Wild pawpaw are understory plants their entire life not just when they are small. Tame pawpaw can be planted outside of those conditions. Pawpaw love water, leaf mold and the fungi present in those conditions. You can grow them outside those condition but I would match their natural habitat as close as possible. They don’t like wind either. Tame papaw are not something I grow though they are much less finicky about conditions. I’ve got ones growing in as close to their natural conditions as possible and they are growing quickly.I know I’ve mentioned it before there are upland and lowland wild pawpaws. The upland you can grow in sunlight but they produce walnut sized or a little bigger papaw whereas lowland pawpaw need the better conditions and produce 6-8 inch fruit. Tame pawpaw are likely crosses of the two naturally selected for better adaptability and larger fruit and then grafted to wild rootstock.
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