Has any one grown a papaya tree from seed?
Papaya trees
I have, they are easy and usually bloom the first year if started early enough.
One year after I had enjoyed some really yummy fruit, I just put the seeds on top of a pot of soil and within a couple of days, they started sprouting. They grow fast and need plenty of water. MIne got to be about 3 feet tall before succumbing to spider mites. Those buggers seemed to have appeared over night and within a couple of days, my papayas were no more.
I am going to wait until February or March to start them again. This time I will just put the seeds where I want them to grow. Unless of course, I get the bug to just start sooner!
Yeah!! I have attempted a few times but always seems to be too late for me to start--they don't survive. I have 2 in my Mini Greenhouse on the back porch right now. Hoping they will grow well inside over winter and mature to fruit this coming Spring/Summer?!! Bonnie
I posted a pic of one that I grew from seed last spring it has fruit already.and I'm in Iowa!! LOl at the bottom of this page scroll down and click on #3 and scroll down till you see the pic.Papayas in Iowa.
:-)
I started some seeds this spring in my flower beds. Two of them got about 3 feet with large stalks. With winter coming soon I dug them up and up in pots. They are looking sad. I should have left them in the flower bed but got concerned about them being so close to the house foundation if they survived the winter. They did not bloom. If they live, I am going to plant them in the yard this spring
I understand that papayas dont like to be moved or have their roots disturbed. Maybe if you tell them that it is for their own good???... Well, at least it makes me feel better to say it.
I've been growing them for a few years now. I dried the seeds from one I bought at the store. They are suppose to be male/female/hermaphrodite. I must have picked the one that can change to male or female, as every tree has bore fruit. I treat them like perennials. I've started papayas this june that will over winter in pots, to be planted next spring when it's warm enough.
This one is about 4 feet tall, notice how small the pot is. This is so it can over winter in the green house, or just a warm location on a patio or deck. I will keep them root bound like this till spring, then plant in the ground and they will take off.
This message was edited Oct 6, 2005 6:13 PM
If the papayas survive the winter, then you have lovely gifts to give friends :) - Everyone is always thrilled to get one. I have alot of people requesting them. Once they come out of the green house in spring, if there is no location for it yet, I simply pull them out of the small pot and re-pot them. Since they are root bound, it does not mess with the roots, and your able to re-pot a couple sizes up. Be careful not to pot up too big as they hate wet feet. I wait until june to put them in the ground because the spring rains may kill them. They pretty much like to be dry at the end of the day. This picture is a yearling- I planted it pretty late- at the beginning of August, and it's growing rather fast. It is about 7 feet tall, would have been taller if I hadn't waited so long.
And finally, this is the mother of all the trees I"ve started who is in her 5th year of producing. She is in a very large pot on the deck, and has survived last years christmas eve snow. Actually all of the papayas made it through the cold, but did not make the spring rains. I understand there is a way to get around the water log problem by using H202 (hydrogen peroxide) anyone interested I can dig up the link here at DG.
In the past, I could not find a fertilizer that the Papayas liked at all, although they did mediocre with Miracle Grow. I was pleased to have found a fertilzer that I call off the shelf, as it's intended for Hibiscus, but the Papayas...well they completely love it. It's 18-8-28 Hibiscus fertilizer - called space city fertilzer. I found it at yardgeek.com. They use UPS, so shipping is one of the biggest complaints. It is soluable- Use every week or every other week.
As mentioned in the thread, transplanting them after they've been planted in the ground is pretty tricky. So it's best to keep them in pots until you find a place to plant them. If you treat them like perrenials, then you'll always have 1 ready to replace the ones that didn't make it. I've noticed that after about 8-9 feet tall papayas don't do very well in a pots., This one is in a pot, but I couldn't get a good pict, so this is the top of it peaking over the roof, the pot is huge.
Hope this helps! They really are pretty easy!
Rj
This is how big the trees were that came out of the green house this spring, I had just potted them in larger pots. One of these is the papaya shown in picture number 2. From 1 foot tall this spring to 7 feet by OCT. Would have been taller had I planted it in the ground in june instead of Aug.
Rj
My trees have lost some leaves but are looking happy again. I am looking forward to Spring to plant them.
Rj, have you had an opp. to eat fruit from your trees yet? also, that hibiscus fert. if FANTASTIC. I luv it. Your papayas are great. was surprised to learn from you they don't like wet fet, figure they would as they are tropicals. hmnmmmm.
I'm definitely going to give mine more fertilize!
Yes, my papayas are soooooo delicious and sweet. I even took pictures of a few of them on the plate!!
I pretty much have used the hibiscus fertilizer on all the tropicals now, but so far the papayas love it the best.
Yeah I lost all of my large trees last spring when it rained alot. This year I know about the H202 treatment!
Ok, so what is your H202 treatment, I gotta ask? Our rainy season is fast approaching and I have many new tropicals here and am worried.
It's a rather lenghty thread, but worth a read. It's basically using Hydrogen Peroxide (H202) as an oxygen infusion when plants are water logged. Ya learn all kinds of things here. I've tried it once on plumerias and it did alleviate the root rot. I started out with the minimum amount. Here is the link.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/423028/
See, now I knew you had all these tips imbedded into other threads, just didn't know where to begin a search, so thanks for that!
You bet!!
I have 10 payapa trees that I have brought inside but none have produced any fruit. I started them this spring. The largest one is about 4 ft tall. Do you think it is the climate in NE Texas?
Well, they need about 4-5 hours of full sun a day. It also depends on the type of Paypaya tree. I only have experience with 1 type. I can say that the 18-8-28 hibiscus fertilizer makes a big difference. Now, your papaya trees will not do very well at producing fruit if it's in a pot. I've had about 30 trees, and only 3 have reproduced in a pot- the conditions have to be just right, the pot not too big, not too small. Once they go into the ground they really start going. But once they're in the ground it's best not too move them.
