🌵 How to Grow Dragon Fruit in New Zealand

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) may look tropical, but with the right setup can grow beautifully right here in New Zealand - just look at our own! These climbing cacti love warmth, sunlight, and strong support — and will reward you with stunning night-blooming flowers and sweet, colourful fruit.

Here’s everything you need to know about growing dragon fruit in NZ, from watering and feeding to trellising and pollination.

🌡️ Temperature & Climate:

Dragon fruit love warm, frost-free conditions. They grow best in daytime temperatures between 20–30°C and will slow or stop growing below 10°C.

They are not frost-tolerant, so in most parts of New Zealand they’re best grown in pots or containers that can be moved under cover in winter.

A greenhouse, tunnel house, or sheltered patio is ideal for longer year-round growth, especially in cooler regions. In Northland or coastal areas, dragon fruit can be grown outdoors, but even there we recommend providing winter protection — such as frost cloth or moving potted plants during cold snaps.

☀️ Sunlight:

Dragon fruit plants thrive in partial sun, needing around 6–8 hours of bright light each day for flowering and fruiting. Keep in mind that dragonfruit are tropical not desert cacti, and constant all day sun is likely to burn the branches, especially under New Zealand’s intense UV. The first indication of this is yellowing on the branches, severe damage manifests as sunscorch — pale or brown patches on the stems, see below.  

 

 

To prevent this, give your dragon fruit plenty of morning and midday sun, with a bit of light shade during the hottest part of the afternoon, if you notice these early warning signs of stress.

💧 Watering: 

Dragon fruit are tropical cacti, and therefore prefer steady moisture rather than dry conditions. Allow the top few centimetres of soil to dry before watering again — and make sure the pot or soil drains freely to prevent root rot.

During the active growing season (spring through early autumn), regular watering encourages strong, fast growth. In winter, however, reduce watering significantly. The plant slows its metabolism and too much water in cold soil can quickly lead to rot. Think of winter watering as “barely moist” rather than “regular.”

🌱 Feeding: 

Dragon fruit are hungry plants, especially when growing rapidly through the warmer months. Apply a balanced, slow-release fertiliser (such as Osmocote) or organic compost every few weeks during spring and summer. You can consider applying a Fruit and Flower fertilizer from Mid October on mature plants fortnightly to encourage flowering. 

They also love liquid foliar feeds — their aerial roots readily absorb nutrients sprayed onto the roots. A gentle seaweed (2ml/L) or foliar spray every few weeks keeps them lush and vigorous. 

Healthy, well-fed plants produce more flowers and fruit, so don’t cut back on feeding during their main growth period.

🌳 Trellising: 

Dragon fruit are natural climbers that rely on support to grow upward before arching and flowering. You can train them up a tree as shown below, or build a custom trellis or post system.

Once a single main stem reaches the top of your trellis, prune the tip to encourage side shoots, which will cascade and hang down. This bending creates tiny microfractures within the plant tissue — a stress signal that triggers flowering/fruiting.

You can manually bend down the branches once they’ve reached the top to encourage blooms, care must be taken to do this slowly to not completely break the branch.

💡 Tip: Rather than simply bending your branch down try slowly twisting down at the branch joint, to prevent the branch from snapping off completely, shown below.

🌸 Pollination:  

Dragon fruit flowers are spectacular — large, fragrant, and blooming only for a single night. Some varieties are self-fertile, while others need cross-pollination from a second plant.

While some nighttime pollinators such as ants and beetles can assist in pollination, hand pollination is often helpful. Use a soft brush or cotton swab to gently transfer pollen between flowers at night. 

💡 Tip: Even self-fertile plants often produce larger, juicier fruit when cross-pollinated with pollen from a different variety. If you’re growing both red and yellow dragon fruit, try swapping pollen between them for a bigger harvest.

💡 Tip: If your flowers don’t bloom on the same night, you can store collected pollen in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days until another flower opens.

🐜 Pests and Diseases: 

Dragon fruit have few pest issues, but one to watch for is ants. They’re attracted to the sweet sap from new growth and will chew and deform soft young stems - if excessive damage is occurring consider using a ant exterminator solution to destroy the colony.

For diseases, the most common issue is cactus rust — a fungal infection that appears as small orange or brown lesions on the stems. It usually develops in humid or poorly ventilated conditions.

You can treat early infections by spraying with 3% hydrogen peroxide or a copper oxychloride fungicide. For more advanced cases, it’s best to cut away the affected branch to stop it spreading. Ensure good airflow and avoid overwatering to keep your plants rust-free.

Our Dragon Fruit Varieties for Sale

At Greenhaven, we offer two dragon fruit varieties,

Red Dragon Fruit (Selenicereus costaricensis)

Our  red variety features vivid pink skin and aromatic, magenta flesh. The fruit from which can be seen below. It’s fast-growing, productive, and ideal for sheltered outdoor spots in warmer regions or for greenhouse growing further south.

Yellow Dragon Fruit (Selenicereus megalanthus)

A rare, sweet variety with golden skin and white translucent flesh. It’s slower-growing but rewards patience with aromatic, honey-sweet fruit. 

Shop both varieties now at our products page to start your own tropical fruit journey.