Description

Celeste

Celeste Dragon Fruit is a hybrid from a hybrid Hylocereus undatus, and H. stenopterus crossed with Hylocereus guatemalensis. This clone is a seedling created by long-time hybridized Don Burnett from Southern California. Mr. Burnett carefully selected Connie Mayer and pollinated the flower with G1 to achieve exceptional and rare results. He called this seedling 1-6 before approving the name Celeste. Spicy Exotics collected this variety directly from Mr. Burnett. This dragon fruit is excellent when eaten fresh, in jams, as a garnish, or as juice in drinks. Check out our Pinterest page for other great uses of this variety.

Growth

Celeste’s growth is a combination of Hylocereus undatus and Hylocereus guatemalensis. The plant material is three-sided, bright green, and a strong grower, likely due to the Hylocereus undatus genes. Under ideal conditions, this variety is a rapid grower.

Flower

The flower is medium-sized, with pink inner petals and darker pink outer petals. The flower bud is equally beautiful, plentiful, and similar to Connie Mayer’s buds. In Louisiana, the flower opens just before dusk and closes at sunrise. This is earlier than other Hylocereus varieties. The first emerging flower button to open the flower took 22 days. The stigma is similar in size and shape to G1, with more split lobes like Connie Mayer . Pollen differs from the mother plant, being less clumpy and plentiful but still self-sterile. Celeste will set fruit with pollen from other Red, White, and Pink flesh fruit varieties. Most purple varieties may work, but we recommend avoiding guatemalensis pollen and pollen from Hylocereus stenopterus clones.

Fruit

Fruits weigh an average weight of one pound. The fruit’s mature skin is green, making it difficult to determine when it is ripe. However, leaving it alone will eventually show some red color bleeding through the skin. We prefer the flavor of the fruit when it is still green instead of when it turns color. We recommend taking note of when the flower opens. To get the most flavor, pick the fruit 40 to 42 after it flowers. When selecting green fruit, you will get the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Test results from this fruit are usually 18 to 20 brix. Picking the fruit five days later will give the fruit a softer flesh that is sweeter, darker, less acidic, and juicy. For use, this fruit is less desired than the fruit harvested sooner. 

Celeste final thoughts

The upside of this variety is its beautiful and unique flowers; the same is said for the fruit. There is something to say about the green skin and deep purple flesh. We also can’t forget how strong this plant grows compared to its siblings. The downside is that it is self-sterile and produces fewer flower buds than its siblings. It is a little early to say this, so we will adjust this content if it changes in future years; last updated in February 2025.