Carica papaya 'Red Caribbean'

Looks a tiny baby but healthy next to your Caribbean red Papaya I hope it does well Andy.

they're monoecious? or do you need more than one plant to get fruit?

Penny,

You can see a little bit of the 12 ft tall Red Caribnean on the lower right of the photo. :>))

Lori,

Papayas are very complex herbs. Only female or bi-sexual flowers can produce fruit. Sometimes a plant can be male or female or a hermaphrodite (perfect for fruit). They can change sexes during their life time, also. The large Red Caribbean next to this little one is full of fruit.

How strange it can change how can you tell which is male to female.

You ll have to take a picture of your Red Caribbean thats full of fruit.

The size of the flowers. The male, female and hermaphroditic flowers are very different from each other.

So if you bought one with out a label saying you would nt know which you had until it fowered thanks for explaing you tell by the flowers.

That's correct. You don't know until papayas start flowering. This is why it's recommended to plant at least 3 to 5 plants. This will ensure fruit-production.

I do have a male papaya which is fruiting.

Or make sure you buy when in flower like we do here to ensure we get the right coloured plant.

Thats wonderful Andy .

I start my papaya trees from seed. So, I threw dozens of seeds in a pot and hope for the best. lol!

Lol you sound like what my mum use to do .

It's the best way. lol!

lol Yes I ve noticed just like a bird would do when dropping seeds in our gardens they always seem to take root.

Yes, the birds are the best for planting seeds. lol!

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