Paw Paw Fruit Trees!!!

[Dawningstar1]

Last year I got some paw paw fruit from a nice old couple, they gave me a taste of their paw paw banana bread sure is yummie and about fifty seeds, I started some as soon as I got home and low and behold they grew!!!

I gave a few plants to neighbors as I was moving and I planted two on that property before I left!! Spread the joy....

Anyway, the four plants I kept are still in the house, one looks like I might be lucky if it hangs on till spring it really didn't do too much only got to about 6 inches high.... the other ones, two are about two feet high and one had a baby and this seemed to stunt it's growth a little but it is about two feet high the baby about one foot high!!!

I don't know too much about them, I don't think I will transplant them into the ground until the fall of 2011, I figure once May rolls around I will move them to the greenhouse and see how it goes...

I don't know how long it will take them to bear fruit, the gentleman said about three years from seed to production... we shall see... I am going to start a few more in the spring and go from there, if anyone has any advise or knows how this plant grows I would love info.... I found one spot that showed me the flower from them it is very pretty.... can't wait to taste the fruit of my labour and the tree lol

[Tormato]

They are very slow growing for the first few years. My two year old seedlings are only a foot tall (grown outdoors). When transplanting, try not to disturb the taproot. Some people plant them in partial shade for two to three years, and then transplant to full sun.

Gary

[Dawningstar1]

hmmmmm since mine are already two feet tall in less than a year maybe I should keep them indoors, so when I transplant maybe if I put them into a pot about three times the size they are in right now about a 16 inch by 14 inch they might grow better....

When I first started the seeds I started them in 750ml pop bottles all except the smallest one and because I was out of pop bottles I started it in the plastic juice container from Ocean Spray think about 1.5 litre, it wasn't growing so I moved it to the clay pot about 6 inches... it still has not done much.... I am thinking I might have given roots too big an area lol...

Planting something new is really a learn by trial and error, but lol I want the fruit now lol

Here are some pictures of the plants I had last year at this time of year!!! I am hoping to triple them this year...

Pawpaw is growing great!!!



Rose of sharon and other citrus and plants






Banana Trees

[Tom C zone 4/5]

Dawn plant them out into an area with afternoon partial shade and they'll take off.

Paw paw have large leaves, they are a bit tender as seedlings. This too shall pass as they bulk up.

[Dawningstar1]

So they shouldn't be planted in full sun?? hmmmm now you got me wondering where to plant them, this place is wide open to the sun most of the day....

Will keep that in mind, I still think I might transplant to bigger pot and carry them back and forth so they can enjoy the sun and shade lol and hot house lol...

Maybe the wee one will survive after all that one leave keeps holding on, the seed pod has not dropped off lol like the other ones did a long time ago....

[Tom C zone 4/5]

Nothing in this post makes me an 'expert'. I've grown out a couple generations of paw paw. Their root structure clearly needs something made out of mostly larger particle size and very quick draining.

They did better with 1/2 sifted coarse sand and 1/2 sifted bark mulch fines. Um, think of the "size" here being what ever will not pass through a 1/4" hardwarecloth as being too big and what ever will pass through a 1/16" hardwarecloth as too fine.

Peat based soiless mix is way too fine. It has poor gass exchange. Slow growth is a symptom of stress. At least according to me...

On year two (or three) there will be in the spring a good set of leaves and some branching. Start moving saplings to the amount of sun that they'll get where you plan to plant them.

Better you find out how they fare while still in nursery pots. Than scorch them planted to feild and need to repot them.

When will they set fruit? I expect something like year seven to ten is a more likely answer for selected and tended trees. Year 15 or more for feral volunteers.

[Dawningstar1]

Originally Posted by Tom C zone 4/5

Nothing in this post makes me an 'expert'. I've grown out a couple generations of paw paw. Their root structure clearly needs something made out of mostly larger particle size and very quick draining.

They did better with 1/2 sifted coarse sand and 1/2 sifted bark mulch fines. Um, think of the "size" here being what ever will not pass through a 1/4" hardwarecloth as being too big and what ever will pass through a 1/16" hardwarecloth as too fine.

