PAPAYA Carica papaya L., Caricaceae
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| My 2 year old papaya tree |
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Papaya is a short-lived perennial grows to
10-30 ft high. A growing herbaceous plant
with tough thick hollow trunk.The large seven
lobed leaves form an umbrella-shaped crown.
There are two types of papayas, Hawaiian and
Mexican. Hawaiian varieties are the papayas commonly found in supermarkets.
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| Mild frost killed tops |
Papayas are propagated by seeds. Seeds take anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks to germinate. With proper care and ideal condition they will produce fruit within one year. Papayas grows best in direct sunlight, warm humid temperature and light rich well drained compost soil. They are easily killed by excess moisture and temperature below 32 F. Fruits are ripe when they turn yellow. Depending on the variety they may be yellow, orange or pink inside. The most popular varieties are Mexican Red, Mexican Yellow, Sunrise (Sunrise Solo), Sunset (Sunset Solo), Vista Solo and Waimanalo (Waimanalo Solo, X-77). Papaya is the best natural digestive, containing enzymes similar to pepsin. Fruits are high in vitamin C and minerals. They are usually eaten fresh. Seeds have a pungent flavor. In some part of the world they are eaten and used as food flavoring. Pepain is produced from unripe fruits and commercially used as a meat tenderizer. Papayas make excellent container and greenhouse plants.
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| Multiple Trunk |
In Florida, the papaya trees grow fairly well. We have sandy well drained soil and warm humid temperature seven months out of the year. The tree in these pictures was grown from a seed. Unfortunately, we had a few days of below freezing temperatures and the top of this papaya tree froze. Devastated, I had to make a decision. Should I cut the tree down and plant new seedlings or leave it alone since the trunk was still alive. I decided to let mother nature take its course. In the summer, the tree grew multiple trunks. I had a bumper crop of papayas to harvest in late fall.
