How to Grow Papayas Indoors
Papaya trees can be grown successfully in containers indoors if you follow some important guidelines. Papaya trees can be male, female, or bisexual, so if you will only have one tree and you want fruit, make sure you're buying a bisexual one. Fruit will not be as plentiful as with in-ground trees, but given the proper environment, attention and care, your indoor papaya tree could bear fruit all year long. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Pot with drainage hole(s)
- Potting soil
- Gravel
- Water-soluble fertilizer
- Papaya tree
- Watering can
Instructions
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Choose a place to work at or near where you intend to put the tree. Put about an inch of gravel in the bottom of the pot to allow for good drainage.
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Fill the pot about half full with soil before putting in the tree. Soil needs to be loose, allowing adequate moisture retention. If the tree is root bound (where the root ball is tightly packed), carefully loosen the roots just to the point where the outer roots are not pressed flat. Place the tree in the pot and add soil so that the tree sits at the same planting depth as it had been in its original container.
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Place the tree in a sunny location that is not subject to rapid changes in light or temperature. Papayas like air temperature to be 65 degrees F or higher.
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Slowly add water to the pot with the watering can so that water evenly covers the surface of the soil. Fill the pot to the rim and allow water to drain through. Soil should be thoroughly and evenly moist. How often to water depends upon room temperature, humidity, and size of the pot, so let the condition of the soil be your guide. When the soil surface is dry to the touch, it is time to water.
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Do not add fertilizer when potting; wait until you see some new growth. Choose a water-soluble fertilizer that is balanced in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium with trace amounts of magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper. Follow the mixing directions on the label. Proper feeding means the difference between barren and bountiful come harvest time. Inadequate feeding results in poor growth and weak foliage; too much, and you'll have a bushy tree without fruit. If foliage is soft, firm, and deep green in color, it's just right.
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Tips & Warnings
Choose the largest pot your space can accommodate. A bigger pot means more fruit. Commercially available potting soil will work well as long as it has good drainage properties (look for the ingredients perlite or vermiculite). Avoid parching your tree by keeping it away from air conditioning vents. Papayas like it warm, but they also need moisture.
If you find white crust accumulating on the rim of the pot, it could be a sign that your water contains a high level of soluble salts. Leach the pot with running water for several minutes so that the salts can filter through the soil and out the drainage hole.