Peat based soiless mix is way too fine. It has poor gass exchange. Slow growth is a symptom of stress. At least according to me...

On year two (or three) there will be in the spring a good set of leaves and some branching. Start moving saplings to the amount of sun that they'll get where you plan to plant them.

Better you find out how they fare while still in nursery pots. Than scorch them planted to feild and need to repot them.

When will they set fruit? I expect something like year seven to ten is a more likely answer for selected and tended trees. Year 15 or more for feral volunteers.

Dang 7 to 10 years is a long time, could I have a dwarf variety??? This gentleman that gave me seeds showed me some of his trees, they were well over 12 feet high some of them, but there were a few around 4 to 5 feet high that had say a dozen fruit on them....

Three of mine are around the two feet high mark but although their leaves are large, they have not started to branch out yet... the one had a baby, which this gentleman said would happen, he said that I would need to keep them about 3 to 5 feet apart once planted to allow for growth...

All that aside, how long could I keep them in containers??? This year I figure I could still move them around and maybe even next year if I had too, (maybe put them in the square bins with wheels lol)

Do you know if they flower only when at fruit or if each year they will flower till big enough to sustain fruit???

Sorry to ask so many questions but am trying to figure out best way to go before I screw up and plant them and can't move them if I decide to move from here lol.... don't want to mess up the root system.... thank you for all your advice

[Worth1]

Paw Paw's are an understory tree, meaning they live under the canopy of the forest.

When I lived in the Ozarks and later in the Ouachita forest they grew in rich soil that collected on the forest floor along with the limestone outcroppings.

The Paw Paw was coveted by the locals and if one was found it was kept a secret.
They weren't as numerous in the woods where I lived as they are in other parts of the US.
It is the only member of the Annonaceae that is not native to the tropics.
In the north they are deciduous (meaning the leaves fall off) in the south they are sometimes evergreen.
There are about 11 or 12 species of Paw Paw the common Paw Paw's rang is from Eastern Texas to Ontario Canada.

Where I live now if you do see a tree in the woods it will stick out like a sore thumb.
It looks totally out of place compared to the rest of the foliage.
It looks like something out of the tropics.

I have thought about growing a tree or two but am concerned about chill hours so it will set fruit. (it takes about 400 chill hours to do this)

According to the Texas A&M any other fruit tree that requires this amount of time will do fine here.
It is a mystery to me as to why (according to the catalogs) this tree and my area is on the border line. I dont think it is the heat.

Well anyway here are some pictures of the Paw Paw tree and its fruit for all to enjoy.



Some growing under the forest canopy.


Worth

[Dawningstar1]

Sorry, also, when the time comes that I do plant them could I cut the bottoms off the tub they are in and plant the whole thing, I figured this would keep slugs away and also give a clean space between the trees....

Thanks for the pictures, they look my plants lol the leaves are big on them.... I am enjoying seeing them grow...

[Tom C zone 4/5]

Leaving a ring of a pot might fit for a few years. It'll (the ring) have to come out eventially, or you'll girdle your tree(s).

My timeline is based on my last grow out. (NH) Or, about the same as Apple, hazelnut, or peach.

[Tormato]

I'm no expert, either, with paw paws. But, the one thing I don't recommend is transplanting to a larger container and later transplanting into the ground. The less you disturb the roots, the better.

I've heard they set much more fruit in full sun. The problem is that full sun can be harsh on small trees the first few years. Some people plant them in full sun, and set up a sun block that partially shades the trees for part of the day.

The reason mine are only a foot tall is partly because they dropped all of their leaves early last summer. Full sun and 102 degrees will do that. They releafed, but didn't grow much taller for the rest of the year.

[Dawningstar1]

My leaves fell off of two of my plants last spring when I planted them outside all summer they just sat there looking like sticks in the garden since we moved I won't know how they did but the stick was still alive when we left lol...

I have transplanted the plants three times so far, they don't seem to be doing much but the leaves are full and green and they look good lol, but I know they will need to be transplanted at least once more before going into full sun and into the ground lol.... if they are going to take 7 to 15 years to produce then I going to cart them around with me lol...