Dragonfruit – and why I love it for subtropical rootstock

I really like using dragonfruit as rootstock down here in the subtropics (9b) because it just fits the climate. It does great in organic soil, soaks up water like a champ. When I graft onto it, the scions plump up fast and the graft union takes almost right away—it’s kind of wild how quickly you see results.

The downside is that dragonfruit isn’t built for the long haul. It doesn’t have the same strength or nutrient flow you’d get from something like PC, so eventually it can’t keep up with bigger plants. But for small to medium scions, it’s perfect for giving them that early push before they’re ready to root out on their own or move onto a sturdier stock.

Left to right:

Tbma x psych0
Lumberjack x wowie
Tbma x psych0
PC