Can You Grow Papayas Indoors?
Papayas are heat-loving plants that can be grown outdoors inUSDA Plant Hardiness Zones911.
In cooler regions, papayas are typicallykept in greenhouseswhere they grow and fruit prolifically.
Credit:Photography - Carson DowningFood Stylist - Kelsey Moylan
In homes, papayas are unlikely to fruit, but they still offer appealing leafiness.
Just keep in mind that full-sized papaya trees can grow over 20 feet tall.
Indoor trees need to be pruned often to maintain a small, compact shape.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
What You Need
Marty Baldwin
1.
Select a fully ripened papaya with greenish-yellow to golden-yellow skin that is slightly soft to the touch.
Cut the papaya in half and scoop out the seeds.
Credit:Marty Baldwin
Remove the seed coat.
To do this, place the papaya seeds in a container filled with water and soak the seeds overnight.
If you want to plant the papaya seeds right away, theres no need to dry them.
When properly stored, papaya seeds remain viable for about 16 months.
Older seeds may still sprout, but germination rates decline with age.
Papaya seeds should germinate in about two weeks.
Thin out the seedlings.
If you are growing papaya plants for fruit, keep at least five healthy seedlings.
Keeping papayas indoors is trickier than growing papayas in your garden.
Papayas grow as perennials in Zones 911 and come back year after year.
