Red lady papaya width/spacing?

[bradflorida]

Pine Island nursery says it attains a width of 5'.  That seems low to me based on pictures. 

Is it more like 8' wide realistically?  I'm trying to space it out properly in my landscaping plans. 

Thanks

Brad

[Hollywood]

8' is more accurate, but spacing is not a big deal for papaya for 2 reasons: (1) there is so much space in between leaves and stalks that you don't need to worry about air flow, and (2) you're going to chop it down after 2 years anyway when it gets too tall to harvest.

[bradflorida]

Thanks Katie.  I appreciate your input. 

Do you happen to know if the Red Lady papaya stays small or not?  I have seen some references calling it a dwarf, but others do not mention that.

Brad

[Hollywood]

It gets just as tall as any papaya eventually. But dwarfs start flowering and setting fruit when they are as short as 2'. They are also thicker and stouter than other papaya. The desirability of dwarfs is that harvest is easier. It starts to get above 8' after the 2nd year, but you generally want to chop down papaya after the second year anyway. Did you know it is not a tree? It is an herb. That's why it grows so fast and is so easy to chop down.

[johnb51]

Based on the Red Lady papayas I've been growing, I would say 5 feet apart is okay, but no less than that.  6 feet would probably be ideal because the roots spread farther out than the tops.

[Tropicdude]

I think 6ft would be best.   roots actually do not extend that far out,  and you could go closer, but branches / leaves may rub and bruise  of course if your only talking about two or three trees, than 5 ft is ok,   in a plantation setting you want a little room.

[bsbullie]

5-6 feet is fine...and no, I would say it does NOT get as tall as any other papaya.  It's height is makes picking manageable as I have seen some papayas literally tower and make picking difficult.

One thing I would be curious is the seed source that Pine Island is using.

[johnb51]

I bought certified seed from Aloha Seed in CA (alohaseed.com) and started my own plants.  Easy, inexpensive, and fun--the only way to go!

[samuel]

I bought certified seed from Aloha Seed in CA (alohaseed.com) and started my own plants.  Easy, inexpensive, and fun--the only way to go!

Are some of these varieties genetically modified?

[johnb51]

I bought certified seed from Aloha Seed in CA (alohaseed.com) and started my own plants.  Easy, inexpensive, and fun--the only way to go!

Are some of these varieties genetically modified?

No, they are not.  Red Lady is an F1 hybrid, but it is not genetically modified.  Aloha Seed Company is not Monsanto!

[Tropicdude]

Non of the Aloha Seed varieties listed on their website are GMOs.  "Rainbow" is the name of one transgenic variety I remember off the top of my head.

I believe the PRSV problem will be solved with natural breeding techniques, there is work being done, were wild PRSV resistant Carica varieties are being crossed with Carica papaya, they have found a way to get the pollen to stick adjusting environmental factors and what not.   Transgenic papayas are not allowed in EU. so I believe interest in GMO papaya varieties are dwindling.   plus Red lady, although not resistant to PRSV, is tolerant of it, meaning, that infected plants will still give a harvest to farmers with only minor losses.