Pawpaw Varieties

Since this thread is about Pawpaw varieties, here is a nursery in the UK,that has many,some I’ve heard of,but quite a few new to me.
It looks like they have connections to US growers and should be a key source there and possibly for Europe.
https://www.hillbillypawpaws.com/

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Sounds a little ‘full of himself’…I know a wildflower nursery in West Virginia like that. :smirk:

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Ok, now that I’ve eaten more frozen pawpaws, I’m convinced the astringency and bitterness that’s often in the background when fresh moves to the forefront when frozen. Anyone else have this experience? I’m not crazy am I? (Well I sometimes am… , but I mean about this phenolic flavors becoming more pronounced when pawpaws are frozen.)

Some of the pawpaws I consider “medium strength” I don’t have much of an appetite for as frozen, even though I enjoy them to varying degrees when fresh.

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I was very impressed by Chappell when i tried it. Firm texture, distinct pineapple flavor, no off-flavors or bitterness.
It was just one bite of one fruit but it’s the best bite of pawpaw I’ve had.

Unfortunately KSU says it may be prone to phyllosticta (i.e. more than other varieties).
Though, I’ve not had any problems with mine so far after 2 years in the ground. It’s not bearing yet.

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I have to admit I feel exactly the same way despite the fact that I am somewhat obsessed with this species.
Its not purely about the eating experience. There’s a mystique about this tree and fruit that just makes it alluring.
The tree is beautiful (IMO), it’s native, it’s got quirky characteristics, weird, mesmerizing, yeasty flowers, and fruits that are cute/strange/ugly/intoxicatingly perfumed/ironically tropical/flavor-shifting…

So yeah, lots to love!

But for pure eating bliss, and something I could gorge on, I would go with mango, jackfruit, lychee, peaches, plums, durian (limited gorging potential), etc.

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Totally agree. Deer steer clear of it (at least here they do). They don’t need extra care. No spraying needed. Fairly self sufficient on left on their own. If only stone fruits had these characteristics… :slight_smile:

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For future reference, since I can’t update my previous post. No pawpaw festival in 2020. In 2019, winners:

1st: Ron and Terri Powell - variety Shenandoah
2nd: Richard Owens - variety Jerry’s Big Girl (275-39)
3rd: George Hale - variety Wabash

Biggest Pawpaw Winner: Richard Owens - variety wild 728g (1lb 9.6oz)

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Dr. Matt Davies’ lab at Ohio State University is doing research on factors affecting potential profitability, including flavor, number of seeds, sugar content, firmness, etc. I believe (it is hard to capture all the info in tables!) the top ranked for firmness was Sunflower, which is also said by some sources to be self-fruitful. His team is also looking at other factors that affect yield in both wild and orchard settings. He presented a webinar called Powerful Pawpaws through the Chadwick Arboretum 23 Sep 2021. It will be posted to their website within 2 weeks.

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Actually the research papers from KSU discussing the genetics of their releases (and comparing to others) contain tables for brix, seed to flesh ratio, fat content, firmness, etc… A lot of the data exists, the problem is that it’s scattered across various academic papers. Often times the data exists without a common denominator which makes cross referencing values between cultivars difficult. Moreover, the regional differences make it hard to definitively apply analysis to every location.

Apples are probably the best comparison. As well researched as apples are, it’s still hard to compare say a Pink Pearmain grown in Ontario from one grown in say Georgia. The brix will be diff. There will be an overall trend with flavors, etc… , but regional differences do play a big role though. NC-140 trials do show substantial differences between stone fruits and apples grown in the north, south, as well as east coast vs west coast.

Pawpaw research is even less developed and well funded in comparison than malus, I expect there are many things that we have yet to learn about pawpaws. We still haven’t figured out a way to induce dwarfism, precociousness, the mechanisms of diseases, such as BSD, aren’t exactly known in pawpaws. We still researching for ways to clonally propagate rootstock. As it is, at the nursery level, every rootstock should be genetically different because they are grown from seed. The current limited research (which is like 10 years old) suggests rootstock doesn’t have an impact on precociousness or bearing age or long term vigor, but this is from statistical differential analysis, which only suggests p-value, or confidence interval. It doesn’t eliminate the possibility, because currently, it’s not feasible to perform the actual trial. Should this become possible, more research may reveal otherwise.

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Box number 7 of pawpaws. @TrilobaTracker I still would trade it all for a bucket of peaches. There I said it. >_<

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I like the marker I.D.s - - - Great idea! I thought about doing that for my pomegranates so I can keep them straight once I pick them. :+1:t2: :+1:t2: :+1:t2:

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Hehehe
Yeah this year I ate more pawpaws than ever, since several of my trees produced for the first time.
I actually think I like them more than before, but the nature of pawpaws is still such that you can’t just gorge on them. They lack that acidity that I believe allows you to keep eating. My muscadines I could eat a gallon of-they’re juicy, sweet, and just a hint of acidity that keeps you coming back.

To me pawpaws are kind of like roulette- every individual fruit has the potential to be unique, so you want to keep trying them to see what you’re gonna get.
So, that’s a lot of the appeal for me, not as much the sheer eating pleasure (as with a peach)

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Some people because of the right genes or disposition or whatever seem to be able to gorge on them. They can eat them by the bucket like I eat peaches, without any ill effects what so ever. It amazes me.

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I suppose you’re right. I’ve not met any personally but I’m sure they exist.
Yeah i have had too many bad pawpaws (almost all wild) and a couple instances of stomach distress (explainable) so I will likely never become a pawpaw gorger :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I wish I recorded something about a week ago… I gave a box of pawpaws to someone (about 2 gallons worth), and I was watching them break into them to taste the goodies. They just sat down happy as a clam and ate half of the whole box in one sitting over the course of half an hour. :astonished: I asked them how they felt a day later, perfectly fine just asked if we had more. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m nowhere near as brave as you to venture into wild pawpaws unless someone else volunteers as my taste tester first.

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best place to buy paw paws?

Define “best”. Cheap? Largest capiler? Largest root system? biggest selection? nursery stock guarantee?

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I’ve seen no evidence the trees grow faster because of humidity. They grow fastest in a warm climate. They seem to prefer areas with high heat during day and night, which in the eastern US is basically the same as the areas with high humidity. But they seem to grow just as fast in hot areas with low humidity. I grew them in the California Central Valley where high heat and low humidity were the norm during growing season and my seedlings grew very fast. They would typically grow taller and bear fruit faster than those grown in the Midwestern US.

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I can eat a bunch for sure :slightly_smiling_face:

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@TrilobaTracker See there ya go. lol

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