Description

Royal Red

Royal Red Dragon Fruit is a hybrid variety from the genus Hylocereus and the species polyrhizus and an unknown species at this time. This variety is best known for its being grown as a commercial crop in Asia. The best characteristic of this variety is it is one of the few red-fleshed varieties that are self-fertile.

Growth

The growth of Royal Red has a meaty flesh that is three-sided and has small to medium-sized spines. Growing Royal Red in well-composed material will help control rust while supplying essential micronutrients.

Flower

The flower is a large-sized bloom with inner petals, a pure white and yellow fading to red on the outer petals’ tips. The flower buds on Royal Red are similar to most red-fleshed flower buds. In Louisiana, the flower opens a couple of hours after dusk and closes a couple of hours after sunrise. Pollen from the flowers is plentiful, making it an excellent pollen source to pollinate self-sterile varieties. Flower open to fruit is 35 days in South Louisiana.

Fruit

Royal Red is a consistent producer of red-fleshed fruit typically weighing 1 pound or more. The fruit is semi-sweet with an average brix rating of 17. Spicy Exotics recommends hand pollination and bud thinning to get even larger Dragon Fruit.