Colorful text reading 'How to Grow Dragon Fruit Dragon' with decorative green leaves and yellow accents on a light background.
Colorful graffiti text reads 'Soil Mixes & Long-Term Performance' on a brick wall.

Top Performing Soil Mixes:

  • 🌱 Rare Dragon Fruit’s Top Tier Blend🎞️
    45% Quickrete Sand, 25% Perlite #4, 25% pumice, 5% Bio Char.

  • 🏖️ Pure Sand
    Excellent for rooting and long-term health.
    Extremely heavy (~220 lbs for a 25-gallon pot).
    Best for ground-level or permanent pot setups.

  • 💧 Gary’s Top Pot
    A permanent potting mix that won’t shrink or break down over time. It provides excellent airflow to roots.
    Ingredients: Peat moss, pumice, perlite, sand, charcoal.

  • 🌼 Sunshine Mix #4 + Pumice
    A lightweight alternative to sand.
    Suitable for seedlings and large potted plants.

  • Poor Long-Term Performers:

  • ⚠️ Fox Farms Ocean Forest
    Retains too much moisture → rot risk.
    Compost-heavy → compacts and becomes anaerobic.
    Long-term use leads to root damage and stem rot (typically after 3–4 years).
    Replaced in Paul’s yard with compost-free blends.

  • 🚫 Compost-Based Mixes
    Bark and wood fibers decompose → compacted, soggy soil.
    Especially harmful in high heat or cold conditions in pots.

Graffiti-style text on a brick wall reads 'Fertilizing Strategy, Timing & Products' in yellow with black and orange outline.

🌿 Spring (Recovery & Growth):

  • Use a nitrogen-rich fertilizer like Grow Power Plus (5-3-1).

  • Includes humic acid, gypsum, and bone meal (for calcium + phosphorus).

  • Add worm castings, fish bone meal, oyster shell.

  • Top Dress with FoxFarm Happy Frog Soil Conditioner or your favorite compost.

🌺 Late Spring / Early Summer (Bud & Bloom):

  • Switch to a low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus and potassium fertilizer:
    Grow Power Bud & Bloom (3-12-12) or Dr. Earth Flower Girl.

  • Encourages flowering and fruit set.

  • Reapply every 6 weeks through the blooming season.

🍂 Fall (Post-Fruiting):

  • Return to nitrogen-heavy fertilizer to restore plant vigor.

Graffiti-style mural on a brick wall with bold yellow lettering that says 'Sunlight Management & UV Tips' with black outlines and an orange glow effect.

☀️ General Guidelines:

  • Dragon fruit thrives in high heat: 100–110°F is optimal.

  • But it’s sensitive to UV index, not just raw sunlight.

  • Filtered light or partial shading is best in peak conditions.

🌤️ Sun Stress Strategy:

  • Some sun stress encourages blooming, especially in Guatemalan varieties.

  • 🌀 Controlled exposure = more flowers.

  • ⚡ Too much exposure = yellowing, rot, stress damage.