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Old 10-20-2009, 05:31 PM   #19 (permalink)
vars108
 
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Exclamation Re: subtropical papayas?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard View Post
What experiences might you have growing papayas in subtropical climates (zone 9/10) ? Are there Carica cultivars with a reasonable taste that can be grown outdoors?

Thanks ...
Hi I live in the 9 zone and a as far as what grows here and how well, well, it really depends...no one knows what to make of the weather in zone 9. It is humid in the 90s one day and one or two days later, it can go down to 65 degrees in the daytime, OK? (like it just did this week) and then back up to the high 80s a few days later--so the cool weather does get down this far, to North-Central Florida.
I just discovered that there are two small papaya plants happily growing in my compost area (they grew from seeds, I found them yesterday, and I wasn't even trying!) but I know that they will need to be potted and brought inside if it gets into the 30s. I have 4 others (about 8' tall, bought from a nursery last fall and planted this last spring), and I've got 5-6 fruits growing on one of them which I believe is the only female. So far, the largest fruit is about 6'' long and still very green. The rest are male and only produce their smaller flowers. Will try to upload some pics very soon.
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