No, it was in the center of a huge pawpaw grove that I would regularly visit to collect fruit. It is possible that my memory misremembers the exact size, but my wife and I held hands and couldn’t reach each other around the other side of it, so circumference was at least more than our combined armspan.
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You should go back & photo & video from all sides. Would be the oldest, biggest ever recorded.
There is a biggest pawpaw tree contest.
It would be a Genius Book of records type discovery.
Did it have fruit on it?
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I used to live nearby, so would go there every fall to get fruit, but I moved to Seattle many years ago. I doubt I will make it back to that trail again, but I’m happy to direct anyone to the grove who does want to visit it. The link above is the trailhead, and you just stay on the trail until the second patch of pawpaws, where the trail turns and forks. Walk into the patch a hundred feet or so to find the largest tree near the center.
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I look forward to someone investing & documenting the tree!!!
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I can believe it based on measurements of trees I’ve seen elsewhere on this forum. If I’m in the area I’ll check it out!
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man that got off topic fast!
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Yeah, sorry about that!
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Common rule guideline violation.
Someone should initiate an ancient tree thread, where all ancient trees get documented.
As to your issue, Chappell is an awesome starter.
Keeping track of new Susquehanna seedling cultivars from KSU is an awesome game plan because: Susquehanna is the most self fertile, strongest flavor, 26% sugar, firm fruits, superior pollinator of other varieties.
Per KSU research. Therefore, it’s seedlings are the main focus of KSU cultivar breeding.
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no worries! I just thought it was funny
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Which improved varieties? Wabash is claimed 6% seed. (Mammoth X)? WindStar? Regulas?
I probably misspoke. I thought Wabash was more than only 6% seed.
That said, I think that is still about double the seed content by weight compared to, say, Susquehanna.
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was this at your Georgia (8A) location or your Las Vegas (9A) location?
Shenandoah grown in north Tucson (9a) has been the 2nd most vigorous of 2 dozen different cultivars!
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This was in Georgia. I think I might have had just bad luck of the draw with those particular Shenandoahs.
I have tried for several years to grow pawpaws in Las Vegas, but I have accepted at this point that it is beyond my skill. I can never get them through the summer alive, even with careful shade management and timed misting / watering. I’m impressed that you can grow them in Tucson.
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Re: Acetogenin levels in pawpaw fruit; there’s a chart with squamocin and annonacin for some cultivars:
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It’s Ken Stockton of Arizona Rare Fruit Growers who is being successful with them.
He has constructed 3 shade tents 18ft tall, each about 50ft square, with 70% shade cloth.
He has concentric rings of trees from desert on the outside to tropical in the center.
This allows pawpaw to be in a shady humid environment.
My assumption is that different cultivars will perform best in different environments.
There is probably too much or too little of a nutrient for Shenandoah to thrive.
Or pH is off.
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Thanks for this reference. I keep wanting to give pawpaws another try. Each time I am unable to eat more than part of a fruit.
I’m glad to be growing Shenandoah. This year might be a bumper harvest. I also have a ton of mango and Shenandoah seedlings.
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Problem is were all these varieties grown in the exact same place, on the exact same nutrient balance, picked at then exact same ripeness?
If no, not of much usefulness.
Genetic marker tests puts Wabash as 86.2% genetically similar to Susquehanna, plus Wabash & Rappahannock both from BEF30.
So these results seem off.
Does repeated squeezing to test for ripeness transfer Annonacin from skin into the fruit?
This could be simply an indication of how frequently fruit got squeezed when not ripe!
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I strongly suggest early cultivars which are fruity & aromatic, yet not overwhelming as some people claim Susquehanna to be.
RECOMMEND:
(Allegheny, Caspian, Florence, Atwood, Lehman#1, KSU Hi 1-4, ARK-21, Green River Belle, “Mammoth X”, Tallahatchie).
“Mammoth X” should not be confused with “Mammoth”.
“Mammoth X” is a new double cross of “PPF 2-10”.
“PPF 2-10” from Neal Peterson’s RAPD Markers, is 89% similar to Potomac.
Susuquehanna is 70% similar to Potomac.
So it appears “PPF 2-10” is a double sibling cross to Potomac,
with parents swapping mommy & daddy roles.
A genetic distance of only “2” per RAPD Markers.
“Mammoth X” is { [ (PPF 2-10) x Summer Delight ] x (PPF 2-10) }
Summer Delight is (Overleese X Sunflower).
While almost nobody has tried “Mammoth X” is yet, the fruits are much bigger than Potomac, yields are high & it’s claimed to be awesome.
Currently very rare & hard to get.
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I started with Shenandoah and KSU-Chappell in Spring of 2024. My KSU-Chappell died from underwatering and drought so I purchased another one and planted it in Fall 2024.
I had an interest in cultivars that have a color break so I picked up a Tropical Treat from Peaceful Heritage’s recent sale and I pre-ordered a Nyomi’s Delicious from Perry’s Pawpaws.
Gonna stop at those 4 trees for now until I get some fruit and can see what I like.
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Since the thread has popped back up, i’ll give my two cents (it’s not worth a nickel):
I’d look for charts that identify what grows AND fruits well in your area/zone and try to start with those. Then remember four things:
- They are generally self incompatible, so aim for two distinct genelines - two different cultivars, two different seedlings, etc. Two clones from the same parent are unlikely to give you much fruit.
- Pawpaw trees can be finicky about their roots, so try to handle those minimally when planting. In some areas, those roots will even experience a true dormancy, so don’t wait until the very last minute to stick them in a hole. Most other types of trees remain at least somewhat active below the frost line all year round.
- That ties into the fact that they have an almost unnatural dependency upon their tap root, so get a realtively young one and don’t keep it in the pot too long. If you have to keep it in a pot for more than a year, make it a deep pot, and plan to dig a deeper hole.
- The younger trees need some shade. You’ll find some exceptions, but generally you should aim to allow it to be effectively an understory tree until it gets to be at least 2-3 feet tall. Use shade cloth, plant it under a tree you plan to remove in a couple years, put a large potted plant next to it, etc. It’ll fruit better if it gets sun when taller.
They are fairly accommodating for grafting, at least when fairly young, and new cultivars become available all the time. Thus, if your nursery is selling seedlings from your area, go ahead and grab those and turn branches into something else after you know what you want (again, make sure that it will be able to ripen in your area.) I’ll always be an amateur grafter, but pawpaw grafts were among my first grafts and I generally cannot tell where the graft was after year two without marking it somehow. I found “sunflower” to be exceptionally accomodating scion wood. Everything I’ve gotten for “rebecca” has been on the skinny side, but it has proven the exact opposite.
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