Culture

Very susceptible to root rot. Do not water in the winter, but needs consistent water in the summer. Plants should not dry out in the summer but should never be in standing water. Full sun. Plant when its warm. Fertilize, but don’t give it much nitrogen or the tree will have a very large inter node spacing.

Remove seeds from casing before drying for storage. Stem end (wider end) of the fruit have more female seeds (reference). Start seeds in full sun or they will damp off.

Can be air layered. Can be transplanted when small. Transplanting into sterile soil (potting mix in a pot) produces a higher success rate.

Identifying sex

Both male and female trees can be maid hermaphrodite by piercing the trunk at the base with a wooden stake.^[1,2]

Cultivars

All of the varieties listed here have been recommended by people that have grown them in the Phoenix area.

• Mamao Formosa
• Tainung #2 (a lot of people I’ve talked to like this variety)
• Royal Star
• Mexican Red Lady (referemamaonce)
• Moys
• TR Hovey
• Maradol (supermarket variety)

Links

• Aloha Seed
• University of Hawaii at Manoa – sells papaya seeds

Plant Logs