Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 6 Jan 2026

How to grow papaya from seed without killing it, Part 2: seeds germination step by step

Ppaya fruit

Ppaya fruit

🍊 How to grow papaya from seed without killing it, Part 2: seeds germination step by step

Papaya germination is simple (see part 1), but it is rarely forgiving. Most failures happen not because seeds are bad, but because moisture, temperature, or patience is off by just a little. In Part 2, we focus entirely on germination - from preparing seeds to creating the right conditions for strong, healthy sprouts.
  • 🍊 Papaya seed germination requirements

    • The simple papaya growing rules that actually work

    Fresh seeds taken from ripe fruit usually germinate in 2–3 weeks, as long as temperatures stay above 70F. Warmer is better - ideally 85-90F.
    Bottom heat helps a lot. Seed germination mats work very well.
  • 🍊 Key conditions:

🟡Well-draining potting mix or coconut fiber
  • 🟡Moist soil, never soggy
  • 🟡Consistent warmth
  • 🟡Stored dry seeds often go dormant and can take 8–10 weeks to sprout. When stored properly, papaya seeds remain viable for at least 12 months.


🍊 How to extract and prepare papaya seeds correctly
Growing papaya from seed sounds easy until this happens

So you bought a papaya at the grocery store and decided to plant the seeds. Here is the correct way to do it.

Removing the seeds
  • 🟡Cut the fruit in half lengthwise
  • 🟡Cut each half lengthwise again
  • 🟡Scoop seeds from each quarter with a teaspoon


    • Choosing viable seeds
  • 🟡Good seeds are black and about 1/4 inch in diameter
  • 🟡Small, green, or white seeds are immature and will not germinate
  • 🟡Fresh papaya seeds are coated with a slimy layer that prevents sprouting inside the fruit. This coating must be removed.


    • Cleaning and storing
  • 🟡Rinse seeds thoroughly (a strainer works well)
  • 🟡Remove all pulp and slime
  • 🟡Dry seeds on a paper towel


    • If storing seeds:
  • 🟡Dry completely for several days
  • 🟡Even slightly moist seeds will rot in storage


    • If planting right away:
  • 🟡Remove all pulp and slime and plant as soon as possible


If your papaya seeds have sprouted, you have already passed a major hurdle. Unfortunately, this is where many plants are lost next - not from poor germination, but from transplanting mistakes, excess water, or lack of sun. In Part 3, we cover containers, sunlight, watering, and the most common mistakes that kill papaya after it starts growing.

🛒 Explore Papaya varieties

📚Learn more:

🎥 Nobel Prize goes to this pregnant male papaya

#Food_Forest #How_to #Papaya

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 5 Jan 2026

How to protect your butt

🍑 How to protect your butt

Lilimon is one of those cats everyone loves. Easy to be friends with, calm, and very sophisticated. She prefers to eat at her own little table, in peace and dignity. Butt sniffing during dinner is not on the menu!
Lilimon was enjoying her meal when James walked by, and went for a butt sniff. She was not amused!
She tried to explain this to Coconuts. He did not listen.
So Lilimon came up with a solution. She placed her food in front of her and backed her butt into the corner.
Problem solved!
Now she eats comfortably, protected from unwanted sniff inspections.
Classic Lilimon.

🐈📸 Cat Lilimon setting rules for James Coconuts at PeopleCats.Garden

#PeopleCats #Quotes

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 5 Jan 2026

How to grow papaya from seed without killing it

How to grow papaya from seed without killing it
🍊 How to grow papaya from seed without killing it, Part 1: Papaya basics

Papaya (Carica papaya) is one of the fastest and most rewarding fruit plants you can grow from seed - but it is also one of the easiest to lose early if you treat it like a regular tree. In this guide, we start at the very beginning: what papaya really is, how to choose and prepare seeds, and what it actually takes to get strong, healthy seedlings off to a good start.
  • 🍊Papaya basics - what kind of plant it really is

    • Papaya is not a tree - and that changes how you should grow it

  • 🟡 Papaya is technically not a tree. It is a herbaceous plant with a hollow trunk - often jokingly called a giant grass.
  • 🟡Papaya grows extremely fast from seed and usually starts producing fruit within 10–15 months. It has a palm-like look, with a large canopy of leaves at the top. Flowers and fruit form directly under that canopy, right on the trunk.
  • 🟡In the ground, papaya can grow 10–15 ft tall, but there are dwarf varieties that stay under 4–5 ft in containers while still producing full-size fruit.
  • 🟡Papayas are very productive and are one of the best exotic fruit plants to grow even outside the tropics, especially because they perform so well in containers.


