Affirmative
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I can asure you it has not been a myth in my experience…planted together in 2019 with Atwood and 4 Peterson Vaieties, Chappell has out grown all the others by at least 50%…It is now (2025) 15+ feet tall with very large leaves and dense vigourous growth…see photo for comparison…the large tree is Chappelle…I’ll get my first fruit this year…no myth…the real deal
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I have not heard much talk on this forum of the Kentucky variety “Green River Belle”. I grafted a branch of it three years ago and have gotten a few fruits to test. It is a really nice tasting pawpaw. I think its my favorite in terms of taste. It is nicely sweet and lacks that strong aromatic funk that many varieties (even the good ones) seems to have. The only downside is that it seems seedy compared with peterson varieties. I have no idea what the seed % is, but I can assure you it is a lot higher than shenandoah and susquehanna. Its fruit is longer and smaller in diameter than other top varieties and a bit curved like a banana.
I used to favor the stronger flavored susquehanna, and I still think that a top quality susquehanna is hard to beat, but so many of them are just too strong in that asiminous aromatic funk flavor for me. It’s hard to hit them at just the right stage of ripeness. They get too noxious for me pretty quickly. So I’ve been enjoying the milder ones like Shenandoah and Green River Belle the last couple of years. If you are into the milder sweet types you might like GRB. Sorry I don’t have pics. I’m curious on others experiences with GRB.
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What do you think is pollinating your GRB? If its another cultivar those seedlings might turn out pretty good. I haven’t gotten to taste it yet. Sounds like one I should add.
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Other mature varieties that I have are shenandoah, susquehanna, mango, and Nyomi’s delicious.
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I got to sample 3 GRB a few weeks ago.
They were also small and seedy as described above. Flavor was just ok. IIRC however there was some coconut aspect, but this is not unique.
I won’t be adding this one to my collection.
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A lot of people say they get a hint of cinnamon or spice from it. Do you pick up any of that in yours?
I had some from Ockoo last year and they were good despite being a little smaller. I didn’t pick up on any cinnamon notes though.
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This is a definitely a thing in pawpaws.
At KSU in 2016 while walking the old, lower orchard I had an unknown fruit that tasted like Red Hots candy.
Happened again with a wild fruit In Hermitage TN.
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I did not pick up any cinnamon and spice.
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What pawpaw varieties have a cinnamon flavor?
allegedly nyomi’s delicious does, havent had it though
What’s everyone’s favorite pawpaw variety and why?
I’m thinking of getting a few trees next year
I would judge a pawpaw ina few ways to determine a favorite:
- precocious (Chapelle supposedly wins)
- production (unsure, Ive heard some are too prolific!)
- size (chapelle wins again)
- seed ratio (most good ones too similar for me to have noticed)
- flavor (Shenandoah, NC1)
- texture (all good)
- less theoretical health issues (unsure)
A lot of people have very different opinions on flavors, and you can see from taste tests that some people like fruity pawpaws and some like rich pawpaws.
In general I’d be happy with any modern variety of pawpaw that doesn’t have a bad after taste (which is most of them). Most modern pawpaws will be big and prolific enough to give you enough for you and your family while they’re fruiting. I posted above on results of some of the taste tests I’ve done. I probably like Shenandoah the best, but wouldn’t knock anyone for planting Chapelle or nc1 or some other variety instead
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I’m thinking of getting Shenandoah, Sunflower, and Mango
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It depends on your personal flavor profile
Mango, tropical treat and such are my favorite
I prefer the tropical flavor
I don’t like the banana or vanilla custard dominant flavor
So those are my favorites
I have several other varieties and will have a better sense of the others next year
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Overleese selected from wild 1950 (one parent of Shenandoah) tends to fly under the radar for some reason. I love it. Some of these older varieties like Sunflower, Mango I like a lot.
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I’ll chime in with others in this thread and agree on Mango as a favorite. Its readily available and I’ve enjoyed the Mango fruits that I’ve gotten from growers in different states. I also enjoyed KSU Pomper’s Choice though its more difficult to acquire at the moment. Great flavor, texture, flesh content, and the “freestone” quality.
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surprised everyone loves mango so much. It is my wifes favorite she tried, but i definately found it mid and Ive heard atwoot is a better version (if you dont get the uneven ripening, which I’m not sure how widespread it is)
Anyway: my favorite was definately Potomac and shenendoah, but I like that banana, custardy flavor. Both of us hated sunflower- has that bitter taste.
I planted Chappell, Atwood, and Nyomi’s delicious, but i havent tried any of those. Mostly based off blakes book description and comparing it to ones ive tried’s description.
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