Dragon Fruit Oozing/ rotting plant (forum)

maxzoo starts with ...
Hi,
I bought a red DF about 1 month ago and it has some rotting sections on the main stem- pale, discolored, weeping sections.
Originally I planted it in the ground which was probably abit too dense (it had zero growth happening) so then I took it out, raised it up, added heaps of sand and haven't watered it at all and now on its healthier sections it has a couple buds growing slowly BUT the main stem that goes to the ground has these wounds that don't look so great... Should i just cut off the healthy side shoots with the buds on them and attempt to propagate from those or do I just leave it as is and hope the wounds callous over, dry up and also hope it goes onto have a prosperous life? or another option do i just treat it with a fungicide like copper to stop the rot?
Its my first dragon fruit plant and I feel terrible that it's already sick.
many thanks!

Time: 21st November 2014 9:17pm

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About the Author maxzoo
larnook
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Anthony says...
Hi Maxzoo. Not sure what variety you have but some are more prone to rot than others. If your potting mix is too heavy and holds too much water, you should probably repot it. Lift it, scrape away any rotted areas and let it dry out for a few days. Repot in some well draining mix and watch it go. I use a mix of seed raising mix and potting mix, 75-25. SEARLES is great. Plenty of Sun and just enough water.

Time: 21st November 2014 10:42pm

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About the Author Anthony
Queensland
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sternus1 says...
It's important to add a decent ratio of sand to any potting mix when potting out dragons, or indeed any saturation sensitive fruiting species susceptible to root rot. Potting mixes break down over time and become waterlogged. I use double washed river sand at a ratio of about 30%. Adding sand will also help your mix to retain structure and will greatly reduce leveraging.

Time: 22nd November 2014 12:02am

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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maxzoo says...
Thankyou, I definitely think adding sand is a good move. To dry the plant do i just pull the whole plant out of the ground and expose it to light and air exposing its roots? From what i have seen online they will probably not die anytime soon if i do this and then just replant when they are healed up?
Cheers

Time: 22nd November 2014 10:17am

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larnook
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Anthony says...
Sounds good. Dragonfruit are pretty tough and can be out of the ground for a long time. I have a cutting that has been laying on a bench outside for over 12 months that still hasn't decided to send out roots. Still Looks good and is obviously not very thirsty.

Time: 22nd November 2014 11:08am

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About the Author Anthony
Queensland
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sternus1 says...
Yeah, I've got quite a few cuttings laying around that have sent out roots without water or soil.

Battling fungal infections on my dragons right now, pretty sure you clued me on to it actually Anthony.

Time: 22nd November 2014 9:17pm

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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sternus1 says...
Lost a few mature lengths which would have fruited this year. Does seem to spread, but not the way it does on foliar trees. I'm getting orange bubbles and rot. My grove is in a humid spot though, I imagine with better air flow and more sun it would be pretty easy to manage.

Time: 23rd November 2014 8:04am

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About the Author sternus1
Australia
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JohnMc1 says...
If the DF has been growing and rotting off in pots, they could be suffering because of a phenomenon known as a perched water table in the pot itself. This can be demonstrated by dunking a sponge into a bucket of water and sitting it on the bench. You will see there will be a layer of water being held inside the sponge representing soil in a pot. If you turn the sponge on it's side, it will hold exactly the same height of water representing a larger pot will hold much more water. If you set the water soaked sponge onto a dry sponge, representing planting into ground, the water soaked sponge will drain immediately, representing soil plants need more water than potted plants.


Time: 24th November 2014 4:17pm

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Original Post was last edited: 24th November 2014 4:15pm

About the Author JohnMc1
Warnervale NSW
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