I grew this papaya tree from seed. I can't determine if it's a 'male' or a 'female' plant.

Will it bear fruit?





I'm new to the site, and a budding gardener, so your help is appreciated!

I don't think you can tell whether it's male or female until the tree blooms. The female flowers are attached to the trunk whereas the male flowers are on long pendulous stems. Check the database entry for more info.
Papaya (Carica papaya)

Dutchlady1:

So it is possible for it to actually bear fruit by planting one plant from a seed (the other seeds did not make it) if it blooms

Thank you

I am sure you will need more than one tree (i.e. - male and female).

Here is some useful information.
http://www.papayalovers.com/pa...

Actually, that used to be true but now we have self-pollenating types of papayas readily available.

I have "Red Lady" that makes complete flowers (with both male and female parts) so you only need one plant to get fruit. Got it at Lowe's.

Not sure if a plant grown from seed will be self-fruitful, but it's possible if the fruit that you got the seed from was that type. As Hetty says, you can't be sure until the plant blooms. Send us a close-up picture of the flower when that happens and we'll help you. Meantime, give it lots of fertilizer and water when it doesn't rain.

Papaya trees may be male, female or hermaphrodite, which produces both male and female flowers. I have a male plant that became a hermaphrodite and a cold winter changed back into a male only again. Go figure. You will have to wait until it flowers to know just what you have.

Jim

Mine usually flower right before a cold front. Haven't had fruit yet!
Hi, Jim! How'd your palms hold up this past winter?

Here we save the hermaphrodites and cull the others as the hemaphrodites bear the fruit. The young plants will bloom and the hemaphrodite flowers have pollen...the others don't. Usually we plant 3 together in a mound and cut down 2 of the 3 leaving the healthiest hemaphrodite. Out of 8 seeds recently planted...7 were hemaphrodites. I think this is pretty standard for most papaya in production.