Question Red spots on Dragon Fruit plant

[julzabc]

Hi everyone,

I'm posting this question on behalf of my father who is unsure how to use forums.

My father lives in Perth, Western Australia and is growing a Dragon Fruit plant. He would like to know what the red spots on the plant is, and if it is any cause for concern. Hopefully the photo is clear enough to see what is going with the plant.

Any tips, hints, advice is greatly appreciated

Thank you,
Jules

 

[Mark]

Yes, I'm pretty sure this is a type of rust and I see this all the time on our dragon fruit plants also.

It can get worse and turn into large lesions or rot sections that often calcify and look ugly but doesn't kill the vine.

You could try applying a copper spray to see if this helps but I have not tried this - what I would recommend instead first, is to give the plant some fertiliser with some trace elements to see if this strengthens growth and also more water - dragon fruit vines love water! Ensure the soil is free draining - likely in WA the ground is sandy so if this is the case drainage shouldn't be a problem, but, keeping nutrients might be so a good helping of compost around the base might also help a lot to improve the health of the plant.

If you can get the vine growing fast (as is typical for dragon fruit) and get the nutrient levels correct so the vine is a darker green and healthier looking then it should be able to cope with the rust patches naturally.

Oh, and did I mention water? Water water water... but free drainage is essential or the plant will die.

 

[julzabc]

Thank you Mark for the info and advice! I'll forward it onto my dad and hopefully his plant will thrive.

Incidentally, my dad was searching YouTube and found your channel. He pointed out that you live in QLD, just like me. So he asked me to ask 'Mark' what to do about his plant. I replied: Sure Dad! Like it's that easy to send a photo to a random YouTuber and ask bla bla bla!

However, through a bit of 'Googling', I managed to find you have this great forum, and it wasn't as difficult asking you the question as first thought.

Thank you once again, and stay safe!
Jules

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Thank you Mark for the info and advice! I'll forward it onto my dad and hopefully his plant will thrive.

Incidentally, my dad was searching YouTube and found your channel. He pointed out that you live in QLD, just like me. So he asked me to ask 'Mark' what to do about his plant. I replied: Sure Dad! Like it's that easy to send a photo to a random YouTuber and ask bla bla bla!

However, through a bit of 'Googling', I managed to find you have this great forum, and it wasn't as difficult asking you the question as first thought.

Thank you once again, and stay safe!
Jules

Haha, it's easier than people think!
Mark is also working on doing more live-streams in the future, though he's still building up his set-up, so it might take a little while.
We've also just added a chat feature, so talking to people could be even easier!

 

[julzabc]

Haha, it's easier than people think!
Mark is also working on doing more live-streams in the future, though he's still building up his set-up, so it might take a little while.
We've also just added a chat feature, so talking to people could be even easier!

Thanks for the update Sounds great! I'll have to get my dad clued up on how to use forums and the chat feature. Cheers!

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Thanks for the update Sounds great! I'll have to get my dad clued up on how to use forums and the chat feature. Cheers!

If he ever has questions, he can also ask them here. Doesn't have to all be garden related

 

[DTK]

Hi Jules, great to see you posting in this forum. I find it very helpful and especially for us "oldies" people are extremely supportive.