Great pics! I bought a papaya and plan on planting the seeds. Well see how it goes, but hopefully it will look as good as yours one day! I guess in order for it to get fruit I will probably have to plant it in the ground since it looks like yours grew the most when it was planted in the ground.

Good eye, yes mine grew very very rapidly in the ground placed in a very good spot. you can see right in the middle under the last leaves how closely the scars from the old leaves are together... that's the overwintering (inside) stage. so as you can see it grew much slower and how much more rapidly it grew in the summer, in ground. This thing it aprox. 9 feet tall in that bucket/pot and 9 feet wide. i didnt even realize this , even how wide it was now im goning to bring it in for the winter in about 3 weeks depending...

That's amazing growth,makes me think I better give mine some room next year!
My plants are small and they definitely freaked out when I brought them in-went into death mode-I have since placed them in a "little"hospital tent that I keep the humidity up in.
They are now very happy and growing slowly as they don't get much direct sun.
It's amazing what a little humidity will do for tropical plants.

Yours will be a monster next year!

Next year your papaya tree will probably make the papaya trees in the caribbean jealous (well maybe not that big, but it will grab attention!).

Hey Justin,

Your pictures are wonderful!!! I Love seeing the fruit and the flowers that were produced...great job!!!

I bought a red papaya from the store and have dried the seeds...I think that I'll wait until spring to start the seeds though... I can't wait to have a tree like yours!!!

Laura in VB

Hey Justin....do you need a baby sitter for your beauty?I could help you out if you need space!!!

LOL...... Laura in VB

Tropicpalms, is your TR Harvey Papaya a special cold hardy variety? Where did you purchase it?

Kevin

Wow, that is a great size and FRUITING!!! I read up that they easily rot due to cold wet conditions - so its best you brought it inside. Just a suggestion, considering how well its doing maybe next time use a larger pot because it has fruit. Keep us posted.

LOL thank you laura i will def. talk to you soon.I havent seen you post recently im glad to hear from you. you have soo many great plants yourself. that is best to wait until spring as they only long the warm sunny weather i have many baby papayas and they are not doing close to as good now than summer, very easy to seed tho. I bought this specific from a small website in Fl. called Eldonaccess the owner is a lady from Austria. They dont have much. not a cold hardy kind it loves the summers like the caribbean winter can take down about 35's without leaf damage. thanks tropicalzone about the caribbean comment i see many down there when I go. I love the caribbean. (who doesnt)=) and it definitely needs a bigger pot thats just the biggest 1 I could find in a kindof hurry and was $6. next year im going to try to find a way to winter it over. thank you all soo much I appreciate all the comments. -Justin in VB

I built a make-shift greenhouse (2 by 4s covered with plastic)for my plants in zone 7 and use it every year. Its against my southside house and leave a fan blowing from the kitchen window into the greenhouse on cold nights.

It has kept it warm and when the sun is out its a tropical day almost everyday from the 70s in Jan to 90s in March. Even on our coldest record morning many years ago; the outside temp went to -2* and the greenhouse stay into the mid 30s - fan had to be turned up of course. It does make the kitchen drafty. Its only for a while.

My papayas are in my greenhouse - a 8x9x46 foot monstrosity which houses numerous plants which make my neighbors shake their heads. The warmer weather in the last week (it went to 94 in the greenhouse on saturday) is confusing my poor plants - my lemon tree responded with dozens of flowers.

If things go as I imagine they will, my bigger papayas (~5 feet tall) will be too tall to house in the greenhouse at the end of next summer.... I'll need to make some rash decisions about what to do with them.

It's my understanding that if I simply lop it back to the tallest height which I am prepared to enclose that it will make new leaves anyway and pick up the next year from where it left off, but I guess I'll just have to see.

Brad in Chesapeake (near VABeach for those who don't know).

Hey Everyone,

Justin...I have been working way to much!!! LOL... thats why I haven't posted in a while...thanks though!!

I have some really large old pots that I'm not using...you can have them if you want to transplant your papaya....
just let me know...they're yours if you want them!!!

Brad...some of the other palm posters have said that when they have to bring in there palms that are to large..they just lay them sideways...proped up just a little...maybe that would help instead of lopping off the top....Ouch!!!
(Just a thought!!!)

I had to give away one of my potted Christmas palms because it was to tall for my house during the winter...I did think about securing it sideways for abit..but my family would think I had lost my mind!!! So I decided to give it up...I still am in mourning...but i'll get over it!! My best friend has a large cathedral ceiling in her home in Pungo...so I can still visit!!! LOL

Laura in VB

Great idea Laura,

I donated this gigantic jade that would even bloom in the fall, to a freind with a large office. It was taking up 30% of my greenhouse space.

Brad, I think if you cut the top mid section you can get more years from it. My green house is wood and plastic and I would just extend mine upward. Who cares if judgmental neighbors shake their head - they may do things in secret many others would shake their head at.

Thanks to everyone who posted comments! I know prob. should have posted in tropials or somethin but this forum seems to be the most active and people on here seem to like alot of plants. brooklyn- greenhouse sounds nice would love to see it, great idea. laura please let me know before you give away any other plants. have 20' ceilings and you can drive by everyday to see it in spring and summer outside :) lol. just trying to get all my plants situated and ready for winter... but im ready for spring! thanks again -Justin in VB