Sounds like what happened here. Lack of rain led to premature dropping which leads to improperly developed flavors and off flavors.
That’s some big fruit though!
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OK…after poring thru additional information and observing my trees / fruits, I’ll refine my GDD ripening “estimates” to 2400 GDD for very early varieties and 2800 GDD for very late varieties…I’ll reach 2400 GDD here (NY 6A) on about Sept 9…(2271 on 8/31 based on Poughkeepsie weather data)…so mid season varieties would be about 2600 GDD and looks like about Sept 24…my “mid season” Chappell fruit are still rock hard as of 8/31…will they last another 3 weeks?..we will see…2800 GDD for very late varieties looks to occur here about Oct 23…most likely after the first frost…so about 6 weeks between very early and very late ripening varieties at this northern location…sounds reasonable?..anyone??..I would expect perhaps 3 weeks less separation in much more southern locations…as of now, I expect all varieties will ripen at my site except for some late varieties in somewhat cooler than average seasons…not bad I’d say…eventually I’ll have hard data at my site for perhaps a dozen varieties (only 5 now) and in multiple years…fate willing…I got a lot of idle time on my hands and this is, at the very least, a fun if not “fruitful” exercise…Beemster
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can anyone ID this variety by the fruit?..I somehow managed to lose the map for what I planted in 2019 …planted Chappell / Atwood / Potomac / Susquehanna / Shenandoah / Allegheny…lost one and I know which one is Chappell by the growth rate…the fruit in the photo are still rock hard and not overly large as of 8/31…at least 7 bunches on this tree and some with a kind of kidney bean shape fruit…possibly Atwood??
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I have an opportunity to plant 2 pawpaw trees soon and Shenandoah and Mango are available for free. Would these varieties pollenate each other? Thanks.
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Yep.
Can’t really say, but Atwood in my experience definitely has a blueish-green skin color so that may help eventually figure things out.
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Have you seen any of Woody Walker’s ripening research?
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thanks…yes…I’m now thinking Allegheny…saw claim that the skin stays pure green at ripeness…also said precocious and productive…my tree has 7 bunches the first year it held fruit…also says the flesh is yellow…so far, a better fit…we’ll see
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…thanks…that helps a lot…KSU uses GDD from peak bloom to peak ripeness…I was using accumulated GDD 50F after April 1…don’t know when peak bloom was by me although I will guess around May 1 at the very earliest…then I will assume 2400 GDD is needed from May 1 to full ripeness for an early variety… then using the actual temp data from Poughkeepsie this year predicts an early ripening date for Allegheny of Sept 19 (I now believe the fruit in picture from post # 1163 is Allegheny) …scarily late for an early cultivar…this is the result of the recent and continuing cool period of the last 6 and next 6 days relative to the average year…anyway, I think I got my head around what I need to know and plan on getting actual full bloom and full ripeness data for my 5 varieties next year …that along with good close by temp. data should enable me to make some good conclusions and predictions about a northern location… especially if this data is compiled for a couple years…eventually hopefully expanded to a dozen common premium varieties…I don’t think the KSU data is particularly useful for my site or any northern site…a world of difference down there…they reach 3000+ GDD by the end of August in an average year…I NEVER reach 3000 GDD…at any time in any year…they’re in pawpaw country…I am not…wild pawpaws know where they want to live and mature their fruit…no wild pawpaws anywhere near me…a prediction…we will never see pawpaw research from a university in New York…but the warming we have experienced even over the last 15 years has given the northern pawpaw enthusiast a better shot.
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No worries, other than they need some mulch and manure too get them going. I’m in NH Z5a and found mine did almost nothing for there first two seasons then took off. They like to get their roots established before doing much else.
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Something about that picture Makes me wonder if many of those pawpaws were actually ready to pick.
I think some folks selling pawpaws don’t understand when to harvest.
I recently visited a local guy advertising pawpaws that clearly were wild based on the pics. Went out there and he was yanking rock hard fruit off the trees and handing to us to sample. I put the tiny fruit in my pocket and said “I’ll save this for later.” 
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Next time tell him “You first” and then wait for him to eat one. Then give him a call later that day and ask how he’s feeling. 
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Even with all the rain we have had this year it seems like many of the fruit is undersized. I plan to thin every cluster down to a single fruit next year. I still have some nice ones. I should have taken photos of Benson. I thinned that tree down to mostly single fruits and it did great. The tree in the photo is KSU Atwood and Chappelle is next to it.
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what varieties have fruited and matured their fruit for you in your Zone 5A?..also in what years and where is your location?..it would be a good data point for pawpaw enthusiasts in northern zones in New England…thanks Beemster
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Last night four of us tasted Mango, Susquehanna, Chappelle. We ranked them in that order. Mango, top prize, was subtle and complex, has flavors I haven’t found before in pawpaw, could have eaten more, even though I usually prefer bolder flavors. First good taste I’ve gotten of Mango and mine certainly aren’t soft, super-perishable as some growers describe.
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Edible landscaping has a fall tasting of their paw paws and said mango is usually the top rated by first timers
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A stupid squirrel tore off one of my pawpaws and tried eating it. It was dry and hard. I hope he realizes that they aren’t very good like that and holds off.
John S
PDX OR
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Kentucky State Forrestry already sold out of their pawpaw stock on sales opening day yesterday, but they should restock at some point again i heard if you need graftable rootstock for $1 each.
https://secure2.kentucky.gov/InventoryServices/Forestry/Seedlings
Any other state nurseries that have good graftable rootstock at the same cheapo price?
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I just thought I’d report on the tasting of the 300g wild pawpaws I found. I ate the first one today and it was delicious. Lighter flesh than others from the area and the flavor reflects that. Creamy, light and a general fruitiness I wouldn’t place as more banana or mango flavored. I haven’t tasted a Shenandoah, but I sort of the taste seems similar to how I’ve heard it described. The seeds popped out quite easily when eating, instead of tenaciously clinging to the surrounding flesh, so that is another plus. No appreciable off tastes either. I’ll definitely be going back to the tree to see if it has any more fruit to offer this year.
19g of seeds puts the seeds at only a little over 6% of total weight.
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