A. About our website

It could be days, weeks, months, or the following year. It is contingent on the variety, how it grows, and customer demand.

If you find a variety you want and it’s out of stock, you can sign up to be notified the second it becomes available. To do so:

  • Click on the product you want
  • Choose the length you want that is out of stock.
  • Under the Get notified when this is back in stock title, enter your email address you want us to send the notification to
  • Click notify me, and your all set.

A tip, If it’s a variety you really want, we recommend signing up for notifications for all sizes. Lastly, if you get notified but missed out on the purchase, you will need to reapply for notifications as our system will only notify you once. Remember to check your SPAM and Junk Filter and trust the notification email,  so the notification ends up in your inbox.

Today, you can not filter our store by variety rating, but not for long. You can filter by popularity (Popular data from April 1, 2020), Newest additions, Genus, Flesh color, Self Fertile, Self Sterile, Varieties not tested, In Stock, and On Sale.

Yes, it will. All you need to do is follow Spicy Exotics on social media. Then from time to time, we offer what we call a “social media special”. In the social post, we will let you know about the offering and where to purchase it.

Don’t have a social media account? Not a problem, you can find our latest postings by going to our News menu on our website.

Ask and you shall receive. Click here to view our current list of named Dragon Fruit varieties. Spicy Exotics also grows other Fruiting Cacti and Exotic Fruiting plants. Contact Us for more information.

Spicy Exotics can usually identify the genus and species with minimal information. However, in order to identify the subspecies can be extremely difficult to identify 100% positive. Not even DNA testing would help. To see if it’s possible the following information would be needed before and attempt to name the subspecies:

  • Quality pictures of the flower anatomy
  • What amount of pollen does the flower produce
  • Quality pictures of the mature plant such as color, shape, thorns. Plant must be at least 2 years old.
  • Quality pictures of the fruit inside and out
  • Describe the flavor of the fruit. Brix test would be an added bonus
  • Where did you collect it
  • If this variety Self Fertile or Self Sterile

B. About Spicy Exotics

Sure, we love visitors. All you need to do is book an appointment on our calendar. You can do so from our Contact menu and pick an available day and time.

Shopping for plants during your visit is now available or place your order through our Online Store and select local pickup. Local pickup is only available for Louisiana residents. However, if your traveling from another state and picking up plants, we will credit the shipping cost.

Spicy Exotics is a Private Nursery located at:

441 W Gloria Switch Road
Lafayette, Louisiana
70507

You can find directions to our location by navigating on the Contact menu.

If you need to ship to Spicy Exotics, our shipping address is:

218 E Bridge Street
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
70517

Yes, We do sell Dragon Fruit when it’s available. Fruit can be purchased locally at our nursery. Just message us at info@spicyexotics.com when you would like some fruit. A commitment of three pounds minimum needed per order. The fruiting season is from May – November.  Pricing is as follows:

  • $5 per pound for white flesh varieties
  • $8 per pound for red flesh varieties
  • $10 per pound for purple flesh varieties
  • $12 per pound for pink flesh varieties
  • $15 per pound for rare varieties

Not local? No problem, seasonally Spicy Exotics offers a variety of Dragon Fruit in a package called a Festival Box. Festival boxes come with 5, 10 or 15 different types of Dragon Fruit. Boxes are sold by weight plus shipping. Just message us at info@spicyexotics.com when you would like some fruit. The fruiting season is from May – November.

C. Before you order your cutting

If mature cuttings are available and you request them, we will send mature cuttings. However, we would like to share our experience with mature cutting over the past 15 years. The advantage of mature cuttings is its hardiness. Dragon Fruit plants are very resilient, so hardiness is not a big deal. One advantage of young cuttings is they adapt and grow quickly. Meaning young unrooted cuttings will outperform a rooted mature cutting to 5 feet, giving flowers and fruit sooner than later. Lastly, some mature cuttings may take longer to start growing, sometimes up to 6 months

Some are, if not, Dragon Fruit cuttings are super easy to root. Keep in mind; some states will inspect packages if the soil is on the cutting. This is the case with a rooted cutting, and we may not ship rooted cuttings to your state.

