This has been 4 months in the making – it didn’t die, and it did grow a few new leaves – but I couldn’t be certain that it was going to continue growing…
Well, another Curious experiment has come to a happy conclusion. The new stem that I broke off from our re-sprouting papaya tree has finally given me the proof that I needed to know that it will keep living…
We have ROOTS, ladies and gentlemen! Roots growing from the papaya cutting that I took 4 months ago. ‘Tis time to plant this in a bigger container before it goes to a permanent spot in the garden.
And it’s a good thing, because the tree stump that the stem had grown from is now unable to support any more stems – I guess, because it has rotted right down its middle.
On top of that, our remaining Red Lady papaya tree is too tall – at least eight metres (a rough estimation) – for us to comfortably reach the fruits. Yes, we could use a very long pole to harvest the fruits, but they’re terribly infested with mealybugs and black mould, and I can’t do a thing from ground level to get rid of them. Only the birds are benefitting from the papaya tree.
Can you see how infested the green fruits are? They’re thoroughly coated with mealybugs!
So, since we now have a new hermaphroditic Red Lady papaya tree growing, I think I’m ready to chop down this tree. Besides, it ought to give us a few more sprouts to attempt to propagate new plants from. Out of all the other stems that I attempted to propagate, only one looks like a possible contender. Until I see signs of roots showing, however, I am not going to hold my breath in anticipation.
Oh well, I’m happy to have a definite hermaphroditic tree growing, especially since this is from a plant I was told that will not grow similar plants from seeds harvested from it. Oh wait… the fruits were all seedless, anyway!
In case you want to know more about our journey growing these Red Lady papaya trees, you can start reading about it HERE and follow the thread from there. It sure had its ups and downs…
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