Papaya fruit ripening and winter temps? (Inland SoCal)

[doubravsky]

So I finally got some papayas to survive a couple winters, and now have some fruit on the plant. I read that unlike bananas, you let them ripen on the plant. I also read that cold temps will stop the ripening process, and that you could try pulling them and letting them ripen some in the house during winter. 

What I didn't see in the search was any context for what "cold" temps would be the stopping point at which you'd want to pull the fruit. 

Anyone care to offer some advice? At what nighttime temps would it be too cold to leave them on? Do they make it through the winter and continue ripening in the spring like bananas? 

 

Thanks!

[Mangosteen]

I have grown papayas at my home in Trabuco Canyon, CA; its about 10 miles inland from the Pacific. The fruit looks great, but what seems to happen is the long cool winters rob the fruit of its sweetness. BLAND is the word, especially if you have tasted one in Hawaii. I have even grown a variety that supposedly retained its sweetness. Uh no...not good. This year I am trying another method where the papaya is growing in a big pot. In November it goes into the greenhouse where it will sit on a heat matt. In May I plan to plant it out into a large raised bed and hopefully by October, I'll have some good fruit. Here's a photo of my papaya today. Got it at Home Depot about 6 weeks ago. Labeled Strawberry Papaya Sunrise. Feed it with lots of chicken manure and a tea made from Molasses, Fish Emulsion and Kelp.

[doubravsky]

Thanks @Mangosteen! I suppose just getting one to grow is reward enough :). I really like the plant for it's leaf structure and look anyways... 

[Tracy]

15 hours ago, Mangosteen said:

This year I am trying another method where the papaya is growing in a big pot. In November it goes into the greenhouse where it will sit on a heat matt. In May I plan to plant it out into a large raised bed and hopefully by October, I'll have some good fruit. Here's a photo of my papaya today. Got it at Home Depot about 6 weeks ago. Labeled Strawberry Papaya Sunrise.

The name sounds like what I grew in Leucadia a few years back.  I had mixed results with some fruit ripening earlier that tasted pretty good and others that hit the cooling time, stopped growing and ripening and waited until spring to mature.  Like you describe many of the ones that overwintered weren't very good.  I also noticed that later crops on the same plant became less tasty, so I think you may need to replant periodically.  I've been meaning to switch to a Mexican papaya variety, and see if they do better in my climate.  I have a neighbor a couple of blocks away growing them and I need to ask him how his fruit tastes as he was growing a larger variety that I typically associate with the Mexican papayas.

As far as what is cool, I don't remember exactly what night time temps triggered the slowdown of fruit maturing but would guess that it was probably late October by Halloween normally.

[necturus]

We had some ripen on the tree last year for the first time. They were excellent and reminded me of ones I ate in Hawaii. Green papayas, especially if they show any yellow, can ripen off the tree, but the taste is not as good. They also tend to get moldy spots on the surface before they're fully ripe. You can still eat them, it just looks bad.

Down here, unripe fruit doesn't make it through the winter, even a mild one that stays at or above freezing.