Night, night all.....I'm on my way to dreamland.
Just in case I haven't told you lately.......I love you all.
Papaya 101 "My Experiences"
We love you too Christi, and everybody!
Nighty night! xxooxxoo..
You too RJ
Nite. Sweet dream to all my gardening friends around the globe.
Good night Lou C Bob,
Good night Jeanne Bob,
Good night Lily Bob....
lights out
After all of this time I finally planted those papaya seeds that I got from the papaya from the store. They have germinated and I am the proud Mother of baby papaya seedlings! Yeah!
More papaya seedlings.......
And yes.....for tonight it is "lights out".....
Night Randy Bob!
Night LouC Bob!
Night Lily Bob!!!!!
Night Shari Bob!!!
Night Chrissy Bob!
Night to all and to all a "Good Night"!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi, all.
I have purchased a very ripe papaya at our neighborhood fruit stand 2 days ago thinking: "Now that I can plant whatever I want, I'm going to use the seeds to start me a few papayas".
Then I discover this thread this morning, almost a whole year after it was started. I am happy to report that the work inside the new house is finished. It's now time to work outside the house. Today, I will be opening a bed on the western side of the house. The papayas will go on one corner. They should grow here: sub-tropical, no hard frost in 30 years, MiracleGro to the rescue, etc. etc. I'll keep you all posted.
Sylvain.
Randy
Last year I tried the Tainung #1 F1 Hybrid and got some fruit before the first frost. I germinated the seeds in February and by late October I was harvesting fruit. I managed to get about 30% of the fruit before the first frost in late November.
This year I purchased 20 seeds of the Red Maradol but only one out of the 20 germinated and then it died. I will research the H202, seed mats but what size containers are you using to germinate the seeds?
Oldude
Hi oldude, thanks for 'bumping' this thread back up. Special thanks to Randy for initiated such helpful topic here on raising Papayas in our mild climate.
oldude; what zone are you in? Is it a frost-free region? For Papayas to promptly make fruits within a year. It's worth looking into. Currently I'm nourishing two young NOID papayas in container culture. I'm a novice at seed-sowing, these were seedlings that were generously shared from DGer's gardeners.
Kim
Kim
I am in Zone 9 not very far from the Gulf but still not frost/freeze free. I still would like to try the Red Maradol ,because it is supposed to set fruit quicker. I am going to try it again using Randy’s method but I don’t have my greenhouse completed. Maybe I can get a few started this fall and bring inside as frost threatens.
Here is a picture of the Tainung #1 F1 Hybrid about a month before the first frost. It was less than one foot tall when I planted it in the spring.
Oldude
I am in zone 9b and i planted this one from seeds in Sept. 07. Does anyone know if the cold kills thems are the root stumps hard to dig up?
Lee
My papayas were Hawaiian variety and are less cold hardy than the Mexican varieties. Still any low temperature without protection is going to damage or kill the plants.
Digging up the roots is very easy since the roots are soft. I dug up three of them in about fifteen minutes.
Oldude
The roots are not hard to dig up. The papaya is a short-lived tree, in many ways more like a shrub than a tree. I don't know how frost-tolerant they are. I think it varies a lot by species.
katiebear
Thanks katiebear for your input. That helps us here in the US to learn more about this tender plants.
How short-lived?
I think 2-3 years. After that i think production dropsoff even if the tree doesn't die.
kb
Oldude, I started my seeds in 3-4" pots outdoors. No heating pad needed as it's in the mid to high 90's here! They germinated quickly!
I sure hope my little plants grow as fast as yours did! To think they could be that tall in one year would be something.
Polarbear, be sure to dry those seeds out thoroughly.
Jeanne
Oh wow..surprised to see this thread..I'd forgotten about it. Nice plants Jeanne!
I start the seeds in a very shallow seed tray, about 1 inch deep. I usually wait till around June to start the seeds, as they really respond best in very hot temps. This year I started them at the beginning of this month and they sprouted within a week. Best performance is when the seed tray can be almost dry by the end of the day, Papayas are really not fond of dampy wet. Knowing all of that I still lost alot of my seedlings last week when I upgraded them to smaller pots from the seed tray, mixing a good drainage soil..when it rained last week, they stayed too wet. That has been my number one issue with the plant, is keeping it happy with the right amount of water.
