I find Chappell to be candy-like. It also is prone to cracking and phyllosticta.
Not saying it’s a bad cultivar just sharing my personal growing experience and KSUs own comments (regarding phyllo).
There’s not a ton of flavor difference across pawpaw varieties IMO. some are milder: vanilla custard, such as Shenandoah, or coconutty like Al Horn or Florence White. Otherwise all would be considered “tropical” in some sense of the word.
While for me Chappell is very sweet and not terribly nuanced, it is rather “tropically fruity” I’d say.
I’d recommend any Peterson or Lehman variety (except Shenandoah which is very plain Jane IMO - which some love but doesn’t sound like what you want.)
I have several black walnuts on my property and have looked into it extensively. Several scientific studies list pawpaws tolerant of juglone. that being said, I would still plant them outside the drip line of any black walnut tree if only for the higher production in full sun.
I’d agree with Tim, it is firmer and less creamy. Flavor wise I would have to have it again, I’ve only eaten a few. But it is very sweet and excellent, Susquehanna like but less intense, with lighter flesh. Very little seed weight. I have a few crates of grafted trees ready to go as soon a KSU releases it.
Pawpaws appear by many accounts and observations to be juglone tolerant, possibly not affected at all. They are native to the same areas, so this makes sense. ON the edge of one of my orchards, black walnuts are growing maybe 15-20 ft from pawpaws and there seems to be no effect. Many report similar.
I have fruit for the first time this year and can report later, if the varmints don’t steal them.
I’ve tasted the fruit on 2 occasions but would say they weren’t ideal specimens. Not particularly memorable but there was some mild coconut IIRC.
I had a very vigorous seedling of one of those fruits. Its fruit definitely was not typically flavored - coconut/vanilla etc with little to no “pawpaw flavor.” But the fruit were small, elongated, and seedy.
I axed the tree this year.
Maybe the KSU release of 1-4 will describe disease resistance and acetogenin content. We don’t have acetogenin measurements on many of the cultivars in circulation now do we? I’ve seen it on six or so a while back.
Thank you for that video. I have two places that are slightly uphill from giant walnut trees and I was planning to put pawpaws and elderberries in both locations.
they are slow for me as I am at 2k elevation in the West in an arid high desert region. winter is extremely cold and summer is extremely dry. unlike most people growing these, they are a high maintenance tree here. I have planted so many from seed and bare root and only 3 have survived.
I will plant seed every time I get a pawpaw, though, and continue to try to grow my patch.
I was concerned with the slow growth but gave a little more fertilizer, I’m very nervous to do it as I lost one or two smaller trees to fertilize burn, so I try to be careful. I do not mind if they are slow as long as they survive, though more growth would be nice
edit to add I will always gladly take and try to grow seeds from any flavorful fruit. I love them and will give them a good chance if I can
