Anyone else growing papayas in zones colder than 10a?

[JohnAndSancho]

1 hour ago, SeanK said:

Pots look all the same. Did you buy a stack on-line?

Yep. 100 pack on Amazon. Came with some gloves and labels. The price went up a little bit, I think I paid $19 or something. Still not a terrible price even though the gloves are a little small. I bought a bunch of grow bags a while back and decided I'd just use those for stuff I plan to sell and not keep. 

 

https://a.co/d/dCNcVNy

[JohnAndSancho]

@WaianaeCrider there were 19. I dunno what the hell I'm gonna do with them when they get tall, but I've probably got a couple months to worry about that 😂

[Mazat]

It continues to grow well, even in late fall 🤗

[JohnAndSancho]

You can see my babies in the beginning here. 

 

 

[Mazat]

6 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

You can see my babies in the beginning here. 

 

 

Nice Video, John. 

[JohnAndSancho]

5 hours ago, Mazat said:

Nice Video, John. 

Lol gotta love the one take no editing filmed with a phone while I'm in a rush style vs the gardening videos with people selling t shirts and $1700 cameras with $500 lenses on their Amazon store claiming to be amateur bootstrap gardeners 

[Mazat]

52 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Lol gotta love the one take no editing filmed with a phone while I'm in a rush style vs the gardening videos with people selling t shirts and $1700 cameras with $500 lenses on their Amazon store claiming to be amateur bootstrap gardeners 

Yes, I was allowed or rather had to experience that once. We wanted 

— emphasis on wanted — to present a gardener's company in southern Switzerland on YouTube.

Originally, we had planned to ask questions, but this man was so unhappy with the questions we asked that we immediately packed up our things and left this self-important (to put it nicely) person behind.

My boss at the time reacted well and took it with humor.

 

[JohnAndSancho]

These showed up in the mail from Wellspring Gardens on Monday. The one looks a little stressed, probably part from shipping and part because - if you've ever bought from them, they only sell plug plants but they're insanely rootbound. Probably had it a little too close to the bulb before too. Red Lady. And photo bombing is the Mona Lisa banana I got as my freebie, plus they gave me some of their Banana Fuel and sent a nice little handwritten note. 

 

Anyway, I just put them in 1g and they're in the Palm Condo because - shocker - my dusty, unused for 17 years grow room has spider mites again. Tuesday I'm buying a sprayer and neem oil and going insane in there, but that's another story. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Well, I think I've got a few ideas on why I've killed so many and I'm open for input. 

 

Maybe starting them in 1 gallon pots was too much? 

Maybe putting the baggies over the top preventing airflow was a problem? 

Maybe not putting anything to keep the baggies from falling on their tender delicate stems was a problem? 

Maybe adding compost to the coir and perlite was a problem? 

Maybe I waited too long to vent the baggies? 

 

[Ben G.]

2 hours ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Well, I think I've got a few ideas on why I've killed so many and I'm open for input. 

 

Maybe starting them in 1 gallon pots was too much? 

Maybe putting the baggies over the top preventing airflow was a problem? 

Maybe not putting anything to keep the baggies from falling on their tender delicate stems was a problem? 

Maybe adding compost to the coir and perlite was a problem? 

Maybe I waited too long to vent the baggies? 

 

Not sure, but I have lost papayas indoors over the winter before as well. I feel like they are pretty sensitive to too much water or too little. Most of all though, I feel like they react poorly to anything less than bright outdoor light. 

Wherever you keep them indoors, I recommend they get your brightest spot.

I am definitely not an expert though, just my experience.

[JohnAndSancho]

40 minutes ago, Ben G. said:

Not sure, but I have lost papayas indoors over the winter before as well. I feel like they are pretty sensitive to too much water or too little. Most of all though, I feel like they react poorly to anything less than bright outdoor light. 

Wherever you keep them indoors, I recommend they get your brightest spot.

I am definitely not an expert though, just my experience.

Oh, I'm starting from seed so it's like a billion times more fun. I did buy 2 Red Ladies that are waiting for me to fumigate the spider mites before they go to the grow room, but other than that, it's all from seed. But can confirm it's hot bright and moist in there. 

