Pomegranate, Papaya, and Avocado....

[weedin project]

....all of these I have growing in pots.  All from seeds from shop-bought fruit.

My question is this......  why?

Am I going to get any fruit from them?  And if so, how much?  Can I plant them out against a south facing wall and espallier them (or similar)?

I am in Waterlooville, south Hampshire.

Any advice more than welcome.

[weedin project]

[Lucho]

Other more experienced growers might be able to advise you better but I would think you'd struggle with papaya and avocado as they are truly tropical plants. I grew an avocado to a decent size from a stone but left it out one cool autumn evening and it never recovered. I don't think it was ever going to produce fruit but was fine outdoors in the summer. They are very tender and I would envisage papaya would be the same. You might have more joy with a pomegranate as I think they tolerate more cold but getting them to fruit in our summer might be pushing it, although being where you are you've as good a chance as any! Hope that helps and best of luck.!

[Yuet_Lee]

I have been grew some papaya last year. Keep them in the green house but still not survived through the winter.  :(
Avocado not growing at all. Thinking to try some pomegranate  but never get round it ;) Just no time. Because I've to keep weeding weeding!!
Here was the one I grew last year!

[Mrs Ava]

Pomegranites thrive here!  I have lots and lots in pots and they stood out all winter, shed their leaves, and came back with abundance in spring!  Lovely lime green foliage, pretty little plants at the moment.  I think it is Carol who also has some and hers flower!

Papaya needs a good humid atmosphere, like lychee, and I wasn't able to keep that up long enough and lost them.

Advocados are easy to grow, but I think they take years and years and years before they flower.  Also, tender to the cold, and tender to baking!  On just one scorching day in our conservatory, mine was frazzled and never recovered!

I also have dragon fruit cacti growing, all from saved seed from the chinese supermarket in Romford! Love growing odd things from seed!!

[weedin project]

Thanks for the info.  

I wasn't optimistic until I read EJ's post.....  

The pomegranates don't take much to get going Y_L - I just popped a few seeds into pots of potting compost, watered occasionally, and pricked them out into individual pots when they were a few leaves high.

Lucho, my avocado is about 2 feet high now, and has survived outside in the pretty poor late April and early May we had (although some beasties have been nibbling the leaves).  It does look very soft and vulnerable somehow - the stem (trunk?) doesn't look like it has any fibrous strength at all. :-\

EJ, Y_L's papaya looks considerably bigger than mine have reached so far, and if that didn't survive the greenhouse winter, then chances are mine won't either.  As they are there though, I'll give them a try, and if they survive I'll be bragging about it on here all next year! :D  They can stay in the greenhouse (I'm working on getting some under-soil heating - maybe some sort of solar panel-type arrangement) and see if that helps.