I've experience about 50 percent of Papaya plants coming back after a freeze. My oldest tree is about 4 years, and was fried a couple of years ago during that easter freeze.. It was just a stick in the garden..but it came back, and it grew 3 different tops. Again the biggest problem it faces trying to come back is too much water, as the spring days usually aren't warm enough to dry out the soil to avoid root rot. The roots are tap roots, like carrots. In general they do not like their roots messed with at all, so if you really love your tree, better not move it. This can work to your advantage, because the older it gets, the tougher it gets and can weather freeezes and tolerate more water than it's younger counter parts. This is the reason I treat them like anuals. Like you experienced, they can grow so rapid and produce fruit in one season, why not treat them like anuals? I usually stock a few 2 year old trees in small pots, keeping them fairly stunted until I need them. If it's a warm winter, then your friends will love you, as you have lovely gifts to give away. It really is a popular plant, in fact was the most request plant at a round up I had at the house this weekend.
I've read that the papaya seeds aren't viable very long, so I always save the seeds from the fruit. I've grown them for 7 years now, all from one original Papaya I bought at a grocery store.
Thanks all it is good to know if they do freeze it will not be difficult to dig them out as mine really love where they are located. Seems to be the right amount of sun and extremely good drainage. This is the first time i have ever grown them but have found they also make a nice plant.
Hi, everyone! I am a papaya lover from way back. One comment about location: Don't plant them up against fence posts or right next to a building foundation. Their tap root can be like a giant carrot, and it creates quite a hole when the root quickly rots away.
I tend to call a papaya a plant, not a tree, because they're not woody. "Trunk" very juicy and crispy-fibrous, easy to chop anytime, no matter how big.
I bought seed from a California supplier, and have sixty or seventy little ones, I'll have to take some photos to share tomorrow when the sun's up. The seed seller was all out of the big types, some can have huge fruit! My seed from a fruit made thirty guys and two girl plants, and really small round fruits. OK, girl photo:
Yes, in fact the tree/plant is hollow inside. If it should freeze, I've read that cutting the top of the tree off and then stopping up the trunk with something (since it is hollow) and the tree has better chances of coming back. I've tried this a couple of times without success. I think it might be definition of "cutting off the top" as I've cut some of them in half, and they came back. I decided not to do that on the oldest tree for which I'm glad as it came back on it's own. The very tip top of it rotted, but grew 3 other tops instead.
Actually the picture is posted in this thread
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=4025221
Here is what it looks like now...actually looked like there were 4 tops to it..
Hey Buddy, Houston Dude.
Wow what a great shot and the size of that thing!!
Great shot!....I assume you are the one on the right.
Take care my friend!!
yep..tis me
Another tip to accelerate the growth of the tree is to continuously trim off the lower leaves, and much like the palm tree, it will really speed up the growth, also will divert energy into growing papayas...that is how the tree in the first picture of this thread got so big, and had so many papayas.. That and fertilizing it with that Hibiscus fertilizer.
When they have so many papayas, I tend to let some of them fall to the ground. I have 4 trees (I'll refer to them as trees for lack of a better term) in the front growing from dropped papaya fruit.
Cool! I can't wait for mine to get that big!
WOW! That is a really TALL tree!!!!!!
In W. Africa we would rig up a wire loop at the end of very long bamboo poles..someone else would catch them.
Looks like I may have a papaya after all. I started it from a seed 5 yrs ago. It is in a pot and I take it inside in the winter. From what I have read they will not live long in a pot but I just keep babying it so who knows.
Randy
I don’t get the hydrogen peroxide H202 connection to germinating papaya seeds, I do know those Potassium nitrates (KNO) soaked seeds will reduce and maximize germination sooner than untreated and planted. Is this how you are using the hydroponics H202?
Thanks Oldude
I don't recall saying or suggesting using h202...I've never used h202 on my papaya seeds
Randy
Maybe misunderstood what you said in this quote,
Planting
I've always waited until around may to plant them when it's very hot- But this year I've learned about H202, seed mats..and a whole new world of propagating seeds. I will say- that I was rather surprised by the high propagation rate. It was a good thing because there was a road of trial and error to be traveled.. I leave the seeds in the pot until they reach about 8 inches. The less repotting- the better. They are much easier repotting younger than older. They do not like their roots messed with. As a rule of thumb- l let the papayas get root bound.
aah...I was simply writing about all the new ways I had learned about propagating seeds in general. I think my point was that one might not have to wait until may to plant because of these techniques. If I hadn't written it though, I would have thought other wise! As it is, I still wait till may or later, because the seeds like hot..very hot. Here, the papaya seeds need no coaxing to sprout except heat.
Very cool on that papaya tree...! Now there looks to be a species that will produce in a pot!
Randy
Thanks for clearing that up on the Hydrogen peroxide.
By the way I just ordered seeds for the Improved Solo and Red lady. As soon as I get them I am going to germinate and keep them in small containers as you do. Thanks for the advice.
Oldude
Remember, you can go to your local supermarket - buy a papaya..scrape out the seeds on a paper towel...plant....grow...