[Palms1984]

On 10/2/2025 at 10:44 AM, JohnAndSancho said:

Whoever said cleaning these seeds is easy is a liar. I soaked these things for 3 days and then one by one had to wipe the gel off of every last freaking one of them, and I don't know how many I cleaned, but it's pretty much every one that was in the papaya. 

 

I dunno what the hell I'm gonna do with all of them, but they're cleaned and drying now. 

I’ve been growing papapas for 25 years in San Diego, CA.  I don’t clean nor dry them, I just throw them into a 2 gallon pot with loose soil, and typically many dozen pop up during spring within a week.

[Palms1984]

On 12/2/2025 at 5:36 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

Well, I think I've got a few ideas on why I've killed so many and I'm open for input. 

 

Maybe starting them in 1 gallon pots was too much? 

Maybe putting the baggies over the top preventing airflow was a problem? 

Maybe not putting anything to keep the baggies from falling on their tender delicate stems was a problem? 

Maybe adding compost to the coir and perlite was a problem? 

Maybe I waited too long to vent the baggies? 

 

Even in San Diego young papaya plants like very small pots with very good drainage and very little water during winter or they can die.   

Small, young plants (5 to 8 inches tall) have no issues in the ground here during winter, though.  In fact, they prefer to be in the ground.  
 

 

[Palms1984]

Maradol, Brazilian,  Straberry  and Red Lady varieties tend to the hardiest papaya plants here in San Diego.  Red Caribbean, Solo tend to be a little less hardy, even though they grow very well in my USDA zone 11a zone. 
 

Maradol and Brazilian tend to tolerate cool, wet soil the best. 

[JohnAndSancho]

6 hours ago, Palms1984 said:

Maradol, Brazilian,  Straberry  and Red Lady varieties tend to the hardiest papaya plants here in San Diego.  Red Caribbean, Solo tend to be a little less hardy, even though they grow very well in my USDA zone 11a zone. 
 

Maradol and Brazilian tend to tolerate cool, wet soil the best. 

This is good to know. I've read that their roots were super sensitive and they wanted close to 100% humidity, so I did my best to duplicate that. My climate is not at all ideal for them to be outside from probably November-April but my grow room stays about 80° with roughly 60% humidity. Maradol are the big Mexican ones that taste like spoiled cantaloupe, right? 

 

I know mine are destined to live in containers forever, I started germinating seeds just to get some fast growing shade for the front yard knowing that they're going to die in the fall. I also love the foliage on them. Maybe I'll buy another one at the grocery store and try a different approach with them as an experiment. I don't want to gamble with my Hawaiian seeds, but if you have seed to spare too I'd gladly send a few bucks for postage. I'm learning as I go. 

[Palms1984]

On 12/11/2025 at 7:09 AM, JohnAndSancho said:

This is good to know. I've read that their roots were super sensitive and they wanted close to 100% humidity, so I did my best to duplicate that. My climate is not at all ideal for them to be outside from probably November-April but my grow room stays about 80° with roughly 60% humidity. Maradol are the big Mexican ones that taste like spoiled cantaloupe, right? 

 

I know mine are destined to live in containers forever, I started germinating seeds just to get some fast growing shade for the front yard knowing that they're going to die in the fall. I also love the foliage on them. Maybe I'll buy another one at the grocery store and try a different approach with them as an experiment. I don't want to gamble with my Hawaiian seeds, but if you have seed to spare too I'd gladly send a few bucks for postage. I'm learning as I go. 

Maradol is probably my favorite papaya.  Mine taste like sweet candy when ripened on the papaya plant.  The ones sold in the grocery store are absolutely horrible!  Unfortunately, the grocery store Maradol papayas give them a very bad name or taste.  They are picked too green and will never develop their sweetness, but color up and taste disgusting. 🤮 

I don’t have any solos now.  My strawberry papayas have been ripening in the last month and I just picked one a week ago, they’re extremely sweet, but no seeds, which is very strange.  
 

