back to the stoolbed theory…
I just wanted to point out that pawpaw suckers do not originate from burried stems or branches but they originate from roots, same as rootsuckers on American persimmon. All members of the Rosaceae (apple, pear, hawthorn, mountain ash, quince, juneberry, etc…) have a tendancy to form roots on the burried stem or burried branches. Hence the stoolbed method was developed. However, as far as I know pawpaw doesn’t form any roots on burried stem or branches, it only developes adventitious buds on roots that later develop into root suckers. That is a significant difference…
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good to know.
that is quite a significant difference,
Have root cuttings been tried?
A “regular” stoolbed might work. Simply because the heavy yearly pruning, tends to also incentivize suckering from roots. I assume it also does this for pawpaw? does anyone have experience with heavily pruning a pawpaw? (like 80% of the above ground tree)
I think that could work, but you need a named pawpaw variety on its own roots to start with. Once you have a single plant multiplying it should be relatively straightforward.
I want to try a stoolbed with a hybrid chestnut that I managed to root recently. I had to graft it and bury it for a while though.
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For me, a highly desirable pawpaw cultivar growing on its own roots with all suckers growing true to type is exponentially more valuable than a grafted tree of the same cultivar which will produce suckers of unknown quality (pawpaws are grafted to seedlings, NOT superior clonal rootstock selections).
While an individual pawpaw trunk will age out over time, there is no indication that the roots will age out even through multiple generations of people. When you plant a grafted pawpaw you plant it for yourself, but an own root of the same quality would leave a self perpetuating legacy well into the future.
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I agree with you! It’s just not something that anyone has really figured out yet with reasonable success.
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While it may be near impossible to get a grafted pawpaw back on its own roots, I think moving forward we can do better as a collective group of enthusiasts. In the future when new cultivar worthy pawpaw trees are discovered we need to make sure we have people propagating own root trees from the originals. Granted, this won’t lessen the demand for cheaper grafted specimens, but those in the know will be very happy to pay the higher prices associated with the extra work of producing the own root trees.
Too many of the currently available selections were released to the public exclusively as grafted trees. That practice needs to change.
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It is CLOSE to impossible, but people have done it. The challenge I see with that route for what you are saying, is that you can’t really be sure about a sucker being from a specific tree until it fruits, assuming it’s close to other pawpaws.
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Yes, that is the challenge, but there’s an easy work around. Just trace out along some major roots from the original tree, make some wounds to encourage suckering and mark the spot to collect suckers from the desired tree in the future. Sure it’s a bit of work, but I would consider the time spent to be a sound investment.
Preferably add some loose soil over the damaged roots so that the suckers will have a decent amount of length between the original roots and the soil surface.
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I’m planting a lot of seedlings from seed sourced from cultivars and UC Davis something or another pawpaw seed. And I’ll plant more cultivar seed… the reason is to start my own exchange “situation” for others doing the same. I brought this up as an idea some time ago on here (I don’t remember when) and encouraged others to begin planting seedlings… for this very reason.
Once you get a tree to 8 or 12 feet and cut if off at the base it begins forming spreading colonies. Before you know it, You’ll have suckers everywhere. What I’ve tried digging is basically a carrot root though so establishment of pawpaw suckers takes tremendous encouragement (babying with shade cloth and planting out of the sun if you can; such that like under the front of woodland facing north) and “lots and lots and lots” of watering. You’ll need to watch the leaves closely to tell you if they need food; all these kinds of things.
@JohannsGarden - is unquestionably correct that to “chase” a root - when near other pawpaws, means, starting at the tree and digging to to chase a root to find a sucker connected to the original.
Tyler Halvin did this with his Selection, ‘Caspian’… formerly ‘Prince Caspian’… he was able to establish one. He dug near the ortet which is 80-90 feet tall btw with a 2’ diameter at 4 foot breast height. He took home an 8 or 9 foot tall sucker and planted it in pure shade.
There’s a lot of good ideas & information to continue with this-thread…
Dax
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How has Halvin pawpaw done for growers? Above par taste?
I haven’t tried ‘Halvin’. I don’t have it grafted, either.
I say this with acknowledgent that I am very green in the ways of propagation, but there are a couple dots I haven’t seen connected that may or may not mean it is a useless thought…
For Medlar grafts, a lot of practice suggests buring the graft so that the scion eventually grows its own roots. If applied to Pawpaw, it does not completely get around the issue of basal clones, but is there potential for this to create a set of roots from which desired basal clones and/or cultivar specific roots can be collected for the suitably motivated. The taproot would likely remain purely the original rootstock, but I assume the clones are forming from roots closer to the surface, in which case some of them would be true to the original scion.
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One basic tenet that so many people either don’t consider, or are unaware of… Asimina is the sole surviving temperate genus of a family of ‘tropical’ plants. It’s root system is very unlike almost all deciduous tree species that most of us are familiar with… it has a relatively ‘fleshy’ root system that is just as dormant as the top, when the plant is in winter dormancy.
Most other temperate deciduous (I know almost nothing about conifers) species are carrying on root growth during the dormant season, any time the ground is not frozen solid. But not pawpaw; that’s why bareroot seedlings should be transplanted just as they’re coming out of dormancy, and suckers have best chance of surviving if dug & transplanted in late summer, before the fall descent into dormancy.
The old ‘toothpick’ deal… piercing the stem at base of current year’s growth in August, inserting toothpick, cutting off below the pierce/toothpick in November, and inserting in rooting medium over winter … would likely never work for pawpaws, for, ‘if’ they produced callus tissue at the wound site… it would never initiate root growth during the winter. I’ve never tried the technique, so can’t attest to whether it really works for any tree/shrub species that’s not already known for readily being propagated from cuttings.
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Some of the deciduous magnolias have the same type roots, Lucky.
They are in the same distant family as pawpaws.
Some species can grow roots from callous tissue, or even directly trough the bark (think of fig/grape roots coming trough the bark without damage induced callous tissue)
But some do not. Most seedling EU pears, have clearly different tissue for the root and stem. And planting them to deep can lead to stem rot. Planting to shallow to drying out the root.
With hard to root things, your best bet might be to force the plant to grow a shoot from belowground. This fresh growth can sometimes still root or root easier than old lignified shoots.
You can do this by not just burring the graft, but also shoots above the graft that have buds. If you force those buds you get a new shoot growing through dark moist soil.
This is also how most stool-beds are setup. But there they usually use ungrafted plants. (buried shoots with buds that is)
i must say though that i have no experience with pawpaw’s. So i have no idea whats easy/possible rooting wise there.
i imagine if all “conventional” technique’s fail. You could get an own rooted plant by tissue culture. Although i’d love to learn/try that some day. I have no experiance with that.
I do know however they can propagate (and root) lots of plants with tissue culture that can not (effectively) be otherwise propagated. A lot of the “newer” non apple rootstocks come to mind.
Tissue cultures apparently are viable in the right lab environment.
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This is helpful info, thank you.
I am pretty sure that it never will. Why would it do so anyway?