The Yellow Thai Dragon Fruit (it is also sometimes called Thai Gold) is a cross between Selenicereus megalanthus and Hylocereus undatus. It is a self-pollinating, very fertile cultivar that can produce fruit without human assistance.
Description
The sweetest pitaya we have ever raised. The fruits produced by the Yellow Tail Thai Dragon Fruit are reddish-orange with yellowish tips and contain white, tasty, and sweet meat. Yellow Tail Thai is a great self-pollinating type with a somewhat high yield, tiny stature, and an average weight of 0.7 to 1.0 pounds.
The flavor is delicately sweet and has a citrus aftertaste. On a hot summer day, it reminded me of a gentle pink lemonade that is rather refreshing.
| Category: | Edible fruits, vines and climbers, cactus and succulents, epiphytes |
| Self-pollinating: | Yes |
| Sun exposure: | Full Sun / sun to partial shade |
| Brix: | 18-20 |
| Bloom color: | White |
| Bloom characteristics: | Flowers are fragrant |
| Outside color: | Reddish-orange-yellowish |
| Pulp color: | White |
| Flavor: | 5 out of 5 |
| Appearance: | 5 out of 5 |
| Production: | 5 out of 5 |
| Home planting: | 5 out of 5 |
| Commercial planting: | 5 out of 5 |
When ripe, the fruit’s exterior skin is a thick, soft pink tint with yellow fins. Long thorns are typically present at the base of the fruit, which is likely due to the presence of Hylocereus megalanthus in the parentage. The whitish flesh contains little, gritty seeds.
From flower bud to flower, it takes 23 days, and from flower to fruit, another 60 days. This process began throughout the summer and continued into the fall.
This plant requires winter protection, but can tolerate warm summers. The flowers are self-pollinating and extremely prolific; no pollination by hand is required.
This type is advantageous in that it grows and generates branches rapidly. This cultivar develops approximately 1.5 times faster than red variants. In around 12 to 14 months, you will have a large number of branches and sub-branches with fruit.
Cultivating the Elusive Yellow Thai Dragon Fruit
When it comes to dragon fruit varieties, the Yellow Thai is the unicorn of the bunch. With its reddish-orange exterior covered in bright yellow fins and brilliantly white interior flesh, it’s easily the most visually striking of the dragon fruit clan. But cultivating this exotic beauty? Now that’s an entirely different beast.
I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on a Yellow Thai dragon fruit. I was trekking through the rural countryside outside Chiang Mai and came across an older woman selling the most bizarre looking fruits I’d ever seen. Vibrant reddish-orange spheres propped up with almost fluorescent yellow fins – they honestly looked more like dragon eggs than something you’d actually eat!
But after some awkward gesturing and a few baht exchanged, I eagerly sliced into one of those fiery orbs. I was utterly transfixed by the blinding white meat interior speckled with endless tiny edible black seeds. The flavor was indescribably delicate – like a subtle cross between a pear and a melon but with delightfully creamy vegetal undertones. A completely new taste experience unlike anything I’d had before.
Needless to say, I was instantly hooked and vowed to bring some of those extraordinary fruits back to grow myself. Little did I know what an extreme test of endurance cultivating Yellow Thai dragon fruit would turn out to be!
For starters, just getting the plant itself established was an uphill battle. The cuttings I brought back from Thailand were so fragile and prone to disease that I lost literally dozens before any took root successfully. Turned out the finicky things need incredibly precise soil conditions with just the right nutrients and pH levels to even have a chance.
But that was just scratching the surface. These high-maintenance divas are crazy sensitive to both heat and cold. Too much and the whole plant goes into panic mode, shriveling up and refusing to flower. Not enough warmth and the stubborn thing goes into shock and shuts down. Nailing those temperature parameters perfectly is like threading a needle – no room for error.
Then there’s the wildly inconsistent moisture demands to wrestle with. Overwatering leads to root rot and blossom drop. But under-watering causes the fruits themselves to shrivel up into inedible duds before they’re even ripe. It’s an endless calibration dance walking that razor’s edge just right.
But by far the biggest challenge of cultivating Yellow Thai dragon fruit is dealing with its obscenely low pollination rate. These blossoms are incredibly fragile and only open up for a mere 12-hour window once every few weeks to be hand-pollinated. Miss that incredibly narrow opportunity and you’re out of luck until the next bloom period rolls around. It’s enough to drive even the most patient farmer completely bonkers!
Yet despite these endless obstacles, I just can’t quit this prickly obsession. Because when you do finally get it all right and manage to harvest a perfectly ripe Yellow Thai? That first sweet bite makes every bit of the labor worth it.
There’s simply nothing else like slicing into one of these fiery red orbs with its blazing yellow fins and being met with that brilliant white flesh interior loaded with tiny crunchy seeds. The flavor is indescribably decadent yet delicate – rich and creamy while still being refreshingly light. Like nature’s most exclusive sorbet.
As exquisite as they are in sweet dishes and exotic cocktails, I honestly prefer savoring Yellow Thai dragon fruit in its rawest, purest form. Chilled, unadulterated perfection. Because you don’t invest that much blood, sweat and tears into cultivating the most finicky fruit on the planet without wanting to truly savor every succulent bite.
So while farming dragon fruit in general is not for the faint of heart, growing the elusive Yellow Thai variety is a whole other level of extreme. Between battling fungal diseases, wildly fluctuating temperature demands, precise watering needs, and dealing with that crazy low pollination rate, these prickly little unicorns will definitely keep you on your toes!
But for those few sweet moments when you do get to delight in one of those impossibly fresh orange-red spheres with neon yellow fins cradling that velvety white interior? That first taste of cool, creamy perfection makes all the struggle so worth it. Sure, the juice is worth the squeeze – but with Yellow Thai dragon fruit, it’s more like the nectar is worth getting gored a few times!
Conclusion
In conclusion, Thai Gold pitahaya is a delicious and nutritious fruit sort that is worth trying. Its sweet and juicy flesh, along with its nutritional value and versatility, make it an excellent choice for maintaining a healthy diet. If you haven’t tried Yellow Thai dragon fruit yet, it’s definitely worth giving it a try!
