Week of February 13,2022

The Florida Garden provides for opportunities to experiment with new and unusual plants, to test their viability in the North Central Florida climate. The most important determinant is frost tolerance, with Gainesville well north of the traditional frost-free line between Tampa and Orlando. This year’s experiment involved PAPAYA trees. As I volunteer at the Wilmot Gardens plant sales on the UF campus, a wonderful array of exotic plants are available to me. New offerings in this year’s May sale included small papaya seedlings with two varieties available. On a whim, I purchased one plant of each type, each about 5 inches tall. I planted them about 7 feet apart in the vegetable bed just outside my office window with protection due to the house and a south/west sun exposure. They grew most quickly, aided by the frequent fertilizing as recommended by online sources. After a wet summer, we returned to find small trees 7-8 feet tall that proceeded to develop trunks 6-8 inches in diameter and eventually growing 9-10 feet high with leaves growing onto the roof of our house! This was accompanied initially by profuse fragrant white flowers emerging from the upper trunk, followed by growth of fat, green fruit achieving 8-9 inch lengths. These remained very firm, and never showed any yellow skin, the indication of ripening and time for harvest. All this growth took place between mid-May and late January, about seven and one half months! The experiment came to a screeching halt around February 1, when a quite severe cold snap with several nights with temperatures in the low-mid 20 degree F range. It was impossible to secure frost covers on these 10+ foot tall trees, which succumbed and had to be removed. Perhaps the next papaya should grow in a pot movable to a frost-free area.