Date: 4 Jul 2019
Super RARE: the Honduran Moon-Torch Cactus
by Mark Hooten, the Garden Doc
The most wonderful, easily growing, giant flowering, fragrant, and floriferous species of Selenicereus I have grown is an almost unknown species called Selenicerius hondurensis. While its climbing stems are rarely thicker than a Sharpie marker, it's flowers measure 12 to 14 inches across (!), open as the sun is setting, and produce a most incredible fragrance... very rich and spreading thru the area. It smells like a combination of both white chocolate and vanilla. S. hondurensis also develops the most richly colored flowers of the Selenicerei, the outermost petals being a glowing orangey-gold. It's very stunning and provocative! It flowers magnificently, several times during the summer... Continue reading...
Recommended fertilizers:
Tropical Greenhouse Plus - Plant Booster
Tropical Allure - Smart-Release Booster
Picture of the actual plants for sale:
Date: 22 Sep 2025
🐲 The taste you will never forget
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:
- Red skin, white flesh (Hylocereus undatus)
- Red skin, red flesh (Hylocereus costaricensis)
- Red skin, purple or pink flesh (Hylocereus x costaricensis hybrids)
- Yellow skin, white flesh (Selenicereus megalanthus)
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
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
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:
💲 Special Offer – 25% off Dragon Fruit Pitaya Plants!
Get 25% OFF Pitaya plants with code
DRAGON2025
Min order $100. Excluding S/H, valid online only, cannot be combined with other offers.
Hurry, offer expires September 29, 2025!
Date: 14 Nov 2018
Plant Horoscope. Scorpio Zodiac lucky plants: Plants with thorns, red in color, and grow under adversity
Scorpio - 10/23-11/21.
A WATER sign ruled by both Mars and Pluto.
Scorpio's plants are often found in remote places or on poor ground.
They will likely have thorns, can be red in color, and grow under adversity.
The good news is, most of these plants are nearly indestructible! This makes
them desirable for every gardener.
The reproductive organs are ruled by Scorpio, so these are plants that
balance the hormones, regulate the menstrual cycle, help with childbirth and
pregnancy. Until this century, Scorpio was ruled by Mars, and the herbs
associated with it had to do with the urogenital system and the colon. Many of the
herbs related to Scorpio are cleansing and revitalizing. Now, astrologers
assign Scorpio to Pluto, discovered in 1930 (Pluto is said by astrologers to be a higher octave of Mars). Physiologically, Scorpio involves the processes of catabolism and anabolism, the death and regeneration
of body cells. Diseases of Scorpio are often involved with the slow buildup of
toxic substances in the body (carcinogens, etc) or in the mind (anger,
jealousy). Scorpio loves a spice with depth and complexity. Camphor Basil adds
rich flavor to every dish it seasons, and its own aphrodisiac tendencies appeal to
Scorpio's lusty nature.
Scorpio Zodiac lucky plants:
Ceiba, Baobab, Pistachio, Nutmeg, Thunbergia, Combretums, Dragon fruit, Medinilla, Camphor Basil, Oregano, Vanilla orchid, Hibiscus, Various cacti and succulents,
Adenium, Honeysuckle, Peppers, Cordyline, Spider plant, Jasmine,
Gooseberries, Wild
indigo,
Bougainvillea,
Aloe vera, Raspberry
,
Palmetto, Horseradish tree, Camphor, Allspice and Bay Rum,Jujube, Sweet Mimosa, Agave,
Milkweed, Hong Kong
Orchid Tree, Pony Tail, Dwarf Poinciana, Bottlebrushes, Clusias, Crocosmia, Zig-Zag Cactus, Dracaena, Fire Bush, Hoyas, Jatropha
, Kalanchoe, Sausage tree, Devils Backbone, Pereskia, Red Plumeria, Firecracker, Rattlebox,
Rhoeo,
Calendula, Geranium, Thistles, Mint
, Sage,
Catnip,
Coriander, Sandalwood, Ginseng,
Euphorbias, Acacias
Date: 14 Jul 2018
How to grow a Dragon Fruit
Q: I want to grow a Dragon Fruit. Should I use cuttings or seed? What varieties do you recommend? How difficult it is to grow? How soon does it start flowering and fruiting?
A: Dragon Fruit, or Pitaya is a highly prized, vining, fruit bearing
cactus, extremely unusual terrestrial/epiphytic plant. It has magnificent flowers,
stunningly beautiful fruit with an intense color, curious shape, and a
delicious taste. The night blooming white flowers can be up to 14 inches in
length. The fruit is most often eaten chilled and cut in half so the flesh may be
spooned out. The juice is used in frozen drinks and it is in a new Tropicana
Twister flavor. It is a must have for any collector or gardener with the flair
for the unusual.
It takes 2-3 years for seedlings to fruit, besides the variety pay not
come true to seed. We grow our plants from cuttings that are easy to root.
We offer many selected varieties, most of them self-pollinating. The plants are
ready to flower and fruit this year, or the next year.
Dragon Fruit Cactus is easy to grow, doesn't need much other than strong
support, full sun, well-drained soil - adenium soil mix works great - and fertilizer during hot months, and SUNSHINE-Honey applications for growing sweeter fruit. For larger fruit
bud thinning is recommended.
Date: 24 Nov 2025
One fruit on this tray always stumps people
Tropical fruit on a tray
One fruit on this tray always stumps people
- 🍉 Another day, another fruit tray from the garden! Even at the end of November, something is always ripening here in Florida. This tray turned out especially fun - a mix of familiar fruits and a couple that always make people guess twice!
- 🍉 Today’s harvest includes: sweet Persimmons, Star fruit, a few different dragon fruits: yellow Palora and white with red skin - this is Seoul Kitchen. There's also Cocoplum, which makes great drinks. And - ta-da! - the little showstopper of the day: Curly Locks Orchid Cactus fruit (Epiphyllum guatemalense Monstrosa). It looks wild, but it's edible and tastes like a tiny dragon fruit.
- 🍉 If you live in Florida or any warm climate, growing your own fruit is one of the best gifts you can give yourself. Tropical fruit trees are generous plants - they don’t wait for a season, they give you something month after month. Some days it’s a handful, some days it’s a whole tray, but there’s always a fresh treat waiting. Once you start growing your own food, you realize how easy and rewarding it is to fill your garden with flavor.
- 🍉 Every tray has a new surprise. Come along and see what the garden gives us next!
🛒 Explore rare tropical fruit
📚 Learn more:
- Can you name all the fruits on this tray?
- Weird cactus looks like pasta with Dragon Fruit
- Cocoplum: secret fruit in your hedge
- Pitaya vs Dragon fruit - what is the difference and how to grow it?
- How soon will Persimmon tree fruit?
- 10 best fruit trees to grow in Florida and Southern landscapes
- Top 10 fast-fruiting trees
#Food_Forest #Discover
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