Carica papaya
Papaya
Carica papaya is a giant herbaceous fast-growing plant that looks like a palm tree, but is not woody. Originally native to Central America, it is now grown world-wide in tropical areas for its large, sweet fruits that somewhat resemble a melon. The plant has a hollow green or purple stem, and long-stemmed leaves, 30 to 105 cm long (1 to 3.5 ft) and 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 ft) wide, which are deeply divided into 5 to 9 main lobed segments. The stem and leaves contain large amounts of milky, white, latex. The plants are dioecious. The fruits usually weigh between 1 and 5 ibs., but can weigh up to 20 ibs. They have tough, thin, waxy green skin and juicy red, orange or yellow flesh and a cavity filled with small black seeds. The plant prefers neutral ph soil, but will tolerate slightly acid or slightly alkaline soil
Contributed by @melaloud
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Full sun
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Occasional watering
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Not Frost hardy
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Rich and free draining
Common name
Papaya
Latin name
Carica papaya
type
Large Herbacious Plant
family
Caricaceae
ph
5.5 - 7.0 Acid - Neutral
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Light
Full sun
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Frost
Not Frost hardy
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Soil
Rich and free draining
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Water
Occasional watering
Plant & bloom calendar
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Best time to plant
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When the plant will bloom
full grown dimensions
2.50 M
8.00 M
Carica papaya
Carica papaya is a giant herbaceous fast-growing plant that looks like a palm tree, but is not woody. Originally native to Central America, it is now grown world-wide in tropical areas for its large, sweet fruits that somewhat resemble a melon. The plant has a hollow green or purple stem, and long-stemmed leaves, 30 to 105 cm long (1 to 3.5 ft) and 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2 ft) wide, which are deeply divided into 5 to 9 main lobed segments. The stem and leaves contain large amounts of milky, white, latex. The plants are dioecious. The fruits usually weigh between 1 and 5 ibs., but can weigh up to 20 ibs. They have tough, thin, waxy green skin and juicy red, orange or yellow flesh and a cavity filled with small black seeds. The plant prefers neutral ph soil, but will tolerate slightly acid or slightly alkaline soil
Flowering
From Early Spring TO Late Winter
Plants are usually male or female, although some cultivars are hermaphrodite. The male flowers differ from the female. Both are needed in order to produce fruit. Male flowers are whiteish, funnel-shaped, about 1" long, with a 5-lobed corolla with 10 stamens in the throat, and borne in clusters on stalks 90 cm long. .The female flowers are larger than the male flowers, have 5 fleshy petals, have a large cylindrical ovary with 5 fan-shaped stigmas. In tropical climes flowers are borne at any time of year
Planting
From Early Spring TO Late Winter
In any climate other than tropical, papaya needs to be grown indoors. It will not survive frost. Plant in rich free-draining soil in a sunny site
Propagating
From Early Spring TO Late Winter
Papaya are grown from seed. Seeds must be prepared before sowing for germination. Wash the seeds to remove gelatinous coating before sowing. After washing the seeds, keep the seeds on cotton cloth for 2 to 3 days, keeping up the seeds wet. When you can see a white dot in them they are ready for sowing.Sow the seeds directly on the ground or in the pot, but bear in mind they do not transplant well, so make sure the container is large enough A temperature of around 70 F (20 C) is needed for germination, which will take 2-3 weeks.
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