Does anyone online sell developed papaw trees 3 - 4 feet+ tall for under $60?
The pawpaw trees I’ve seen for sale are pitiful!
Probably because it takes a greater investment of time to grow them to the same size people are used to their fruit trees being available at. Higher production costs, plus a smaller market means the plants have to be sold at a higher price to be worth producing.
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paw paws dont transplant well, i would just go with smaller trees. my larger one from citrus the rootstock died for some reason. my tiny ones going strong
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See if you have any good, local, native sales near you. My county sells them that big for that price ($60), and they do have grafted ones. But, I just checked whats available for the fall sale and paw paw is not listed; I think they only have them in spring.
I have several unidentified that were that large for ~$35 when I got them at a nursery outside of Lenoir, NC a few years ago. Surprisingly, the ones I got in the ground all made it. But Pawpaw have a significant taproot and don’t like their roots played with, so by the time they are that large in a pot, you are rolling the dice already, and bigger, deeper pot is not cheap.
As already stated, it’s also a smaller market. That market also tends to focus on improved cultivars, so you’re not likely to find that combination often.
As a side note. all of mine that I planted survived, while the one, maybe two I overwintered in pots did not. They take grafts pretty easily. I knew the roots were fiddly so dug and backfilled holes accordingly, and several of them put up suckers right by the parent. Had the ones I planted struggled, I think I would have had the suckers to fall back on. As they were likely already unimproved, I would have only lost my own grafts, but I effectively would have paid the small pawpaw price for the newly formed replacement.
I also think that the smaller pawpaws likely catch up to the bigger ones in a year or two because they don’t have the root strain. You really still need to shade the bigger ones at least the first year anyway, so you don’t really get away from much of the headaches of a short pawpaw by buying a bigger one. You may even come out behind.
The bigger ones ARE easier to graft if you are not already experienced with grafting pawpaw. They are the only tree I’ve grafted where the graft union is almost invisible after a year or two. It’s kindof freaky.
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Your choices are basically to spend a lot to get a nice tree or be willing to wait.
I know the trees from @Blake at peaceful heritage are expensive, but if you want a tree that gets large quickly and is robust- he is selling trees with good roots. I don’t think they’re very tall, but they will grow more quickly because they aren’t going to spend so long establishing.
If you check the pawpaw 2026 thread you can see some of his trees that others have planted. And Blake can correct me if I’m wrong about their size.
I’m quite cheap (so I’ve never even spent 60 on a tree). I have moved pawpaw trees that are 3’ tall and also small ones - but without the good root system they take another year to establish. Only then do they start growing. It’s probably another 1-2 years before they’re going to be ready to produce. They’re also more likely to die from
Shock.
Additionally, Most of those I either have grafted or will graft myself. So I think it’s about 3-4 years before a cheap no name tree becomes a grafted producing pawpaw.
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My county does orders in like January with pick up very early spring. I’m going to buy a couple this year and see how big those are. They would just be rootstock since they are just seed grown but I want to say they were only like $30 or something a piece.
For anyone alright with smaller sizes, I got my Shenandoah from Edible Landscaping for $20 if memory serves, but it was impressively tiny. I was impressed they could even graft something so young but hey it took immediately when planted.
The ones I planted that were 6 inches tall are now about 2 feet. They were planted last fall right after they went dormant. So far so good. We’ll see how long till fruit. I dont think next year since I dont see any flower buds. My now dead tree had a few. Rip had a great root system too
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i put in 2 named early ripening ones the spring of 25’ they only put on about 2 in. of growth since then. they were 1’ when planted. other than watering and mulch, i havent fertilized yet. next year ill give them some manure and 10-10-10 to see if i can get them to push some growth. leaves are dark green so they havent suffered any leaf burn. they are partially shaded by my elders which i did on purpose. i dont mind cutting the elders back to give the pawpaw more room and light. their roots grow in differernt depths so they shouldnt compete with each other too much.
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I doubt you’ll be down this far south in the quest, and the nursery I referenced above does not ship, but I was over that way for work today and stopped in. Ford’s Rocky Top Nursery in Lenoir, NC does still carry the same pawpaws. Current stock was three with more expected “soon.” Two smaller ones are already dropping leaves, but the third was tall and healthy looking. All in the 3’ - 4’ range. Current price is $45. They are not named and she did not know if they were seedlings or clones.
The elderly fellow who built it still drops in, but he had a tractor accident about five years ago. Part of his counting his blessings is accepting that he cannot do what he used to do, so his daughter and the grands have taken over the business. I saw him holding court right after the accident (he was not really hurt) for the last ones I bought, so all of mine have been in-ground for at least 4 years.
This location appears to be at the cooler end of USDA zone 8 to my phone, but the young lady answering my questions says they are 7A.
Prices increased to $69.95 , but the plants are in 3 gallon size pots and the trees that I ordered were about 3 feet tall. Best source for the size and price that I have found. Bob Wells Nursery.
I planted 2 containers of 2 year old seed (gifted by Luckyp) back in the late spring and wound up with over 100 seedlings in each. I’ll plant a bunch of them later this year and probably give the rest away. They are just seedlings, but can be planted and grafted later.
I have some cultivars that I bought from a festival some years back, but I have just been buying unnamed seedlings and starting them from seeds I foraged. I’ve never had a bad paw paw and think the cultivars are a bit too pricy. I understand why people buy them but wild ones are very good imo