George wrote:
Onzuka, hopefully I do have a Hylocereus undatus, how do you tell the difference with triangularis? Hopefully we will see some fruit soon (I know nothing about growing these species) as this spring it has gone crazy! I will have to post a pic of what can happen in 8 weeks! hopefully it doesn't get to cold.
As far as I know, I'm growing and using H. undatus, but I'm not certain. I use them as grafting stocks and also as tortoise food so it doesn't matter which they are. You would need to do some research to determine just which your is. You have noticed already how fast they grow when the conditions are right for them and this is obviously the reason that they are so good as grafting stocks. They should see them throw ariel roots out of the sides of the pads to help them to cling to objects for support. I was of the opinion that these are grown in the tropical areas of Oz as a fruiting plant.
Hi Steve, undatus are grown comercialy as a fruit further north, I was given a cutting last christmas of a cactus a friend had growing in several pots. As she is in an area that gets frosts I had assumed it was not undatus but some other climbing species. I had never realy considered it as grafting stock as her plants always looked rather sad, anything but vigorous. But having seen mine go nuts I now see its value, not to mention it doesn't seem to mind my growing conditions!
That plant is looking very happy with it's situation, but if you live in an area that is subject to frost, you will have to give it winter protection. That's the reason that it's not the 1st choice here in the uk for a grafting stock but it's much loved in Thailand. Take a look at the pics here for some ideas.
The plant seems happy which is wh I am suspect on it being an undatus. We had a week where nearly every day I had to scrape ice off my windscreen and knock the ice off equipment at work. This guy didn't seem fazed at all by it, it is against the house but not under any eaves so there might be some slight protection. It just seemed to be sitting there waiting for the warmer weather.
