How to grow papaya from seed at home: planting and care features
Tell us how to grow papaya from seed at home? I bought a ripe fruit on the market for the first time, I liked the taste. I want to try planting seeds. Will papaya grow in a pot and how tall can it be?
If lemons and tangerines have long since turned into indoor plants, other exotic fruits are still being planted by a few. And it is completely in vain, because they feel completely comfortable in a warm room. For example, knowing how to grow papaya from seed at home can yield delicious sweet fruits for fruit salads. In addition, this culture is also very decorative. A tall thick trunk with a lush rosette of rich green leaves at the top will turn your home into a real tropical jungle. In its “complexion” papaya is similar to a palm tree, because it does not have side shoots.
Papaya is also called a melon tree, although in fact it is a herb, and not even a perennial. In nature, it can reach 8 m, but as a pot culture it is an average of 3 m. Although, if you try, the giant grass grows out and all 6 m in height. And she lives only about 5 years, but it is distinguished by extremely rapid development. With proper care, it will be possible to taste the first harvest in six months..
How to grow papaya from seed at home
There will be no deficit in the planting material – inside the fruits there are many (up to 6 hundred) seeds of almost black color. Once you buy a papaya, you just need to cut it open, select the seeds and rinse them with water. The seeds, although quite dense, sprout well.
Soaking seeds overnight in a growth promoter will help to increase germination. You can simply soak them in wet moss or sand, but under a film.
It is best to plant seeds in early spring, when daylight hours begin to increase. This will eliminate the need to supplement the illumination of seedlings, which will begin to stretch out from a lack of light. Sowing can be done both in separate cups and in a common container, leaving at least 2 cm between the seeds. It is optimal to use a soil mixture for ficuses – it is nutritious and light. Seeds should germinate under the film.
Features of caring for papaya seedlings
Before the emergence of seedlings, the crops must be aired daily and the soil must be sprayed on time so that it does not dry out. Caring for papaya is not difficult, but keep in mind that the plant is fast growing and requires a lot of light. In the first year of life, 3-4 transplants will be needed, because seedlings grow very quickly. In addition, you need to provide the plant with moisture and nutrition:
- Water at least 2 times a week.
- Spray often.
- Every 2 weeks, feed with mineral complexes, alternating them with organic.
Indoor papaya can bloom after 6 months. But the fruits will be only if a hybrid self-fertile variety is caught.
