Dragon fruit
Selenicereus undatus
Also called Pitaya, Pitahaya, Hylocereus undatus and Night-blooming cereus
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitTHE FLOWERS OPEN FOR ONE NIGHT AND MUST BE POLLINATED BY HAND, with a brush, after dark — miss it and there is no fruit that year. It is a climbing cactus, so it needs a post to scramble up, not a pot on a sill.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Hard
- Water
- Every 11 daysSoak, then bone-dry — wait until the soil is dry right through — lift the pot, it tells you.
- Light
- Bright, with several hours of direct sun
- Feed
- Every 30 days
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out in high summer RHS H1B, to 10°C
- Size
- 3 m tall · 1.5 m across
- Lifecycle
- Climber
- Origin
- Central America
Is it safe for pets and people?
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
ASPCA lists this plant as Hylocereus undatus, the name it carried before the genus was merged into Selenicereus, under "Night Blooming Cereus" and "Pitaya" — non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses. The stem edges carry small spines, which is a handling matter and not a toxicity one.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- An enormous bud that opened and closed overnight, and no fruit. It flowers for ONE night and most varieties need a brush moving pollen between flowers after dark — if you were asleep, that is the whole crop.The flower missed · disorder
- A stem going soft and yellow where it meets the compost, on a plant watered like a houseplant. It is a cactus — let the pot go properly dry, and never water into the crown.Rot at the base · disease