The dragonfruit varieties called Asunta 1 and 2 should not be confused. Are they very different from each other? Want to know more? Then read our article.
Description
Asunta 2 Dragon Fruit is a cross between Hylocereus stenopterus hybrid and Hylocereus guatemalensis. The gene of the hybrid mix also comes from the species undatus. Asunta 2 is the second copy in the series Asunta.
This variety was made by crossing the Condor variety with the Asunta 1 sort. Compared to Asunta 1, the fruit of this cross is a little bit bigger and a different color.
| Origin: | California |
| Peel color: | Green |
| Flesh color: | Pale pink flesh |
| Mature height: | 4 - 10 ft. |
| Sun: | Full to part sun |
| Hardiness: | Around 30 degrees |
| Water: | Low-medium |
| Brix: | ~19-23 |
| Pollination: | Self-sterile |
| Weather tolerance: | 4 out of 5 |
| Fruit production: | 3 out of 5 |
| Flavor: | 5 out of 5 |
| Home planting: | 3 out of 5 |
| Commercial planting: | 3 out of 5 |
As with other Hylocereus stenopterus clones, the growth of Asunta 2 is soft and three-sided. It grows quickly and only has a few spines. Each piece of stem is between 2 and 3 feet long and looks light green. Asunta 2 has four to five a flushes per year. Cross-pollination is needed for fruit to grow.
Fruits are usually small and in the shape of eggs. They usually weigh between 0,5 and 0.75 pounds. The inside of the fruit is light pink, and the outside is dark red, almost maroon, with green fins. With a refractometer, the average score for Brix was 22. The pale flesh did not taste like it looked. Surprisingly, the fruit tasted like flowers and had a hint of coconut.
The flower is small to medium-sized, and the inside petals are purple, but the edges and tips are light pink and white. The flower bud is just as beautiful as the flower itself. In Louisiana, the flower blooms at night and closes in the morning. Compared to other types of Hylocereus, this one blooms a lot earlier. The stigma sticks out a few inches from the anther once the flower has opened.
Asunta 2 is sterile, which makes sense since all of her other clones were also sterile. The buds and blooms, both when they are closed and when they are open, look like the Kathie Van Arum variety, which is also a clone of Hylocereus stenopterus.
Conclusion
This variety is the first improvement of Asunta 1 (H.Stenopterus x H.Guatemalensis hybrid) pollinated with Condor. It was made by Edgar Valdivia, a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers group. The pink flower can’t reproduce on its own, so it needs to be pollinated by something else.
Asunta 2 makes a lot of sweet fruits that taste a little bit like tropical punch / coconut with lychee. 19-21 is the average brix (23 when the fruit is fully ripe). The fruit weighs between 0.5 and 0.75 pounds and has a peach-colored skin with lime-colored fins. The inside is pale pink.
