No divine inspiration implied. Trial and error. Lytle Ranch, Beaver Dam Wash, Mojave Desert.
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In my opinion we have enough superior DNA for breeding far better things than existed in the past.
With 12K seedlings, survival of the fittest approach will ensure a Sonoran Desert success, even if everything I do other than (plant & water) turns out to be blunder of an OCD gardener.
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Do you have DNA from BYU?
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Nope.
And the Director of their program has been even less responsive to email than (Sheri Crabtree & Kirk Pomper).
But I know from an article that they purchased equipment for doing very detailed DNA analysis.
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They were planning on hybridization or CRISPR it with something to make it more cold tolerant, from what I read on a blog.
Not sure how accurate that claim is though.
Surh-Anore woks for me in 7b
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@Osteen @Persimmon1,
if I remember correctly:
@scottfsmith “Surh-Anore” all frost to death winter of 2021, when no other cold hardy pomegranate did.
If he is zone 7a & you zone 7B, then that would put you at the fringe temperature limits of the species, presumably.
However, to toss a little scientific mud in the water:
Soil levels of Zinc, Potassium, Sodium, Boron all effect Auxin levels which effect cold hardiness.
Soil & water Chloride levels effect the freezing temperature of water by several degrees.
Natural (gycols & glycerols) in some types of decomposing plant materials can slightly effect freeze point of the plant that absorbed them.
All these synergistically combined can effect cold hardiness of a location by up to 8 degrees F.
PS: Surh-Anore is a pomegranate, not an Asimina triloba, which is the on topic subject, lol.
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The advantage of the Gregory Levin R-33 Surh-Anore in 7b is not it’s cold hardiness, but it’s resistance to high humidity problems on the fruit.
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Hope so in 6b…got it through the cold by keeping it indoors.
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Good luck with it. My abode is surrounded by pawpaw varietal plantings with a firepit in the front courtyard encircled with Poms. Pawpaws thrive with willd abandon here, the pomegranates struggle fiercely. The wood fire helps alleviate the humidity and cold, Life is a struggle and the struggle is real. I included pawpaw varieties in this post to you so that Mr. Zinhead will not cry foul and flag me for going off topic. LOL
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post deleted by author
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Post removed by author in order to spread Goodwill and unconditional Love to all Mankind.
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I’ve got seedlings of Susquehanna, Shenandoah and Wabash
one of the Susquehanna is 3 years old the others are last summer or this spring the seeds germinated.
I ordered a sunflower, it was sold to me as a 3 year old sapling. I’m not sure if any of the university strains would be worth putting in, I do have room in the wet area for maybe one more (two, actually, considering at least one that I’ve got may not make it, given my usual odds)
what’s a good variety for extreme cold/heat? I’m in 6b but we don’t get spring and fall as most places do, higher elevation and high desert. wondering if there’s a variety that’s fast growing (relatively for pawpaw) or that’s going to do particularly well in my conditions
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Tucson is a lot warmer than us, wow! I wish I could get older trees but I’m playing the waiting game for now
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The Mighty ‘Sunflower’ Pawpaw has fruited in the extreme winters of Wisconsin and the summer heat at the Cochise Stronghold in Southeastern Arizona. As far as I know, Chappel is the fastest grower of all pawpaws. Perhaps a cultivar for your serious consideration this KSU Chappel; Wonderful flavor like Susquehanna, but superior in vigor.
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I’ll look for it! I’ve had Susquehanna among other wild found pawpaw where I grew up, which is why I was so glad to sprout two of those. if it’s a similar flavor profile and produces soon (ish) I would probably love it.
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If I were your next door neighbor and wishing to purchase two Pawpaws for my back yard, my choices would be Sunflower and Chappel. I would order them from Edible Landscaping.com Michael McConkley is the plantsman. Consumate professional. I would purchase the large specimens.
sold out of chappel it looks like- I have the sunflower in as of today though! along with its friends. I’ll let looking to see if I can find one this year, hope I don’t have to wait for next
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I agree with Mr. Osteen. Chappelle was one of my absolute favorites this past season. Rich but not overpowering. Definitely a must have.
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Awesome suggestion!
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