Pawpaws 2023

how sweet is real sweet? i thought they were less sweet like sunflower?

why are they brown? which variety?

I donā€™t have a refractometer to measure brix, so I canā€™t give you an objective answer to that. I tend to say real sweet when something is sweeter than I expected and is pleasantly sweet. Itā€™s not very sweet or too sweet, but itā€™s sweet enough for my palette. Any less sweet and those with a sweet tooth might not care for it. It was sweeter than average for a Shenandoah, which, as you mentioned, tend to be less sweet than most other named varieties.

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lol thanks

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Is the reason you see pawpaws by river/creek banks is cause the seed is spread by water easily AND the long taproot prevents floods from pushing/breaking down the trees by anchoring them?

If so, Iā€™m curious how long that taproot can get.

I been planting more pawpaw seeds as understory trees deeper in some wooded trails in any park i visit, but did plant a few along the creeks as well. Although I seen alot of the dirt along the creeks get washed out by recent floods so not sure how well seeds will do there without a year or 2 to get established.

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@armyofda12mnkeys

They love water and the lowland pawpaw leaves are very big. In the wind they are torn easily so do better in a sheltered, shaded , protected spot. See the attached photos and how i grow them here

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Probably only their Creator has all your informationā€¦but as you suggest, probably so.
And I suspect itā€™d have to be deep silt for a taproot to reach gigantic proportions.

Question Pawpaw experts. I got a new Pawpaw in the mail about a foot and a half tall. It has two branches in a V shape at the top. In the mail one of these broke but is still attached by just the bark at the bottom. I have not planted it out yet. Should I just cut this off? Should I tie it up into place and let it eventually heal? Advice appreciated.

V at top is not good- could be a weak crotch so Iā€™d cut off the broken section, no loss.

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Thanks so much. Will this heal on its own? Should I do something at the break point?

Iā€™d just prune the entire damaged limb off at the branch collar right where it emerges from the main stem. For a tree this small, you arenā€™t losing much. It will grow new laterals once it wakes up from dormancy.

My pawpaws developed an attractive natural fan-shaped branch distribution when planted as a whip (a single small stem with no side branches).

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Cut it off and maybe practice grafting it onto a seedling in Mid-May (i think thats when i heard people graft pawpaws). Then you get two for the price of 1 :slight_smile:

Thanks. Is there any concern with rotting? If I put it out today it will be rained on the next day. I can keep it inside for a couple days if need be.

Thanks!

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You should be fine. My pawpaws are also in a rainy 8A climate, and Iā€™ve never had any issues with rot occurring in pruning wounds.

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Let us know when you do get fruit.
Very curious about when these ripen in zone 5a to 4b.