🍊Growing papaya from seed - what to know first
What grocery store papaya seeds don’t tell you

Papaya is easy to grow from seed, but one detail matters more than most people realize:
  • 🟡Seeds from store-bought fruit come from unknown varieties
  • 🟡Most will not be dwarf
  • 🟡If you want a compact plant, start with a known dwarf variety or seeds from one
  • 🟡The good news: papaya comes true from seed, so when the source is known, the result is reliable.


Now that you understand what papaya is - and what grocery store seeds don’t tell you - it is time to move on to the most misunderstood stage of all: germination. In Part 2, we break down exactly how papaya seeds sprout, what they need, how long they really take, and why so many people give up too early.

🛒 Explore Papaya varieties

📚Learn more:

🎥 Nobel Prize goes to this pregnant male papaya

#Food_Forest #How_to #Papaya

🟢 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 5 Jan 2026

☘️ What plants are easy to ship in Winter?

Lush tropical garden with a bright green leafy Magnolia champaka surrounded by flowering shrubs, such as Brunfelsia grandiflora, at Top Tropicals nursery

Ordering plants in winter is often easier than people expect - and for many plants, it is actually better. Lush foliage plants like philodendrons and medinilla, fine-leaved trees such as moringa, jacaranda, and poinciana, and even sensitive fruit trees like papaya, jackfruit or starfruit ship more safely in cool weather without overheating stress.

Winter is also ideal for subtropical and cold-tolerant plants, dormant or deciduous plants like plumeria and adenium, orchids - including ground orchids and vanilla orchids, and winter bloomers that flower their best right now. Winter care is simple: water less, use gentle liquid amino-acid fertilizers like Sunshine Boosters, and monitor insects.

In mild climates, many tropicals can be planted anytime, while extra-tender plants can stay potted until spring. Winter is a perfect time to bring tropical warmth indoors and enjoy greenery when you need it most.

🌿Learn more: easy plants for Winter shipping

Date: 5 Jan 2026

A tuxedo cat planting a small shrub in a tropical garden while a ginger cat relaxes nearby with coffee and donuts, illustrating winter planting in a warm climate.
Sunshine: January might feel warm, but its still winter. Wool socks, scarf, hot coffee.
Smokey: You get warm when you work. Plant now so roots are established before spring growth starts.
Sunshine: Alright. Lets see who stays warmer - you digging or me with coffee.

🌴 Why winter planting works in a warm climate

By our plant expert Tatiana Anderson

We are lucky to live in a warm climate. This is how I think about the seasons here. Winter is for roots. Spring is for growth. Summer is for managing heat and water.

So if we want plants that handle summer better, we plant them in the season that gives them the best start. Winter here is comfortable. The soil stays workable. The days are mild. And plants are not being stressed by heat. That is exactly why winter is the best time to plant in Florida and other warm areas.

If we use this season well, plants go into spring already settled instead of trying to catch up. This is what I like to plant now, and why.

🟢 Trees first. Anything that will be in the ground for years. Fruit trees, shade trees, flowering trees. When we plant them in winter, they can focus on roots before the spring growth surge starts. By the time spring arrives, the tree is anchored and ready to grow on top.
Examples: mango, avocado, Eugenia cherries, jackfruit, sapodilla, longan, lychee, canistel.

🟢 Shrubs next. Shrubs establish faster than trees, but winter still gives them an advantage. They settle in quietly before the spring flush and bloom cycles begin. That usually means steadier growth and fewer problems once heat returns.
Examples: gardenia, jasmine, brunfelsia, hibiscus, clerodendrums.

🟢 Vines are often overlooked. Vines want to grow fast when spring starts. If the root system is not ready, you get weak growth and frustration. Planting vines in winter gives them time to build a foundation first, so spring growth has support.
Examples: Rangoon creeper, stephanotis, Petrea, Mexican Flame Vine.

🛒 Explore cold tolerant plants
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