Hawaii solo papayas are commonly sold in the grocery stores throughout the U.S.  They typically taste really horrible, also.  I usually just buy them for the seeds.  
 

Here’s a few pics of my papaya plants

[Palms1984]

Here’s some of my older pics from years past.

[Palms1984]

Just now, Palms1984 said:

Here’s some of my older pics from years past.

Top one is is a dwarf Taiwan, which grew to 20 ft tall (not so dwarf) then finally died in summer when it 7 or 8 years old.  The others are Red Carribean which are extremely sweet when ripe.  This variety is sold at Trader Joes and generally taste pretty good to very good even as a store bought papaya.  

[Palms1984]

10 minutes ago, Palms1984 said:

Maradol is probably my favorite papaya.  Mine taste like sweet candy when ripened on the papaya plant.  The ones sold in the grocery store are absolutely horrible!  Unfortunately, the grocery store Maradol papayas give them a very bad name or taste.  They are picked too green and will never develop their sweetness, but color up and taste disgusting. 🤮 

I don’t have any solos now.  My strawberry papayas have been ripening in the last month and I just picked one a week ago, they’re extremely sweet, but no seeds, which is very strange.  
 

Hawaii solo papayas are commonly sold in the grocery stores throughout the U.S.  They typically taste really horrible, also.  I usually just buy them for the seeds.  
 

Here’s a few pics of my papaya plants

Top one is a Brazilian papaya the bottom pic is a strawberry papaya.  These pics were taken 5 or 6 months ago.  I’ll post some more current pics soon.

[JohnAndSancho]

38 minutes ago, Palms1984 said:

Top one is a Brazilian papaya the bottom pic is a strawberry papaya.  These pics were taken 5 or 6 months ago.  I’ll post some more current pics soon.

Unfortunately, I live in BFE and I'm limited to the grocery store Maradol and growing from seed for me is still a learning curve. You can't treat them like palm seeds, and you can't treat mango seeds like papaya seeds, etc etc. - I've got a handful of survivors from my first batch of Maradol (honestly, I had so many sprouts I just tossed most of them.... And then watched most of them sprout and die) and maybe 3 of the Kahuna seeds @WaianaeCrider sent me, the Sunrise seeds he sent me are on the heat mat and I used coffee filters this time since the roots get so tied up in paper towels. I've got a sprout or 2 but I'm gonna wait until they're a little bigger before putting them in pots. I've still got another baggie from him - I think rainbow? that I need to soak and throw on the marinating mat. Don't wanna get too off topic but this grow room, I'm trying to do so much all at once lol. I guess I need to prioritize the papaya seeds since their shelf life seems to be measured in weeks. I'll start soaking them when I get back inside. 

[metalfan]

I bought one at Lowes for $12 last summer. Never had one before. I don;t like Papaya as a fruit. I think it tastes musty and moldy when rioe and smells the same. I bought it for the foliage. Its still in a container, I stuck it in the greenhouse. If it does ever get fruit, I'll use it totally green to make Thai shredded green papaya salad

[JohnAndSancho]

12 hours ago, metalfan said:

I bought one at Lowes for $12 last summer. Never had one before. I don;t like Papaya as a fruit. I think it tastes musty and moldy when rioe and smells the same. I bought it for the foliage. Its still in a container, I stuck it in the greenhouse. If it does ever get fruit, I'll use it totally green to make Thai shredded green papaya salad

That's exactly why I started growing them. Then Steve tells me how the ones we get all taste like vomit and just mails me seeds of the good ones 😂 

[WaianaeCrider]

On 12/17/2025 at 3:12 AM, metalfan said:

I bought one at Lowes for $12 last summer. Never had one before. I don;t like Papaya as a fruit. I think it tastes musty and moldy when rioe and smells the same. I bought it for the foliage. Its still in a container, I stuck it in the greenhouse. If it does ever get fruit, I'll use it totally green to make Thai shredded green papaya salad

A few years ago visiting my daughter in Baton Rouge I bought a papaya in the market.  Took one bite and tossed it.  LOL  The ones here in HAWAIʻI are so MUCH better tasting.

