Rick - Yes, that plant was a big plant. Luckily the plant snapped in half towards the end of my growing season so I was able to eat many of the fruits. Dwarf in papaya terms means that the plant will begin to set fruit low on the plant, not that the plant will be small. Papaya plants thrive in very warm temperatures so you will have quite a challenge. YouTube videos that I have seen said that plants do well under LED lights. I haven't tried it. No, the leaves are not flexible. The leaf's stem snaps easily. When you introduce your plants to the outside, be sure to give them shade for a while. Then slowly increase the sunshine. That helps prevent sun scald on the leaves. Since you asked, yes, I think that you may want to consider a different plant. Perhaps a dwarf banana. Someone that I knew in Massachusetts grew a calamondin tree in a pot quite successfully for many years. It's a very close relative of citrus. The fruits are small and taste like a sour orange. My tree is 15 years old. Much more cold hardy than papaya and banana. Christine

Yes Puglvr, I understand anyone who shy's away from a Kent mango tree,..I expect mine to top out around 40 + feet when it is fully grown,..maybe 20 yrs from now. But speaking of huge mango trees, the Valencia Pride will be even TALLER than the Kent. A very fast grower, one of the reasons it does so well in places with fairly cold winters ( like here ). Grows so fast it adds a layer of outer bark faster than most trees, helping it survive those few 33 - 36 deg nights, just needs the initial 3 or so winters to be moderate. Don't even want to talk about the very rare 30 deg ones !!! lol But thats why I have my C 9 Christmas tree lights strung thru all the trees till March 1st. An ounce of prevention....

Of this years papaya crop (Maridol and Waimanolo), most are still under lights, and in transparent 16oz plastic cup containers. I've potted up two Maridol in 1 gal containers and they've been outdoors doing well for 2-3 months now. I've ordered some Mycorrhiza from Fungi Perfecti, and I'd like to put my plastic cup papayas in 1 gal containers with Mycorrhiza added to the potting soil. I'll keep most of them indoors under lights and heat mats for the winter. Usually from Dec-March I get two to four 26-28F nights and plenty of 30-32F ones so I'll probably bring the Maridols inside also (and add Mycorrhiza next time I water them). The Mycorrhiza take months to get established, I wish I had come across this idea six months ago, winter's coming up soon...the last two Novembers we had some low 30's weather up here. I'm intrigued to hear that your Plumeria are surviving outdoors through the Bakersfield winters. Are they old established plants? Do they get any water in the winter, or do you protect their roots from the rain. I had some young ones survive last winter, the first time that's happened for me, but I kept them indoors(in 1 gal containers) and didn't water them once until they showed signs of life in the spring. Plumerias die like flies for me, just like the papayas...I'm slowing figuring out ways to keep them alive, and I hope if they get past a certain age they'll be tougher. Have you had any fruit from your TR Hovey's. They have become easy to acquire now that they are tissue cultured, I'll probably try some soon. And is the fruit any good...like the real papayas you'd pick in Hawaii. If you leave them outdoors, you should try several layers of frost protection cloth...I've kept bananas alive over the winter with two to three layers of Agribon 19, and sometimes heavy mover's blankets on top. There's a man in south Texas (San Antonio I think) who has some large in ground Thai papaya trees that live through some very cold spells in the winter. One is 30 feet tall, I've seem the photos...he calls them Sweet Sue. He sent me some seeds, but they all died on me (that was before grow lights and heat mats).

@figsinhawaii, That is a beautiful photo of something entirely yummy! If mine produce that kind of fruit, I will be thrilled. We don't live in complete tropics like you, but It's subtropical, and we get some great macadamias, beautiful hibiscus, mangos, so I'm thinking the Papaya will make an amazing contribution. We do have 1.5 acres, so plenty of room, but here, it will need protection. I'm thinking of planting it next to a structure AKA the house. It's roots are shallow, so that would not be a problem. We have a lot of figs here, and that is pretty much the sexiest fruit on earth! FRESH ripened on the tree. Dried up.. like an old woman. Not so sexy. From the store, it feels used... But get it fresh from the tree, to die~~~ I have 20 seeds each. I'll stagger planting because I'm not sure when is best to do it here. We do have a few freeze days in winter, but I use this organic spray for plant protection on my tropicals and it works really well. "Cloud Cover." Thanks for that photo! Is your son in sports! I'm cheering for him!!