Papaya: Florida’s Best Native Fruit for Year-Round Productivity

February is a challenging month for fresh, local fruit in Florida, but one reliable option still ripening in many food forests, including at our office, is Papaya (Carica papaya). This small, fast-growing tree produces fruit nearly year-round, making it one of Florida’s most productive and accessible native fruits. While previously debated, recent archaeological evidence supports its status as a native species. With it growing in Florida millennia before Europeans discovered Florida. Let’s explore its origins, current distribution, and how to successfully grow it in your own backyard.

Papaya’s Origins: Is It Native to Florida?

The debate over papaya’s nativity in Florida has persisted for decades. Some researchers have classified it as native, while others have labeled it an escapee from cultivation. However, archaeological discoveries from Lee County on Pine Island provide compelling evidence that papaya was present in Florida long before European contact.

Excavations in waterlogged deposits dating back to A.D. 50 have uncovered nearly 3,000 seeds of various species, including eight unmistakable papaya seeds. These seeds showed distinct characteristics compared to those from other regions, suggesting they were cultivated or selected by the indigenous Calusa people. Given that the papaya’s native range is in tropical America and that ocean currents are unlikely to have transported viable seeds to Florida’s uplands, human transport is the most logical explanation. As most definitions of native plants are plants that existed here before 1492 or arrived after 1492 through proven natural means. This discovery firmly establishes papaya as a native fruit, introduced by Florida’s indigenous people at least 1,700 years ago.

Where Papaya Grows in Florida Today

Today, papaya is found both cultivated and growing wild throughout southern Florida. It is commonly seen in the Florida Keys, the Everglades, and coastal shell middens as far north as the Ten Thousand Islands in Collier County on the west coast and Turtle Mound in Volusia County on the east coast. As someone who has found wild uncultivated Papaya, they seem to have lost almost all redeemable characteristics for human consumption. Being small, seedy, with poor taste. However, our native birds and mammals love these small fruits, and it is also a host plant for one of our larger moths, the Alope Sphinx.

While often associated with backyard gardens and food forests, papayas also grow spontaneously in disturbed areas, demonstrating their adaptability. In urban and suburban settings, they thrive in well-drained soils and warm microclimates, often popping up in compost piles where their seeds sprout effortlessly. Their ability to self-seed and produce fruit quickly makes them a valuable addition to Florida-Friendly landscapes.

How to Grow Papaya in Florida

You can go from seed to fruiting tree in six months under ideal conditions! Making papayas are one of the easiest fruit trees to grow in Florida, requiring minimal care once established. Here’s what you need to know to cultivate a healthy, productive tree:

Mature Size & Growth Habit

Papayas are technically giant herbs rather than true trees, growing naturally unbranched to heights of 15–25 feet. Their fast growth rate allows them to fruit within 6–12 months from planting, making them an excellent choice for those looking for quick productivity yields. Unlike our upcoming March fruit of Jaboticaba. One thing to note is the plant is naturally dioicous with male and female plants. So, from seed you might need a few plants. However, many cultivated versions are hermaphroditic (bisexual) with both male and female flowers these days. Identifying the flowers is key, check them out in this article. 

Ideal Growing Conditions

• Sunlight: Full sun is essential for optimal fruit production.
• Soil: Prefers well-drained, sandy soils but can tolerate various soil types.
• Watering: Requires regular watering, but avoid excessive moisture, which can lead to root rot.
• Temperature: Sensitive to frost; best grown in USDA zones 9–11. In colder areas, papayas can be grown as annuals or protected during winter.
• Fertilization: Benefits from regular feeding with a balanced fertilizer rich in potassium.

Recommended Cultivars

Many papaya varieties exist with many different flavors. If you haven’t liked store bought papaya you should taste different ones as two distinctive families of cultivars exist, Mexican and Hawaiian.

• Hawaiian Solo: Hawaiian type with small, sweet pear-shaped fruit perfect for backyard growers. These plants are often hermaphroditic, containing both male and female flowers, ensuring reliable fruit production without needing multiple trees.
• Red Lady: Mexican type with oblong larger fruit weighing up to 5lbs each. Smaller dwarf tree. High yield and disease resistant.

From experience larger-fruited cultivars, while impressive, often face greater challenges from pests and animals before reaching maturity. Raccoons, squirrels, and fruit flies are common threats, making smaller, faster-ripening varieties a more practical choice.

Conclusion

Papaya is one of Florida’s most valuable native fruits, offering near-continuous harvests even in the lean winter months. Whether you’re growing it in a backyard food forest or simply letting it self-seed in your landscape, this resilient fruit tree is a must-have for anyone interested in local, organic fruit. With the right care and cultivar selection, you can enjoy homegrown papayas all year long!

Resources

• UF/IFAS on Papaya Growing in the Florida Home Landscape: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/MG054
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions on Papaya: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/fruits/papaya/
• UF/IFAS EDIS on the Papaya species: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/fp106
• Growables on Papaya: https://www.growables.org/information/TropicalFruit/PapayaCarica.htm
• USF Plant Atlas on Papaya being Native:  https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant/species/1699
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on Papaya: https://www.fdacs.gov/Consumer-Resources/Buy-Fresh-From-Florida/Tropical-Fruit/Papaya
• The 2011 Article that helped change minds about Papaya being Native: https://www.regionalconservation.org/ircs/pdf/Ward_2011.pdf

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