Hi everyone:
I and some friends would like to “inseminate’ some wooded areas with pawpaws seeds. I was able to find 200/300 seeds bags from a single source. Those seeds are sold in a bag with no moisture of any kind added. I read on many occasions that pawpaw seeds should always be kept in most conditions - peat moss, vermiculite etc. - . Don’t know what to do: buy anyway or pass? Thanks for all for advice. Marc
Personally, I’d pass…but, then again, I’m no expert!
I think the price point matters alot. As well as you access to seeds. Under 25 bucks for 200/300 seeds, I think thats a pretty easy cheap risk to make. .50 per seed or something like that, and I’d say no way. Unless they were stored out in the sun completely exposed or they’re years old, you’d probably get around 25% germination even if they weren’t kept moist. My experience with seeds that haven’t been properly stored is that germination just takes longer.
I would pass unless very cheap and you aren’t too worried about success.
They should not be allowed to dry out.
I encourage your efforts but also warn you to be prepared for low success rate even with prime seeds. The wild is very unforgiving in my experience trying the same thing you’re trying.
Things will dig them up, trees will fall on them, and ones that do survive will likely grow very slowly.
I agree with barb and sharq. I’d pass, personally, but if they are cheap and weren’t stored totally inappropriately for years, it might be an ok risk.
One thing you won’t get back is time. So, you buy these cheap seeds and only 10 or none of them germinate, you won’t get the time back that you waited to see what would happen.
I’d probably pass unless they are very cheap, but I would also note that just because they aren’t in moist soil, etc. doesn’t mean they are dried out. I bought some KSU pawpaw seeds from Cliff 2 years ago and they came in a plastic bag with no moist medium and were kept like that in my fridge until spring. I had over 80% germination. They actually had some white powder in with them that I think was to ward off mold, fungus, etc., but that was all.
I routinely keep small batches of pawpaw, persimmon and chestnut seeds just in a ziplock bag in the bridge and they aren’t drying out. Scion wood in a ziplock doesn’t dry out, so why would seeds? So the main thing is how they were treated and kept, especially when they weren’t in the bags they are selling them in.
Here’s a bag of pawpaw and persimmon seeds I have in the fridge now to plant in the spring. I should probably put these in a freezer bag now, since I’m not sure how good this flimsy little bag keeps moisture in, but otherwise I won’t be adding anything.
I would ask someone who has good pawpaws for seed and pay a premium to get good seed.
MichaelJudd sometimes shows up here on GF. Below is a link to his website. You might check with him for some viable seed. https://ecologiadesign.com/
This. And really you can do both if the other seeds are very cheap. I just wouldn’t let the other seeds be my only seed source.
Pawpaw seeds do not need to be in a moist medium to prevent drying out. A sealed environment like a plastic bag is enough to maintain the relative humidity. Ask yourself, how are the seeds going to dry out if there is nowhere for the moisture to go?
I went to a pawpaw workshop and the guy said that he never puts the seeds in baggies with other things like sand or peat moss. He told us that he just washes them and then puts them into the baggies. Sometimes he keeps them for multiple years because not all the seeds germinate after one vernilization period.
I don’t put anything in my baggies anymore either, except a few drops of water.
How about this: ask yourself: how are the seeds going to stay healthy (without mold) if there is nowhere for the moisture to get out?
I don’t usually weigh in on conversations like this, but one item needs to be said. Ziploc bags do not prevent moisture from passing through. It is slow, but over time moisture moves out of the bag. It is especially bad in very dry climates. I’ve had scions stored in ziploc bags that were too dry to use after 4 or 5 months. It would be no problem to store seed for short lengths of time, but if you want them to last more than a few months, use a glass container with a sealed lid.
I routinely store seed in my freezer for years, in some cases up to 20 years. Seed should be at the right moisture level before being sealed in a jar and should be stored at an appropriate temperature for the species. Most tree nuts (acorn, walnut, hickory, chestnut, pawpaw) will need to be stored about 34 F. Most garden seed are best stored near 0 F.
The guy said you could sanitize the seeds with a bleach or peroxide solution, but that washing them is generally enough.
As for the baggies releasing moisture, I haven’t had anything inside a bag get bone dry before, and I’ve kept things for over a year. I still have scions from last year that are green!
I have had good luck with germinating paw paw seeds “en masse” in a bucket with moderate drainage outside over the winter. I wouldnt bother sowing seeds directly in the woods! The seeds are finicky as others have mentioned. It is best to carefully cold stratify and germinate where you can monitor conditions, then plant out as seedlings. The first year 8” tall seedlings are so hardy as bare root twigs, they dont mind the root disturbance at all. That means you can germinate, select the strongest seedlings, uproot, and plant as needed- if you did this with “sus” seeds or more reputable fresh seeds, it doesnt matter.
This is interesting. I have some seeds from wild trees with fruit good enough to eat, but I wouldn’t call them “primo”. I am going to try this with them… I still haven’t processed them yet. I’m actually getting a little nervous because you aren’t supposed to keep them inside the fruit too long, they become nonviable (ask me how I know 
).
I’m no expert, but I’ve stored damp pawpaw seeds in ziploc baggies with moistened peatmoss, in ziploc bags by themselves, and in plastic containers. There may be some differences in germination rates but I haven’t observed any. More than 75% of the seeds germinate if they don’t dry out. Occasionally a seed will get moldy no matter the storage method, and I just throw it out. But I’ve got hundreds of seeds so I don’t need to be particular.
You need to know if seeds you purchase are cold stratified or not. If from 2024 fruit, the answer would be no. Also, genetics are so important. Mediocre seed will produce mediocre fruit quality, and what’s the point of planting those unless you wish to graft them or feed the local racoon and ZSB population. Fine for reforestation / wildlife.
Good luck!
Yep I check on them now and again, to @Fusion_power ’s point.
Copy of 2024 Seed Inventory (003) (002).pdf (108.0 KB)
I am just throwing this out there But we have been gathering and disturbing seed for a long time about 30 year and all is not understood about seed like we would like to think Some seed do for unknown reasons will take 2 year and others given orther reason beyond us germinate in 3 to 60 days
The seed lots , growing conditions and weather, temps and moisture all plays a par t
We just yesterday Spread 34 pound of seed throughout our forest because they had not pasted the pre-germination test thus, we did not want to take a chance on the seed being defective
Thank you and good growing
Clifford
Cliff, I’ve “disturbed” a few seed over the years goo. 