Growing different varieties in the same container will not be an issue. However, if you plan to redistribute or use cuttings from those containers once they mature, it can be challenging identifying the correct variety once the plant matures. You can use masking tape and such to help, but it will be difficult years later as all of the plants will grow into one another.Your Content Goes Here

For best results, Spicy Exotics recommends 7 gallons per cutting. The bigger the container the better the results.

We hesitate to pick one, but a top contender for a long time was Physical Graffiti. However, after 2019 and having our first Ohana Express fruit, it instantly became our new number one.  The reasons are it’s a heavy producer, it’s a vigorous grower, and self-fertile. It even fruited for us within 10 months of planting our first cutting. The fruit is some of the best tasting Dragon Fruit with a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity with a sour candy flavor. The only negative aspect of this variety is its fruit size being on the smaller side. We hope to see larger fruit on this second fruiting cycle in the Spring of 2020.

Some Dragon Fruit can tolerate heat and cold better than others, however, the difference is minimal. One exception is H. stenopterus clones. They can not tolerate extreme heat and cold compared to all other Dragon Fruit varieties.

At Spicy Exotics, we combine orders automatically. Each order placed includes a $2 plant tag that can not be credited back but will be included with each order placed. Due to the USPS rate increase in 2022, Spicy Exotics no longer offers fixed shipping rates or free shipping. Because of this, Spicy Exotics will credit the difference in shipping when multi orders are placed and combined.

D. After you received your cutting

Roots are not necessary and cuttings can go straight into their final location. Keep in mind full sun environments may be harsh on new cuttings and temporary protection may be needed.

Some varieties can accept full sun on arrival. This is also the case in Spring and late Fall seasons when our sun is not as intense. To be on the safe side, two weeks of 50/50 (Full Sun/Part Shade), then a week of 75/25, then for the final fourth week your cutting will be acclimated to handle full sun.

Spicy Exotics recommends wrapping 2 times around the post. More is better, it will last longer and hold moisture longer. Wrapping is good, but not necessary. At Spicy Exotics, we no longer use anything to wrap our posts. This is mainly to save on installation time. However, It is more difficult to secure new growth without burlap. To overcome this, Spicy Exotics uses extra ties to secure our cuttings.

We would like to first say, great soil is key to the success of every plant, and Dragon Fruit is not different. Spicy Exotics uses 100% composted manure. As the compost breaks down after year one we top-dress each following year. Late winter we top-dress with fresh compost and mix it, slightly disturbing the top layer of existing soil so the fresh stuff can blend with the old. Simple and easy and no guessing. This has been successful for Spicy Exotics for over 10 years growing to allow for a healthy plant and to resist diseases.
At Spicy Exotics, we found with other mixes over time lose certain micronutrients and top dressing with more soil mix does not fix the problem year after year. The mix eventually needs to be removed and replaced with fresh stuff. Not a huge chore, but if you have a lot of plants you’re looking at a weekend project. Lots of hobby growers swear by mixes, but ask them how old are their plants?
Lastly consider this, the location on where you’re growing your plant. In South Louisiana, we get rain on a regular basis. This will also have an effect on the plant. The dryer locations need to supply water and we have found, noting beats good ole rainwater, so we do not water. The only exception is during summer when a longer period of drought can happen. In summary, Cow Manure and Rain are the two simple items that have a tremendous impact on Spicy Exotics plants, and we are here to share this information with you!
This is a personal preference that we will respond back with a question. Do you want fruit sooner or later?
If you answered sooner, then do not cut. Here is why. Dragon Fruit flowers on mature cuttings. If you cut at the top of your trellis, the plant will send out new shoots that need to mature before flowering adding up to an additional year to flower.
If you responded later, then you will get a headstart on balancing the top of your trellis by allowing cuttings to grow from the cut plant material in different directions balancing the weight of the top of the trellis.
Spicy Exotics has done both methods and we no longer cut the top of the trellis.

E. Your Order

Our best effort is to pack and ship daily or ship out a minimum of three times per week, including Saturdays on request and if available.

Each order gets a confirmation email sent to the email address provided with your order or account created on the Spicy Exotics website. Then, once the mailing label is printed on our end, a tracking number will be added to your order, emailed, and can be tracked through the USPS website or by clicking here. If you did not get an email in your inbox, check your SPAM and junk filter as our system is automated and sends emails with every order.

Please refer to our policy page for more information.

Please refer to our policy page for more information.

No problem, just contact us through our Contact page.