Do you want to grow a really exciting papaya? Then do your self a favor and grow a Tainung #1 Papaya, from Taiwan. I have grown many different types of papayas, and I'm here to tell you the Tainung #1 is a very EASY and VERY PRODUCTIVE papaya. It begins to fruit at only 4 to 5 feet tall, and produces fruit in the first year from seed. The really fascinating aspect about this particular papaya is that it produces all three flowers; male flowers, female flowers and bi-sexual flowers (contain both the male and female parts.) It produces 2 1/2 pound red fleshed fruit with the perfect taste, awesome for breakfast. So if you grow papayas, or would like to grow papayas, or have never grown papayas, order a Tianung #1. It is a F1 hybrid. You won't regret it. I ordered my seed fro Aloha Seed via the Internet. There is alos a Tianung #2 and a #3, but I have not tried them as yet. - Millet

Hi Millet,

Thanks for the tip. Through the generosity of a FL gardener on another forum, I recently obtained seeds of 'TR Hovey' which is a true dwarf. It is supposed to be prop from tissue culture, so it may not be true from seed, but hey, the price was right. I figured I could get my feet wet with papaya for the price of an envelope. Presently awaiting germination...

SB

thanks for the heads up Millet-
Ive got a grocery store large papaya growing outdoors, its about 2 feet tall and loves this heat. Figured id try to overwinter it and hope for fruit next year.

garnet, if your papaya came from a grocery store it is almost certainly the Solo variety from Hawaii. They usually begin to fruit at about 6/7 feet tall. Lets hope that your tree turns out to be either a female or a bisexual tree. If it turns out to be a male, chances are that it will not be, you will never get any fruit. - Millet

its a Mexican type. the larger type.
the international market carries green ones (for cooking?) and ripe ones- usually have to pick the ones that are molding already to get one that is sweet

i dont usually buy the Solo types from the store because the seed cavity is usually large. If i were growing my own and not buying tho, id get over any size problems!

Millet and others, I have a question.

12 of 18 papaya seedlings are up. I have removed the cover on the seedling tray. I understand that papaya resents transplanting. If I plan to grow these in containers, at what point should I transplant and into what size container?

Thank you. SB

i started mine in a 4-inch pot, and waited 1-2 days after watering (not completely dry but not sopping)

I squooshed the sides of the planter and gently eased out the whole rootball. Watered it in good, and kept it in the shade for 2 days.

I dont think it wilted one bit.

Id use a trowel or spoon or something to get up under the whole rootball. should do OK. I planted mine at 4-5 true leaves, IIRC.

Robert, you are correct in saying that papaya's do not like transplanting. I have never started papaya seed in a flat or tray. I have always started them one seed per container, usually in a 1-1/2 inch x 6 inch deep liner. I either very carefully transplant from the liner into a one gallon container and finally into the ground, or from the liner directly into the ground. Whatever you do, disturb the roots a LITTLE as possible. When the sex of a papaya seedling is unkown many growers used to plant 3 to 5 seeds to insure that some are bi-sexual or female trees. If you only plant one and get a male tree your out of luck. Today growers can pretty much purchase the sex of papaya that they wish. Whatever you do, transplant very carefully, and you shoud be alright. Never water a papaya with cold water, especially during the winter., they could be dead the next day. Papayas are heavy feeders. Watch for spider mites. I hose my papaya's down two or three times a week to prevent any spider mite infestation. They really are quite easy to grow. Good luck and good eating. - Millet

When seedlings or cuttings are grown together in beds or flats during propagation, it is impossible to remove the seedlings or the cuttings without greatly disturbing and damaging the root system. Liners (rooted cuttings) and seedlings in individual containers are undisturbed and growth is continuous with no transplant adjustment as long as they do not remain in the containers too long and become root bound. Propagation in individual containers also allows the rooting medium to be transferred along with the roots of the plant to the field or to a larger container for growing on. I like to grow-on the plants in Root Maker II air-root-pruning conainers rather than the conventional smooth containers, as the growth is much more rapid in Root Maker containers because of the automatic air pruning and also the fact that the trees roots will not spiral around and around in RootMaker containers. - Millet

Millet
I just placed an order with Aloha for both the F1 and F2 varieties, but had a couple of questions.
What size container do you recommend? I saw the picture posted by laaz but I could not make out the size.
The papaya trees that I have seen in this area did not look very well after the last two freezes, so I am leaning towards containers. From what I have read and seen, it is apparent that they grow at an incredible rate. Another reason for containers is that I figure sooner or later a freeze will kill it and then I have a stump to remove.
Karl

Karl, as far as removing the a papaya stump it is really not problem. Papayas are not trees they are a large herb. They really do not have all that large of a root system. One man with a spade, can remove a stump of a mature papaya in 5 - 8 minutes. You could probably grow a papaya in a 5-gallon pail, however when the plant grows large, you would have to water it daily. I would recommend a 15 gallon container. Here is the CRFG (California Rare Fruit Growers) web site for the culture of papayas. http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/papaya.html

My papaya in the thread that Laaz posted for me is the F 1 variety. -Millet

Millet
I am starting to think of papaya as a crop like corn or tomatoes. Here is a quote from the Sunset National Gardening book.
“To get most fruit, don’t attempt to grow papaya as a permanent tree. Keep a few plants coming along each year and destroy the old ones.”
Thanks for the Fruit Facts link and it’s good to know that stump removal is so easy. This looks like a very interesting experiment with rewards that are much better than the investment. The seeds are cheap at $2.50 per pack of 10. The freight will cost more than the seeds. Also the first crop should produce much more seeds than I will need to continue each year’s crop.
There is some controversy about the length of time that the seeds will be healthy. One article said that they go bad quickly and from the University of Florida claims were made that if properly cleaned that they could last 5 years stored in a refrigerator.
Thanks for the help.
Karl

Thanks for letting us know Millet.
I have given up growing papayas because of the maintenance involve and fighting the deseases but I will try again with Tainung #1 and #2.
I just ordered them today from Aloha seed.
Thanks!

Hey Millet, her's a pic...hopefully...of my papaya. The leaves just start to lose all texture, shrink up, and almost disolve while on the plant. Little to no growth going on. Keep in mind that these are in a greenhouse with very high humidity.

Ohio, over all your Papaya does not look all that healthy. To me it looks like it is being under fed. How often do you fertilize it? Papayas use a lot of nutrients. I would not worry much about the two bottom branches, that is what papayas do when they shed their "older" branches.
It looks like the tree is planted in CHC, if so did you pre treat them before using them? Never water papaya's with cold water, especially during the winter months. High greenhouse humidly is good for papayas. All in all I think you just need to fertilizer more. -Millet