Storm

I shouldn't have mentioned the 'no-rain' thing! Winter arrived with a vengeance yesterday. What a wild day it was! Sleet or snow, driven horizontaly inthe high winds, for hour and hours and hours. Course it seemed even longer when the powerfinally went off and stayed off. Thankfully we have a gas fire.

Today, damage-wise, the little cypress tree in the front garden is leaning at 45 degrees. The echium pininana is on it's side, and my lovely big cestrum nocturnum is at a precarious angle.
Upstairs on the terrace, I have lot a few palms that have been blown over and chucked out of their pots, but that should be repairable.

The little late tomato plants are OK. Well they are not dead yet, but the windchill factor yesterday must have been pretty unbearable for them, so I'll have to wait and see if they recover. Likewise the papaya. I'm sure tropical fruit would have hated the weather yesterday, and of course I didn't take them in for the winter.

Of course, it has to be said, that if they can't survive the odd freak weather day here, then they can't be grown here, except indoors. Need to find out which it is to be.

Carica papaya

Papaya plants are normally grown from seed. Belonging to tropical countries, I am experimenting to see if they'll grow successfully here in Relleu ( sub-tropical), however, I do not expect them to do too well come the winter storms as their stems break easily. Two are in pots and may be moved indoors. The third is in the garden.

Papaya have separate male and female plants, and both are needed for successful fertilization, though one male can service many females. As I have no way of knowing what sex mine are until they flower, I'm hoping three is enough. With my luck I'll get three of the same!

This one here is approx. 6 months old and 3 feet high.