[Palms1984]

2 hours ago, WaianaeCrider said:

A few years ago visiting my daughter in Baton Rouge I bought a papaya in the market.  Took one bite and tossed it.  LOL  The ones here in HAWAIʻI are so MUCH better tasting.

When they are grown in the home garden they’re absolutely delicious and very sweet, like candy.  Unfortunately, the ones sold in stores give papayas a really bad reputation.  

[Ben G.]

On 12/19/2025 at 2:34 AM, Palms1984 said:

When they are grown in the home garden they’re absolutely delicious and very sweet, like candy.  Unfortunately, the ones sold in stores give papayas a really bad reputation.  

The ones I have grown at home are seed grown from store bought fruit. They are ok, definitely not great. I had them straight from trees in the Philippines too, when I lived there. I felt the same about those too. 

You say they taste like candy, but maybe that's why some people love them and others don't. I know I like fruit with a little bit of tartness to it, along with the sweet. Maybe that's why I have been luke warm about papaya flavor. 

I am definitely open to being wrong though. I would love to discover a variety that I like better. They are so easy to grow and look so nice, I would be happy to enjoy the fruit more.

[JohnAndSancho]

Me: "I hate community pots and these delicate roots stick to paper towels too much and I don't have the space to give every seed a container."

 

The Internet: "Use coffee filters instead of paper towels."

 

Coffee filters: "Hahahahaha I'm gonna hold onto water forever unless you crack the baggie open and then I'm going to completely dry out! Hahahaha!"

 

 

Me: ok eff if. Grocery store community pot. These sprouted almost immediately after taking them out of the coffee filter baggie. And this time there's ventilation and support so the baggie won't collapse under the weight of condensation, which I'm pretty sure killed a few last time. 

 

And, yeah. These are just the Sunrise. There's a few doubles, I didn't count but there's 25 cups in there so 28? 30? 

 

And I've got another batch to do for the Rainbows. Thank you again to @WaianaeCrider for the seeds and I'm legit hoping I've learned something from my prior eff ups. The umm... 4... Survivors from the first attempt look great though. And the 2 Red Lady trees I bought look amazing.  

 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Happy to report that my 2 papaya trees are still alive going into january. They’ve survived 2 or 3 drops into the low 30s, albeit with a frost cloth, but i’m really hopeful that if the extremes don’t get too much worse they have a good chance to see next spring. 

Also in regards to previous discussions, I too can say papayas don’t do too well inside. Last winter I had my now trees in a pot and they barely grew at all for like 3 months. Once planted in ground they exploded with growth. Now I have 1 seedling in a pot that I dug up. Which btw digging up young papayas is a very risky operation, they respond poorly to root disturbances. But anyway it’s alive, just hanging on to one leaf 😂.

[JohnAndSancho]

 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

On 1/2/2026 at 11:17 AM, TropicsEnjoyer said:

Happy to report that my 2 papaya trees are still alive going into january. They’ve survived 2 or 3 drops into the low 30s, albeit with a frost cloth, but i’m really hopeful that if the extremes don’t get too much worse they have a good chance to see next spring. 

Also in regards to previous discussions, I too can say papayas don’t do too well inside. Last winter I had my now trees in a pot and they barely grew at all for like 3 months. Once planted in ground they exploded with growth. Now I have 1 seedling in a pot that I dug up. Which btw digging up young papayas is a very risky operation, they respond poorly to root disturbances. But anyway it’s alive, just hanging on to one leaf 😂.

update : I celebrated too early. 

took off the frost cloth a few days ago and all the leaves were crisp. after it warmed up then the growth point turned to mush….

 it’s about to get cold again too. i’m not giving up bc lower trunk is still solid but it’s gonna take some luck to get them to the finish line

[Ben G.]

@TropicsEnjoyer 

I hope they pull through for you.

I tend to start papayas from seed starting in the summer. I like to keep them in pots over the winter and then plant them in the ground the following spring. That way, my plants are about the size of yours when they get planted in the ground. 

Following that schedule, I got a good bit of fruit off mine in 2025. I haven't had a freeze yet this winter though, so mine is huge now. I was planning on it being mushy and dead by now so I could replace it in the spring...I guess there is a chance it makes it into a second year.

