  fruit  pitaya  flower  with  white  petals  and
   yellow 
 center

Dragon fruit flowers are among the most spectacular in the plant world. They open at night, glowing under moonlight, with pale petals and a sweet fragrance. Each flower can be a foot wide. Seeing one bloom feels like stepping into another world.

⚡️ Top Dragon Fruit Health Benefits

  • High in fiber for digestion and gut health
  • Low in calories but full of vitamins
  • Great for weight management
  • Adds color and freshness to smoothies and salads

🍹 Dragon Fruit Smoothie recipe

Glass  of  dragon  fruit  pitaya  smoothie  with  fresh  dragon  fruit,  banana, 
 mango,  lime,  sugar,  and  ice 
 cubes

Blend together:

  • 2 dragon fruits, peeled
  • 1/2 cup mango pulp
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup milk of your choice
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • Ice cubes to taste

Top with mint for a refreshing tropical treat.

Watch Dragon Fruit short videos:

Date: 9 Feb 2022

New Video:
How to make a "Dragon Fruit" fruit?

Selenicereus megalanthus

Selenicereus megalanthus - Yellow Pitaya, Dragon Fruit, is the best tasting Dragon Fruit in the world that is not only sweet, it has a great flavor (unlike most Pitayas that are pretty watery). This particular species of Dragon fruit doesn't mind regular water and rains but is also drought-tolerant.
In this video you will find out how to grow this plant and how to make it fruit.

WATCH NEW VIDEO >>

Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!

Date: 27 May 2025

Too weird to ignore, too easy not to grow!

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, flower

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, flower

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, leaves

Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus, Anthony's Rick-Rack, Fishbone Cactus, leaves

Too weird to ignore, too easy not to grow!



⚡️Cryptocereus (Selenicereus) anthonyanus - Zig-Zag Cactus. Also known as Anthony's Rick-Rack or Fishbone Cactus, this oddball epiphyte is famous for its zigzagging, succulent leaves that look like a green lightning bolt.

⚡️ In nature, it climbs trees using aerial roots, but it's happy in a pot too.

⚡️Give it bright, indirect light and let the soil dry out completely between waterings.

⚡️In spring, it may reward you with a rare night-blooming flower that lasts just one magical evening.

⚡️ Easy, sculptural, and full of character!

🛒 Add this oddball to your jungle

📚 More about exotic epiphytic cacti:


Disocactus ackermanni - Red Orchid Cactus
Epiphyllum oxypetalum - Queen of the Night
Pseudorhipsalis (Wittia) amazonica - Blue Flame
Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa - Orchid Cactus, Curly Locks

#Fun_Facts #Container_Garden #Shade_Garden #Nature_Wonders

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 17 May 2023

NEW VIDEO:
ABC7 Fort Myers News:
Rare Tropical Fruit Trees at Top Tropicals

We received lots of orders from our customers for butterfly attracting plants after our recent . We are glad you liked the story and the plants!

Today's topic is on tropical fruit. Enjoy this quick tour and learn more about different varieties of rare tropical fruit and what can be grown in your yard. We have them all! And we can ship them to your door.

Fruit and plants introduced in the video:

Persimmon
Coffee
Sapodilla
Sapote
Vanilla
Pomegranate
Yellow Dragon fruit
Litchi
Tamarind
Chocolate Tree
Raspberry
Grape

Watch the news segment by Rachel Anderson for ABC-7: Rare fruit trees at Top Tropicals.

Subscribe to our Channel:

Stay updated with TopTropicals Videos by subscribing to our channel at YouTube.com/TopTropicals and get our latest video news of what is fruiting and blooming!

Yellow  Dragon  Fruit,  Selenicereus  megalanthus,  fruit

In the photo: Yellow Dragon Fruit, Selenicereus megalanthus, the sweetest and the most flavorful rare Yellow Pitaya. The taste is said to be superior to most cactus fruits.