I have been reading pawpaws like lots of water. My yard already has a lot of wind and a location in 5A, the third “strike” is that my lawn is extremely sandy.
I trenched a drain pipe from one gutter this summer, spilling into a hole about 2’ deep and wide; my idea had been to plant water-loving irises around the border of the drain. I am now thinking it might also be a great spot for pawpaws, as its the only reliably “wet” spot in the yard; if the pawpaw was planted say 3’ behind the hole, feeder roots could find their way to a reliable water source. The problem is that also puts the pawpaw maybe 5, possibly 10’ from our septic drain field.
I know next to nothing about septic, it looked like it was basically a bunch of rocks with porous fabric laid above and below to keep from filling in with sand. Sorry if my question is dumb, but would there be concerns about a pawpaw (or any other tree, for that matter) growing above or near the septic drain field?
The septic drain field here is totally surrounded by lots of very huge trees, so it is necessary to systematically dose the field with a # of the blue copper crystals to beat back the roots’ continual search and destroy missions. So, whatever you do plant near the drain field, over time you will need to schedule the same copper defense barrier so that the piping and roots can peacefully co-exist. Chemical fences make good neighbors…below ground. As far as paw paw trees’ soggy soil tolerance on a short term basis, The in-ground trees here range from 4"+ main trunk thickness to only 1/4" thick, and they were all equally flooded and under water(maybe 1 foot deep) for 1 week, followed by another week or two of super saturated root zone soil. None show any consequences. Maybe longer term flooding/saturation would have brought some of the trees to the point of no return, but that did not happen here. Chemical barrier or not, I would not plant a mulberry tree near that field.
Hear, hear! Fruitility nails it!
Despite all the dire warnings of the end of the world if you plant a tree anywhere near your septic leach field, they’re mostly incorrect. A pound of CuSO4 flushed down the toilet a couple of times a years will keep root incursion at bay.
Have a good friend who operates a woodland arboretum in IL… Septic leach field runs out through a heavily wooded area - and has done so for 30+ years… have never needed the septic tank pumped or the field lines replaced… but they treat with copper sulfate twice a year. Religiously.
That said, I still would probably not plant a willow or maple anywhere close to mine… and mulberry might well be in the same class with the two aforementioned genera. Pawpaws… probably not all that aggressive.
While native pawpaws are on stream beds, I have not noticed them to be particularly drought susceptible. I have never watered my pawpaws in 10+ years and they are planted on a hill so they drain quickly. So, while it may be OK to plant them in a more wet area, it is not a requirement.
True dat, Scott.
While most native pawpaws that I’ve found with fruit on them are growing on creekbanks, and my named-parentage seedlings & graftlings are planted in one of the wettest low spots near the house… I also have pawpaws growing throughout the wooded hills in my forest property… dry, rocky ground.