Maria Joy is claimed by many to have very unique fruity tuttie bubble gum like aroma along with mild traditional flavors.
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Yeah, it’s possible you just received some low vigor, weak, or unhealthy rootstocks. Or maybe the Shenandoah grafts were weak, or misaligned, or had compatibility issues.
I wouldn’t consider Wabash seedy. Mine tend to be pretty fleshy, similar to Shenandoah, though a bit smaller in size and rounder in shape. It is a good tasting variety, though not really my cup of tea. Wabash is pretty mild in terms of fruit flavors to my palette, though it is quite sweet and tends to be stronger in sugary flavors like caramel or toffee. I don’t care much for caramel/toffee flavors, thus I don’t care for Wabash as much.
Your trees look to be in good shape, especially Benson. Benson is one of my stronger growers as well, so we do have that in common. As well as Atwood growing well but not as vigorously as Benson.
Mulching them is great, and quite important for pawpaws, but I highly recommend fertilizing them in the spring as well. Pawpaws seem to respond quite positively and eagerly to high nitrogen fertilizers like urea. Many other types of fertilizer would work well too (composted manure, compost, fish emulsion, ammonium sulfate if you need to lower ph, diluted urine, etc.).
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I really like your label stakes. can you share where you got them?
Sure. What you see are the 18" engraved stainless steel signs from gardenmarker.com. In my estimation, they are at the top of the value / price curve compared to everything else that is available. They are priced at $9 apiece.
The stainless steel signs are pretty thin – you could deform one with your hand – but they are sturdy enough for their purpose. The signs must be affixed to the stakes via a pre-applied adhesive strip. The adhesive is supposed to be industrial strength suitable for long-term outdoor application, and I have so far not had any of the signs get loose or fall from the stakes. The engraving process seems legit and the signs have so far proved impervious to Georgia weather, with no fading or weather-induced damage.
What they are not impervious to is lawnmowers. You might think this shouldn’t be an issue, but if you use a mowing service, be prepared to be amazed at how often the signs will get inadvertently run over, crushed, or even mowed. I’ve had probably 30 signs damaged in this manner. So far, only one sign has been actually destroyed – by direct action of mower blades. If you do your own mowing, perhaps this won’t be an issue, but maybe the signs really are inconspicuous when you are mowing.
This is what a damaged sign looks like when it gets run over by a mower wheel:
The company will do the layout for your labels for you, but I wanted a lot of information (common name, botanical name, variety name, rootstock if known, ID number, and planting date) so I made my own template that was still legible at a distance, which they were happy to use. You are welcome to use my template if you like it, but note that I am not any sort of graphic designer, nor even the slightest bit artistically inclined, and I’m sure it could be made better. A sample template is attached below:
tree.markers.custom.template.rtf (13.4 KB)
edit: You should open that .rtf file in Word or LibreOffice or some other true word processing program – a regular text editor will not preserve the formatting.
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When planting pawpaws, I always allow for mortality and plant twice as many as I think I need. Pollination can be a huge problem in certain habitats so more varieties is better in my book.
Susquehanna is a great pawpaw but in my orchard took it’s sweet time to bear fruit and then bears a fraction of say, Shenandoah. Chappell- YES- fab taste plus precocious.
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I’m basically set on Shenandoah and KSU-Chappell at this point unless someone comes out and has some very negative things to say about them. contemplating ordering them now from edible landscaping (they are in stock) and keeping them in my garage for the winter with my figs, then planting out in the spring. I’ll likely pick up another cultivar or 2 from peaceful heritage if I can snag them this summer. I want to get one of their white mulberries anyway based on @Richard 's information (honeydrops) so might as well order some more! right now leaning towards Nyomi’s delicious as an early season cultivar and Tropical Treat as a late season cultivar, but I’m sure my opinions could change by the time their sales roll around and their availability. their color break is of interest, not to mention high praise from @Blake in his book.
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VE-21, similar to Shenandoah, is also an Overleese hybrid.
Very similar, yet earlier & sweeter.
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I think I’m sticking with Shenandoah. I’m less interested in earlier cultivars. I think later cultivars would be my jam here in Maryland. do you have a source of brix for VE-12?
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To the best of my memory:
It’s “VE-21” by Jerrry Lehman.
It’s described as sweet with superior fruit flavor.
It’s big, early & has won awards.
I don’t remember ever reading any comments anywhere about it’s Brix levels.
However, it’s been described as sweeter than varieties that are around 21°Brix & being less sweet than ones around 24°Brix.
Sweetest cultivars are (Nyomi’s, Tallahatchie, Chappell, KSU Hi 7-1, KSU 1-4) 27°Brix.
Susquehanna 26° Brix
IXL 25°Brix
Regulus, Tropical Treat, Wabash, 24°Brix
Maria’s Joy 23°Brix
I believe that most new cultivars are 19°Brix & 22°Brix
Most older cultivars 16°Brix to 19°Brix
Shenandoah 19°Brix
Benson (19° to 21°) Brix
Sunflower & PA Golden 16°Brix.
(Nyomi’s & IXL) in my opinion, are both much better choices than Shenandoah, even though older cultivars.
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Michael Judd on IXL, he mistakingly calls it XL1
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i have heard shenandoah is more starchy with very mild flavor? is that true?
I didn’t find it starchy but it was very mild, so mild it didn’t taste like a pawpaw to me. The least tasty pawpaw I’ve ever eaten.
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ok thanks
So the more research I do the more outstanding pawpaw cultivars I come across. Blake’s book has 26 varieties rated A or better.
I pulled the trigger and bought a Shenandoah and KSU-Chappell from edible landscaping, so those will be my first two and are scheduled to be shipped in early March. When Peaceful Valley begins their sale in summer 2024 I might get one or 2 of the more rare cultivars that they sell as well.
I really liked how all the reviews I found stated how approachable Shenandoah is from a beginner standpoint, so while maybe not the sweetest or most aromatic, it seemed like a great first choice, as I’ve never had a pawpaw before (and especially to give a good intro to my kids who are still picky eaters).
I have seen that video before, I’m subscribed to his youtube, and I have his book.
Have you seen these videos before?
What varieties of pawpaw are you growing?
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I’ve tried for years to sample our local wild Paw Paw shrubs with no luck at all. They must be good because everything eats them before I do. Even caged some but to no avail.
I suspect the trash pandas and grease gravy critters are getting them. The deer will not come around our dogs.
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I think Shenandoah and Chappell are both great choices for you to start with. Lots of folks love Shenandoah, and Chappell is very popular as well. I would recommend trying some fruit in the fall if you can. I think there are several folks growing pawpaws in MD and surrounding areas.
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if approachable with no bitter or off tastes is most important? then stuff by @KYnuttrees Cliff should be priority. he has been doing it longer than anyone. and with great results.
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Nyomi’s delight is a Cliff England discovered cultivar that I’m interested in. if I’m not mistaken, Cliff only offers scion wood to ship and I don’t graft. I believe he only sells grafted cultivars for local pickup and I’m about a 10 hour drive from his nursery.
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Agree Cliff is a treasure. His seedling of 2-10 x Summer Delight is really delicious(large fruited and early). He has such a cool collection of fruits and nuts. I have tasted a lot of pawpaws and he has some of the best. My Nyomis Delicious will hopefully fruit next year and I can report back on what the fruit quality is like.
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he also sells hybrid seeds. he has created lots new stuff in pawpaw. as well as persimmons. and new nut hybrids. Mammoth X is one of his new things sold by Peaceful Heritage as Mammoth X.