You'll probably have to ask locally. We can grow papaya here but they only last a year. Fortunately they bear fruit the first year. Not sure if they bear fruit perpetually, since...

Thanks, I 'll ask the locals. Everyone one here is latin and papayas are their thing so they should know.
Anyway I read your page and you sound a lot like me! I've had my hands in the dirt since the 60's also. My dad and I would grow veges in the back yard. This year I'm totally devoting my yard to veges and fruit trees, can't wait! The last couple years I have been into butterfly gardening. I rally want to know about those creepy little bugs that lay their eggs in the papaya fruit! Thanks again, Jan

Google fruit flies. They are a major pest in papaya grown in Hawaii and sometimes in California. Remember the malathion plane spraying over L.A. in the mid- 80's this was for the med fruit fly. Then there is the oriental and can't remember the third of the top of head. If using nylon you may need to keep it loose enough around the fruit so they can't oviposit (sp?) lay their eggs in the fruit you are growing aka papaya in this case. They worry about them in avocado but last I heard many years ago they are only likely to lay eggs in the ripening fruit laying on the ground or where the stem has been pulled.
It has been awhile but I lived in Hawaii for many years and had a partnership in a fruit tree nursery. Much info about your papaya challenges might be available thru the university of Hawaii and APHIS the federal arm of pests controls coming and going as export- import.
Good Luck and Happy Growing!! David
BTW the sunrise papayas are my favorite
solos are alright and the mexican are hardly palatable (too watery)

Yikes! Fruit flies, We have those guys around here too! I just forgot about them!
I have memories of those planes flying low overhead when I was a girl, they used to spray the citrus trees, our yard was full of them. Now i'm into organic gardening, wouldn't think of using harmful sprays or things like that! Now that you reminded me about those terrible fruit flies, looks like I'll have to stand guard with my fly swatter LOL :~) I do see many papaya trees with a white material around the fruit that must be what they are protecting them from.
Thanks again for the info and I'm glad you told me about the mexican papaya, that's all they want to sell around here so I'll order throught the net...
Blessings Jan

I used to have problems with the fruit flies on my papayas. After the hurricane I have no more. its amazing.

I planted a draft papaya tree purchased from a local nursery. The tree grew to about 9 feet tall with in a month or so and now it has at least 40 very large green fruits on the trunk, The fruit are growing along the entire trunk top to bottom. There have been green for a couple of months now and none are changing color. When I cut one open cross wise it is white inside and looks like a star. There are no dark seeds inside. What kind of papaya tree is this? Does anyone know?

Wow Wish I could get one like that. I have had success with mine also but NOT that many papayas!
You must have some awesome soil there in New Orleans!
If you find out what kind it is PLEASE let me know!
Thanks :~)
Jan

g'day smf01234,

sounds typical of pawpaw/papaya fruit. they will ripen but they do take a long time, then they will will all ripen in succession, so you might be looking to share the abundance with friends and neighbours. for best flavour i like to let mine all but fully ripen on the tree, they never seem to taste wuiet as good when picked early and ripened inside.

here in sub-tropical australia our tropical fruit fly doesn't target pawpaw fruit so we are lucky there in some places the fruit bats do lots of damage, we get a fungal problem that ruins the fruit if the trees are'nt in an area they get lots of air movement.

they grow in a wide range of soils, ours are in this terrible acidy clay stuff they used when building up the estate, but we've grown them in sandy loam soil as well.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

Hey smf01234,

Google 'babaco' and see if this is what you have, fits the description perfectly. More cold tolerant than papaya too, they thrive here (New Zealand), while papaya struggle to survive the winter.

cheers,

Ben

Love my papaya tree. Love to cook the papaya green like squash.

Having some cold temperatures tonight hopefully it doesn't kill my papaya tree. Wrapped it as best as I could. Tomorrow will tell the story.

Hit 28* the other night. The covered fruit is alright but the branches leaves wilted. The flowers and small leaves are still ok. Few more warm days in the 80s are helping. Leaving the sheet until danger of frost is over.

Here is a photo of my papaya tree after the frost.