Written by Jerad Bryant Horticulture review by Sarah Jay Last updated: September 21, 2025 | 4 min read

Dragon fruit is delicious when it’s ripe. Slice through its pink skin to enjoy the creamy white flesh underneath. 

Some varieties have yellow skin, though most varieties are pink-fuchsia. A few rare cultivars have purple flesh! They also go by the name pitaya. 

Unlike apples and pears, dragon fruits don’t ripen after picking. They’ll stop turning sweet after you harvest them. Don’t let the temptation to pick them get to you. It’s much better to enjoy a ripe dragon fruit than a partially ripe one. 

After waiting for enough time, you can use these easy-to-follow methods to check for ripeness. Check if your dragon fruits are ripe and wait if they’re not. Don’t worry—we’ll also cover what to do if they’re not ripe. Let’s dig in!

Check the Skin

Skin shifts from green to rosy pink when ready.

To check if your dragon fruit is ripe, start by checking the skin. It’ll start green and shift to pink, then fuchsia. The color turns rosy as the fruit ripens and swells. Yellow varieties maintain consistent yellow coloring across the fruit.

Once a dragon fruit is fully ripe, it’ll turn brown as it overripens. It’s crucial to pick the fruits when they’re at peak ripeness for the best flavor. 

An unripe dragon fruit will be green and small. Some may fall off the plant before they ripen, due to poor pollination. Many species require two separate varieties for efficient pollination. Select a self-pollinating variety if you’d rather have one plant instead of two.

Squeeze Them

Fruit is best when there’s a gentle give inside.

After checking the skin, do a quick squeeze test. Squeezing is an ancient but tried-and-true method that works for checking the ripeness of many vegetables and fruits. 

Using your fingers, squeeze the fruit slightly. It should feel firm with some give. It shouldn’t be too hard so that you can’t squeeze it. It’ll have a nice, soft feel when the flesh is ripe inside. 

Don’t squeeze too hard! You don’t want to split the skin and rupture the flesh, unless you’re going to eat it right away. The skin keeps the fruit protected from pests and diseases.

Look to the Bracts

Yellowing tips signal sweetness developing beneath the skin.

The final way to tell if dragon fruit is ripe is by the bracts. The bracts grow out from the skin; they’re triangular flaps. They start green, and they stay green while the rest of the skin turns pink and fuchsia (or yellow for yellow varieties). 

As the fruits ripen, the bracts turn yellow, then pink. The ripe color extends down the flaps as the flesh matures inside. They may not turn all pink, but they’ll lose much of their green color. 

A ripe fruit will be pink-fuchsia or yellow overall, and the flaps will have a bit of green at their tips. Use the skin and squeeze tests, then check the bracts to determine if the dragon fruit is ripe and ready to pick. 

Harvest

Cutting at the stem prevents bruising or tearing.

When a fruit is ready, harvest it by pruning it off the plant near its base. Avoid wrenching it from the stem, as it’ll cause tearing or damage to the plant. Some part of the stem may come off when you prune it, and it’s okay to leave it attached. 

Wear gloves during the process to keep your hands safe from the prickly spines. Some varieties are full of spines, while others are spineless. Choose a spineless variety if you’d rather not have the risk of puncture. 

Store the harvest on your counter for a few days, or keep it in the refrigerator for a week or two. The fruits keep well when they’re at peak ripeness. Don’t forget them outside, where flies and pests can get to them. 

If They’re Not Ripe

Let the fruit stay longer to mature naturally.

So, what should you do if the dragon fruit isn’t ripe? You may leave it for a few more days to see if it’ll ripen. It may fall off if it didn’t receive sufficient pollen. 

If it does fall off, wait for fall flowers to appear. Most dragonfruits flower again in the fall after summer production. If you garden in an area that stays warm through the winter, you may be able to coax another round of fruit. Or, bring the plant indoors for the fall-flowering season to encourage ripe fruits in the middle of winter. 

Ensure your plant has plenty of sunlight, water, and airflow. It needs full sun with more than six hours of daily direct sunlight. The roots grow best in well-drained soil, and they like regular moisture during the growing season.

When Flowers Appear

Hand pollination can help stubborn fruits develop properly.

If you garden in a region with harsh frosts in winter, you’ll want to remove the flower buds that appear in fall. Cold fall weather prevents them from turning into fruit. It’s better to cut the buds off and redirect energy towards strong roots for the winter season. 

When fruits keep falling off, consider trying hand pollination to get them to ripen. In the early hours of the morning or late at night, take a paintbrush outside. Dust the pollen from the anthers of one plant’s flowers into the stigmas of another’s. 

Moths and bats pollinate dragon fruit flowers. Encourage them by planting more white-colored flowers and night-blooming perennials. And, plant two or three varieties near each other for the best pollination results. 

Frequently Asked Questions