Papaya trees growing in Newton

By Richard B. Primack

“Our circumstances answer to our expectations and the demand of our natures.”

-Thoreau in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers 

We know that climate change is already affecting what plants we can grow in the Boston area. In our Newton garden, we now have many fig trees, some of which survive outside through the winter with only minimal protection. And some day, we may be able to grow camellias and crepe myrtles in Boston. Crepe myrtles are already being sold in local garden stores in expectation of warmer years.

Crepe myrtle plants for sale in a Wayland garden store. 

However, this year we are extremely surprised to find dozens of papaya seedlings sprouting on their own in our vegetable garden. One fast-growing seedling is already 2 feet tall and is showing the distinctive deeply-lobed leaves of the species.

Papaya seedling growing in our garden. 

Papaya trees are strictly tropical, so what are papaya seedlings doing in our Newton garden? Even with our current warming climate, New England winters still have plenty of freezing temperatures and ice. The answer seems to be that last fall we added the skins and seeds of some papayas to our compost pile, and then mixed the compost into the garden soil. The round, black papaya seeds must have been deep enough in the ground to avoid freezing and may have even been warmed by the decaying compost. Now that the ground has been heated to tropical temperatures by the July sun, the seeds finally germinated.

These young saplings will certainly not be able to survive outside through next winter. Newton is not yet ready for papaya farms.