Named vs. Wild PawPaw

Couple dozen is a big crop. The biggest wild ones would be lucky to have that many. That’s also pretty short time. Your making this purchase a lot easier. It’s an add on to a burnt ridge order so only have what they have to pick from. Thinking shenandoah and NC1. I’m excited. No more metal.

Barry,
You have done something right. I bought potted Shanandoah and Mango in 2015.

Shanandoah (only a bit over 3’ ) has flowered every year since 2017 but set no fruit because it has no cross pollination partner.

Mango (6’ tall) has not produced a single flower. I don’t see any flower bud this year, either.

My pawpaw trees are in partial shade which is a mistake.

3-5 years seems to be the norm.

mamuang: My Mango and Shenandoah have the same behavior as yours. My Mango is almost 6’ and hasn’t produced any flower buds yet, while my Shenandoah produces flower buds ever year and started at 1.5 ft tall. I’m hoping for fruit this year on my Allegheny(74"), Wabash(74"), and maybe Shenandoah (64"); all planted in mid-late summer of 2016.

Yes, my Shanandoah started flowering at about 1.5 ft tall, too. It is a slow growing tree that is very precocious. I saw a full grown Shanandoah last summer. It was at least 12 ft tall so there is hope :smile:

A friend has Sunflower that has flowered yearly so I will ask him for some pollen. A kind member here send me scion wood with flowers on it. Maybe, cross pollination would occur.

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My mango is a fast grower. Planted as a 3ft+ potted tree from jf&e nursery in florida. Its probably 12 ft tall now. Susquehanna is around 8 ft. My shenandoah flowers annually but is barely 4 ft tall and drops flowers. It has some sort of disease. I think mango and susquehanna have it too but dont seem as bothered by it. They all have cankers near the soil line and/or elsewhere. Actually i just chopped all the branches off my shenandoah and topped it to see if it grows back some newer healthier wood. Or it finally kicks the bucket. When pruning i see bluish green discoloration in the older wood. But that probably for another topic.

@mamuang Have you tried fertilizing them heavily and irrigating? My wont grow much if i dont do that. They really shut down growth if the soil dries out in a hot spell. But our climates are very different. Im in AL zone 7b 8a.

Here is a thread where it looks like the problem in the older wood,with lesions and blue color is discussed a little.bb

A couple dozen is pretty easily achievable if the tree is growing on its own in full sun, as opposed to in the woods like the wild ones will do. My Sunflower is in its fourth year and still smaller than me, but it gave over 2 dozen fruit this past year, which was its first real crop. I think wild ones would do the same.

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I usually fertilize fruit trees moderately. However, since last year, pawpaws get more fertilizer and will get more from this year on.

We have wet spring but summer can be dry. Before last year, I did not water much, Shanandoah’s leaves turned yellow by Aug. Mango has stronger growth so it was handling a drought better.

Last year, I made sure I watered them really well and often. No extended dry period for them. They responded very well esp. Shanandoah.

Yup, lessons learned. Fertilizing and watering my pawpaws.

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Lots of wild pawpaws around here but the bulk of them like to hang out on the river banks. I have seen the river flood 10 feet higher and completely submerge some for a day or two. Not only did they live they fruited. Pawpaw love water and fertilizer. Fertilizer replicates the rich nutrients of the river water. Might be able to over fertilize, but I doubt you can over water.

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The only wild pawpaws I ever found were on a steep, rocky mountainside in the Ouachitas. It was deep in the woods, so there was lots of organic matter. I’m trying to remember if that was in the wetter or dryer part of the range, as some parts get 50" and some get 35". Either way, it was in a spot that definitely dried out over the summer, so I think they’re pretty adaptable. Either that, or the Ouachita pawpaws have some different genetics.

It’s the tap root. All the tap rooted trees are able to reach down and find their own water. Have to agree they are pretty adaptable though. Curious as to what flavor profile wilds have there. Tj-westpa was saying his are like banana. Mine are more mango. I bought a few wilds from around the country a few years ago to get different flavors. None have fruited though.

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I’d buy that. Unfortunately, I never got to taste them, as I was at least a month too early. I think it was in the Kiamichi range, probably the Oklahoma end of things. If you feel like looking for a needle in a steep, bouldery, poison ivy covered haystack.

Anyone know if two in a hole would work with pawpaw?

I have two really close (not in 1 hole, but within 1.5 feet of each other.)

The biggest problem I have is that it is tough to keep them from growing into each other and shading the other one…

Pollenation definitely isn’t a problem…

Scott

Yes I have heard of planting two in a hole altho I have not done it. I believe you prune them to not interfere with each other.

Everything I have has to be pruned out of deer height. Mine will not be as bushy as some of the members picts. Deer usually are not interested in pawpaw but if they find out I paid for it the tender new growth might taste better.

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That’s about what I was going to do, just one big hole. Pollination is the purpose. Plus space. I’m not going to worry about them growing into each other. Just thin the branches some so they don’t touch. As I just learned the grafted ones take about the same amount of time to fruit as apples and pears. I’m thinking about stuffing pawpaw in every little space I have.

Unlikely that deer will eat the plants themselves - I’ve seen reports on areas of the Northeast where the deer population is out of control, and the only thing remaining in the forest understory is pawpaws… they’ve browsed or grazed everything else out of existence. But, like you said, if they find out you’ve paid for them… all bets are off.
Bucks will, however, gladly demolish them with their antlers just prior to and during the rut, unless you cage them.

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Your right. Problem is they like to sample to see that they don’t like it. A one foot pawpaw only takes one bite to finish it.
I lose two or three trees every year to bucks. Went with cages this year.

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They trimmed a couple of mine last February. I didn’t fence them off. They don’t bother them normally though.