[TropicsEnjoyer]

3 hours ago, Ben G. said:

@TropicsEnjoyer 

I hope they pull through for you.

I tend to start papayas from seed starting in the summer. I like to keep them in pots over the winter and then plant them in the ground the following spring. That way, my plants are about the size of yours when they get planted in the ground. 

Following that schedule, I got a good bit of fruit off mine in 2025. I haven't had a freeze yet this winter though, so mine is huge now. I was planning on it being mushy and dead by now so I could replace it in the spring...I guess there is a chance it makes it into a second year.

chopped off the top half of the trunks today, they smelled like rotting carcasses, gosh I couldn’t stand that smell 😂. they’re still there, half the trunk still solid. I think these can resprout from roots so as I said not giving up until it’s truly done for.  good luck with yours as well having fruit sounds nice 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

Wanted to make a February update. Unfortunately, I think both of my trees are dead. As I said previously the first round of damage forced me to chop each trunk in half to prevent total rot and make protection easier. But in the weeks following the cold got worse and the final straw was last weekend’s windy 20s. The wind blew off the cover on my papaya trunks overnight and by morning the damage was done, the trunks are soft I really don’t think they have much of a chance if any at this point. Unless they can regrow from roots I’ll have to pronounce these papayas dead. It really sucks because I like the foliage and they are a sentimental plant to me. Maybe I’ll retry in spring we’ll see…

[JohnAndSancho]

 

Red Ladies potted up into 5g with a variety behind them. I guess I need to go take more pics, I've been doing everything on Instagram and YouTube lately. For the big storage tote, I built a super ghetto humidity tent for it - I bent an old curtain rod for support and laid plastic sheeting over it - the plastic sheeting is actually the shipping bag from a pillow. A few of those have sprouted and I'm trying to get them through the delicate baby stage, and a few of the Rainbow have sprouted too and same deal - getting them through the delicate baby stage absolutely sucks. Just try and keep them hot and humid but not too humid and not too hot and it's absolutely hell trying to figure out the exact process and it seems like every variety is just a little different, and germination doesn't mean survival so if I end up with 2 of each one I think I'm doing good. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Can I just say... 

 

Growing these from seeds is a pain in the freaking... I dunno, whatever the most offensive synonym for ass we're allowed to use on here. We want 100% humidity, I seal them off. Then they're too humid. Then they want heat, then they get too hot. Anyway, I've got my heat mats for these guys set at 90°. It's a constant cycle of pulling the baggies down and then lifting them up, using stuff to keep the baggies from collapsing under the humidity and squishing the plants (Oh, that happens), keeping the tops damp, the bottom watering, it's not at all like palms where you just throw them in a baggie and wait a couple months. So the ones in the cups with the Tinkertoys are Rainbow, the ones in the tote are Sunrise, I've pulled a couple Sunrise sprouts out of the tote and covered them with baggies, there's a handful of grocery store papayas, the 5 gallon ones are Red Lady I bought from Wellspring Gardens and the other thicker ones are Kahuka. All the seeds except the grocery store and Red Lady came straight from Oahu and I know that nobody within probably 500 miles is growing these. Thanks again to @WaianaeCrider for the seeds and I hope I make him proud enough and get this figured out so he sends more 😂 

[Ben G.]

@JohnAndSancho Sorry to hear that papayas are giving you such a hard time.

I had a hard time overwintering some 1 to 2 gallon sized papayas back when I lived in Oklahoma. They didn't die, but they struggled with the low light conditions indoors. I found that south facing windows and a grow light were still less light than they wanted. 

I have successfully gotten them through winter in pots though by starting the seeds in summer. When they are better established before I bring them inside they die a little slower...so at least I might have time to correct problems before they die.

[JohnAndSancho]

14 hours ago, Ben G. said:

@JohnAndSancho Sorry to hear that papayas are giving you such a hard time.

I had a hard time overwintering some 1 to 2 gallon sized papayas back when I lived in Oklahoma. They didn't die, but they struggled with the low light conditions indoors. I found that south facing windows and a grow light were still less light than they wanted. 

