I've not grown them, though I intend to. Louis Glowinski's book recommends:
Removing all but the lowest of the side shoots. The one left being the new main trunk. The current main trunk should be lopped above the last formed fruit (so you can continue to harvest). The rest of the trunk can be removed down to the new trunk once harvest is over.
The old trunk can be cut into pieces, about 30cm long, left to callus for about a week, then planted with about a third buried. They should strike easily.
So, I guess if the old trunk can be used to propagate the plant, then the removed side shoots should as well!!

Just for the info, the side shoots have taken really well. What I did was cut them off the main trunk and then cut to around 10cm lengths. I then dipped the bottom in rooting hormone and popped them in pots filled with a nice organic mulch (mostly made from pea straw and mushroom compost that had previously grown my potatoes).

The two cuttings I first tried using this method have both struck. The top section, which had the growing tip looks great - really healthy and the lower section which was just stem has a 1cm new shoot coming off it!!

Very easy to propagate :-)

For such a yummy and prolific fruit that is easy to grow seems strange that it is so hard to find (it took me ages to get my first tree).

Well done! I saw someone selling Babaco in the Trading Post some time ago but I didn't bother making the 140km round trip. Good to hear you were successful.

That's great Fin! Now all I need to know is what a Babaco fruit looks and tastes like.

PP

Hi yep, you can take cuttings of jsut about any sized wood from a Babaco, I've done cuttings like 6cm thick. Patrina it's nothing more than a different species of papaya, well officially it's a different Genus now but really it's very close. It doesn't have much sugar like a real papaya but it's well worth growing. I have about 15 of them at the moment but I plant new cuttings each year, I want a final number of about 100 Babaco plants. It's taking me a long time to grow enough wood but they are too expensive at the nurseries to go out and buy 100 so it's what has to be done. I have a couple other more rare species of mountain papaya that I also grow

Mmmmmm, I'm sure I would LOVE Babaco fruit! Thanks for that description nicefrog.

PP

My tree decided to snap off on the weekend when the support gave way - just above my new side shoots! So lucky I have these plus the cuttings that already took. With the rest of the tree down I will have a few cuttings available to exchange, as i don't want that many. If anyone is interested just drop me an email - have them listed in the exchange forum.

One tree is plenty for me - at the time it broke off it had close to 30 fruit on it and the side shoots have about 5 baby fruit. In years past I have had so much fruit we've given them away and had babaco juice for breakfast every morning.

Nicefrog are you intending to grow them for commercial purposes? We used to see them in supermarkets here about 10 years ago, but I haven't seen one in the shops (or nurseries here) for ages.

Fin, nah I just like the look of them so I'm using them for stuffer plants inbetween/under my trees, they go well for that since they don't grow very tall. I have another one that is deciduous and grows much taller (Carica / Vasconcellea quercifolia) it flowers like crazy but I have no seed for it yet because I gave some of my seedlings to my friend and he ended up with 2 male plants and the ones I have that have flowered are female :/ so we have to get some cuttings from each other next spring

Best babaco cuttings I ever had was at a rental of mine. I cut back the babaco, dumped the prunings in the rubbish pit, mowed the lawn and dumped the clippings in the pit on top of the babaco.
When I cleaned up the pit 6 months later I found about 100 rooted cuttings.
I find when I do propagate them intentionally that they root far better when laid almost fully covered at a 30 degree angle.

I planted up the cutting Fiona sent me this weekend. It already had small shoots appearing, I just stood it up in some potting mix & watered well.
Glenn do you think I should take it out & lay it down?
It's about a foot high & 3 inches in diameter.
Thanks
Sarah

Hi from Bulgaria EU. We have small botanical garden to our hotel
and we will be pleased to get Babaco from you. If you want you to have a short look of our garden. here you can find photos

http://zamakat.com/page4.html

if you can help me I will be very gratful. Is there any options to get Babaco from you Gardeners-friends. We are ready for Barter. Thank you so much

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of my garden

Need advice. About two months ago I was given a mystery stalk that had fallen from my friends parents plant. I stuck it in a pot with some soil and horse manure and it took off almost instantly! I was amazed. i have just figured out that is a Babaco plant (which i am thrilled about). So, I have read a bit about them on the net but as an amateur gardener I am not quite sure what to do with it.

The stalk is about 130 - 150cm long and quite bowed. it is currently leaning on a 135 degree angle in the pot and would probably not withstand the weight of the fruit in spring as it is. it has leaf shoots all over it and is growing at an alarming rate. What do I do now? Do i wait for winter to chop it up and try and propagate many plants from it? Do i chop it now? Do I wait for another year and let it establish a bit more? Do i just replant it as straight as i can and hope for the best? So MANY questions!

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hello to everyone! I'm sending you an article about the variety of Papaya - Babaco (Carica Pentagona).

If you want to learn something about this exceptionally plant that I track, here you are what I gathered from some diffrent places. Information about that plant is difficult to find but more difficult is to find the real plat:
BABAKO (Carica Pentagona). Moreover it is beautiful, it is alse exotic and useful.

Some photos of the plant:
http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~okunoen/mizuho.jpg
http://www.autopot.com.au/content/images/Babaco%20(1).JPG

Babako or the mountain papaya (Carica Pentagona) is a unique type of Papaya (Carica). Is only spread in the wild in Ecuador. It is a natural hybrid received ages ago between two papaya - Carica pubescerus and Carica stipulara, which also occur in central and southern parts of the mountain Ecuador. Babako was known and has cultivated in the American continent before the arrival of Europeans there.

The plant represents 3 meters high tree with a typical kind palmate large sheets of long handles, radial equipped to the stem. The stem is right, with soft wood. The colors are single and form the basis of leaves. All are female, which explains the formation of virgin fetus. That's way, unlike our familiar ordinary papaya there is no seeds. One tree for one year ripes from 25 to 100 fruits on it with an average weight of 2 kilograms each. The development is 8 to 10 months. Have five-walls shape, length 25-30 cm. At the beginning they are green in color. Form of long handles and increase and enlarge its tilt to the stem and remain so until their full maturity. The Fruit itself is quite severe and may break branch if there have gathered more fruit. They need to be excluded at the first sign of yellow-ing*. They will ripen gradually and have a longer shelf life for one month. The fruit is ready to eat, where evenly be yellow. The mature fruit is smooth, yellow and thin edible crust. Their flesh part is also yellow, very juicy, rich in vitamin A and C and low sugar content. Has a unique flavor, carrying something in the taste of strawberry, pineapple, banana and papaya. Contains a large amount PAPAIN, plant enzyme close in structure to the pepsin contained in our gastric juice. These valuable enzymes most contained in the skin. Therefore act in healing digestive problems, helping the digestion of protein and neutralize stomach acids. The structure of the golden fruit is light and refreshing, can be made drinks quench thirst. The taste may be improperly undermines with lemon, lime, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg and other spices. Babako is called too "shampanov" fruit, because placing in pieces from it into a glass of water is a strong separation of gas bubbles that fizzy liquid.

Use: in a fresh type the fruit has a long life - without cooling can keep up to 4 weeks. Can be consumed fresh, peeled or with its thin crust, cut into pieces. The pieces of it can be added to fruit salads with honey or beaten them...

IF SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME WITH A BABACO PLANT, I'VE BEING LOOKING FOR ONE, BUT IN CHICAGO IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE.......

E-MAIL ME IF YOU HAVE ONE, TKS