Potted Pitaya Cultivation
Today, I will explain to netizens the small knowledge of growing pitaya at home, the cultivation of potted pitaya, and then let's get to know it together.
The cultivation of potted pitaya is not rare, but it mainly appears as a foliage ornamental potted plant. However, if managed properly, the cultivation of potted pitaya can also yield pitaya fruit.
We won't discuss the process from sowing seeds to germination into seedlings, as this is simple and there are many articles about it online. This article mainly focuses on the cultivation process of potted pitaya. Many flower friends' seedlings are crowded in the flower pot. If you want to bear fruit, you must thin them out or, after they have roots, transplant some of them.
Pitaya is a subtropical plant. Home cultivation usually does not have pests, and the most common ones are snails and ants, which can be solved. It is very afraid of the cold, and the minimum temperature in winter should not be lower than 8℃, otherwise, it may freeze to death. Therefore, for flower friends in the north, winter temperature is the main concern.
Like other cacti, pitaya has a smaller growth rate than conventional fruit trees. Therefore, fertilization should follow the principle of sufficient, small, and frequent amounts. Young trees (1-2 years old) should be mainly fertilized with nitrogen to promote tree growth, while mature trees (3 years old and above) should be mainly fertilized with phosphorus and potassium, controlling the amount of nitrogen fertilizer. For fertilizers, some organic fertilizers can be used: chicken manure, rabbit droppings, tofu dregs, urine, and plant ash. Usually, pitaya does not need to be watered, and when fertilizing, fertilize first and then water, generally once a week. It should not be watered in the rainy season.
Due to the long harvesting period of pitaya, it is necessary to apply a large amount of organic matter fertilizers, and a balanced and long-term application of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizers is required. Using pig and chicken manure with too high nitrogen content makes the branches thicker, dark green, and brittle, easily broken by strong wind, resulting in larger and heavier fruits with poor quality, low sweetness, and even a sour or salty taste. Therefore, during the flowering and fruiting period, additional potassium, magnesium, and bone meal fertilizers should be applied to promote fruit sugar accumulation and improve quality.
(Although pitaya has self-pollination fertility, the fruit setting rate of self-pollination is low, so manual pollination is required during the pitaya flowering period)
Management during the fruiting period of pitaya usually results in many flower buds on a branch. Keep the strong ones and remove the weak ones. Some people don't know which is strong or weak, so they just wait for the pitaya to naturally eliminate the flower buds. From flowering to fruiting, pitaya matures in a month.
After the pitaya has borne fruit, it is necessary to prune the fruiting branches in autumn. The cut branches can be used for cutting. After pruning in autumn, try to apply less fertilizer, as more new tender branches will grow if fertilized. Generally, 3-4 new branches are retained each year to serve as fruiting branches.
The above-sharing method of potted pitaya cultivation is for reference only.