I have successfully gotten them through winter in pots though by starting the seeds in summer. When they are better established before I bring them inside they die a little slower...so at least I might have time to correct problems before they die.

It's practically summertime in my grow room. The coldest it's gotten was 68 when my heater 💩 the bed. It stays around 80 in there, the small ones have bottom heat, bottom watering. I can get them to germinate relatively ok, but something kills them off. I know the first batch I had damping off issues so I started venting the baggies more, I had baggies fall on them from the condensation so I prop them up now, but the truth is I really don't know what I'm doing and just making it up as I go. Palms are so much easier 😂

[WaianaeCrider]

On 2/4/2026 at 3:32 PM, JohnAndSancho said:

Can I just say... 

 

Growing these from seeds is a pain in the freaking... I dunno, whatever the most offensive synonym for ass we're allowed to use on here. We want 100% humidity, I seal them off. Then they're too humid. Then they want heat, then they get too hot. Anyway, I've got my heat mats for these guys set at 90°. It's a constant cycle of pulling the baggies down and then lifting them up, using stuff to keep the baggies from collapsing under the humidity and squishing the plants (Oh, that happens), keeping the tops damp, the bottom watering, it's not at all like palms where you just throw them in a baggie and wait a couple months. So the ones in the cups with the Tinkertoys are Rainbow, the ones in the tote are Sunrise, I've pulled a couple Sunrise sprouts out of the tote and covered them with baggies, there's a handful of grocery store papayas, the 5 gallon ones are Red Lady I bought from Wellspring Gardens and the other thicker ones are Kahuka. All the seeds except the grocery store and Red Lady came straight from Oahu and I know that nobody within probably 500 miles is growing these. Thanks again to @WaianaeCrider for the seeds and I hope I make him proud enough and get this figured out so he sends more 😂 

LOL  here I just put them in a pot w/some potting mix, stick them in the shade house and BOOM a month later Iʻve got lotta seedlings.  Ah, thatʻs why Iʻm in paradise (except for the darn CRB trying to eat so many of my palms.)

Let me know when  you ready for more.  

[JohnAndSancho]

7 hours ago, WaianaeCrider said:

LOL  here I just put them in a pot w/some potting mix, stick them in the shade house and BOOM a month later Iʻve got lotta seedlings.  Ah, thatʻs why Iʻm in paradise (except for the darn CRB trying to eat so many of my palms.)

Let me know when  you ready for more.  

😂 Maybe I'll try doing that when it warms up? Getting them to sprout isn't too bad but keeping them alive once they sprout has been fun. 

[JohnAndSancho]

On 2/6/2026 at 1:02 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

LOL  here I just put them in a pot w/some potting mix, stick them in the shade house and BOOM a month later Iʻve got lotta seedlings.  Ah, thatʻs why Iʻm in paradise (except for the darn CRB trying to eat so many of my palms.)

Let me know when  you ready for more.  

This is one of the 2 Kahuka that survived. I just did an emergency repot and the only root I broke was the size of one of my hairs so fingers crossed. I know what I did wrong with these - I started them in 1g pots because I was so worried about root disturbance, and I put too much compost in with the coir and perlite. Then figuring out the humidity then the baggies collapsing - anyway yeah just - good vibes for this one, it just randomly dropped all of its leaves and the soil was kinda soggy. The other one is doing just fine. Maybe this one realized it's in Mississippi, maybe it realized it's surrounded by Walmart papayas, I don't know. At any rate I'm trying to save it and the rootball was crazy small so even though the soil has been draining well for months it got too dense and the tiny fibrous roots couldn't poke through? I dunno. Anyway it's done. 

 

The water runoff is from me watering it since the fresh coir was dry. 

[TropicsEnjoyer]

@JohnAndSancho Papayas are weirdly picky plants to grow from seed in pots. As you have experienced they’re never truly happy no matter what you do. I’ve only really had luck with them either by keeping the pots outside or just throwing seeds in a hole outside and waiting for one to assert dominance in a good spot. Moving/repotting one is like a 50/50.