What about if you leave it in the pot,drop the pot in the ground for the summer?
Would it be possible to get fruit that way?
I got to see the difference in one grown in the ground and one in a pot yesterday. A friend brought one I had started 2 years ago in a pot to me for the winter. My trees that I had started in the ground and recently dug up were so much bigger that it. I am hoping that I can plant them back in the ground this spring.
You know, it would be worth a try. If the pot has alot of holes, or big holes. I just might try that myself. The only draw back I can see is - the main root is sort of like a carrot, I could see that inhibiting growth..but then I haven't tried it!
Raggins will you let me know how the ones you dug up fare? I've not had very good experience digging them up. Of course the ones I dug up were 2 years old and 12 feet tall. If yours don't do well from digging them up, I can send you some seeds so you can grow them like annuals if you like. As a matter of fact I have some growing wild. Some of the papayas fell and they are just growing in the ground. They are about 8 inches tall right now.
RJ
So far the trees I dug up look great. I have them in a sunroom of windows on the north, south and east. Since there is no wind I think they will be fine. I have put some of the small (about 1-2 feet tall) in my greenhouse. Looks like we are never getting any rain so I probably could have left them in the ground. So far we have not had a frost either and I live a few miles from the Red River.
About the seeds, I started these with a payapa that I bought at Krogers. So I guess as long as they carry the fruit I can get the seeds locally. Thanks for the offer.
LOL, yeah - I got mine at HEB. I'm tending to think they are a Hawaiin strain, since they seem to reproduce with out the male female thing. I was just putting mine in the green house too.
Mine have never reproduced so I don't know where they come from.
I just love growing something from such a tiny seed and is so beautiful. My husband just doesn't get it. He wants to know why I don't grow something that actually lives in our area!!
LOL. I think it's the progression of the gardener. We start out buying tons of stuff at the nursery, then we discover the challenge of growing things from seeds, become seed snatchers everywhere we go..then we go to propagation technics we never knew existed, and finally we graduate to uber gardener, cross pollinating and hybridizing like the artists nature and humans are!
I kind of snicker when I see papaya seeds for sale, knowing the store is full of them, talk about having your cake and eat it too!
Just an update on the trees. The ones I put in my greenhouse look good and rarely loose a leaf. The ones I put in my sunroom in the house are loosing quite a few leaves. They both get about the same sun. Just can't decide if I am watering to much or little.
Probably too much, better to have them on the dry side. Also the green house may have the proper humidity they need.
Mine are doing okay in the green house, not really that great. I'm having move stuff back outside because it's so darn hot!
So far I have not had to move anything out. My husband and I already see that we will need to expand the greenhouse next year. I have doors on the North and South and windows on the East side so there has been a good breeze this late summer/fall/winter??? I think I am going to move the papyas to the greenhouse. Right now it is so dry. We are about 12" short of rain this year. It makes it so hard to water etc when it is dark when I get home from work.
I need to get my north door fixed on the green house. I have windows on everyside, and then a north and south door, but the north door has been broken- I didn't think that door would make that much of a difference with having so many windows. I have some fans going in there as well, It's been difficult to maintain a balance, although me EE's are growing like weeds- the pups I planted.
I know what you mean about the watering. I'm lucky as I don't go into work until afternoon, which is ideal for this gardener! We've been pretty short on the rain as well.
We like growing papayas since they remind us of Mexico. Here are a few in the ground that are having a little trouble with night time temps at the moment. These are an experiment to see if we can keep this Mexican variety year-round outside the greenhouse.
another view of the same papaya patch
here's one of the ones being protected in the greenhouse over the winter in case the experiment fails.
I had never seen a bloom on a papaya so thanks for the pictures.
Yours seem to have alot of short leaves. I think the ones I have are a Hawaiin strain, although I'm no expert.
I swear...you guys have to try space city fertilizer --18-8-28 Hibiscus fertilizer at yardgeek.com
My trees are throwing out the Papayas faster than I can count them. I noticed that my big tree's papayas are the biggest I've seen yet. I've been fertilizing them once a week- the growth is amazing!
hiya rjuddharrison,
Thanks for the fertilization tip, but I'm one of those creepy organic purists...lol. Mine eat fish emulsion and a little bone meal just before flowering. They're slower than yours I'm sure of that and I may not see any papayas on the outside plants that are starting to feel some chill at night right now. Pam (my wife) just got back from a trip to Conroe, TX and boy you really do have some mild nights. Got to hang out with a DG friend that lives in Conroe and take care of our horse business all at the same time. We really had a wonderful time in your state. Very hospitable indeed. I am expecting some papayas from the plants in my greenhouse and am watching them with great anticipation. Your's look really healthy from the pics you've posted so that hibiscus food must certainly be doing the trick. I do believe the variety I'm growing is a little shorter that the Hawaiian cultivars.
best,
don
My dream is to buy a huge bunch of property by there or Tomball and create a huge garden - like Buchart Gardens in Victoria BC.
Yes, fish emulsion is always on hand for me. How does the bone meal work? I'm not quite sure how to use it properly, I also have that on hand.
I love the Papaya trees, I grew up in W. Africa- LIberia - There were enormous Papay trees there. One of our friends who had a chickend farm grew the papayas as big as watermelons..hmmm..wonder what he used as fertilizer? :) I have aquired some chicken droppings, but still am cautious about when to use it, at what stage after it's dried out.
Rj
The seeds are easy to grow, but can also be eaten fresh. They have a nice "peppery" flavor to them, so can be put into salads. Had a fresh strawberry juice cold soup at Disney, with papaya seeds floating on the surface. Cold, sweet, and peppery was a great combo!