How to grow Papaya

Carica papaya

Full Sun
Medium

Plant 1/2"-1" deep. Soil moderately moist 75-85°F . Can fruit from seed in 9 months.

Papaya plants prefer full sun and like to be dried between watering. Papaya trees like to grow against the house walls where there is more warmth. They like to be sheltered from wind. Excessive moisture are very detrimental to them.

Papayas do not tolerate salty water or soil.¹

Growing Papaya from seed

Easy but may take weeks.

Transplanting Papaya

Papaya does not transplant well so start plants where they are to stay.²

Harvesting Papaya

Papayas are ready to harvest when most of the skin is yellow green.²

How long does Papaya take to grow?

These estimates for how long Papaya takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Days to Germination How long does it take Papaya to germinate?: 15 days
Average 15 days | Min 11 days | Max 66 days (4)
Days to Transplant How long until I can plant out Papaya?: + days
Average days | Min days | Max days (0)
Days to Maturity How long until Papaya is ready for harvest / bloom?: + days
Average days | Min days | Max days (0)
Total Growing Days How long does it take to grow Papaya?: = days

Papaya Folklore & Trivia

Carica papaya was the first transgenic fruit tree to have its genome deciphered.¹

Other names for Papaya

Waimanalo Papaya, Papaw, Paw Paw, Pawpaw,

Footnotes

¹ Wikipedia entry on papaya

² CRFG entry on papaya