Purple, eh? You mean the skin resembles an Arkansas Black apple? Or tennis shoes after stepping in a pile of bovine manure?
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If you have access to an Asimina triloba specimen with purple in the fruit then there will be quite a few organizations and individuals interested in acquiring scion wood from it. I’ve never heard of it happening but I suppose there could be some kind of mutation that significantly increases the anthocyanin content.
To clarify, the dropped fruit, on swept ground lays dark blue/purple…as a plum. I haven’t collected any ripe fruit from the canopy. I am going over this afternoon and will take some pics of the tree. Perhaps the fruit I have picked up has gone into ripening/maturation and darkened? BUT, fruit is uniformly DARK. Caught my eye the first time.
A shot in the dark, I’ll take the spade today and dig some sprouts to hold in the garden this summer. I’m a farmer, not a scientist please. Mutations are a specialty in our area.
Dark colored dropped fruit sounds like a normal pawpaw.
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I will dig several+ seedling today and keep till fall.
The scion wood collection…should it be new wood? And the mother tree…the fruited seedlings may or may not be the same?
This tree is prolific in fruiting, heavy trunk/spreading branch structure, light slicked bark. Will measure caliber at chest height and estimate canopy.
You folks got me back in the game on this tree. I have visited Randy 1/2 dozen times and never got back in time to dig.
I have a patch of hydric soils below the barn, it’s good for setting up the bench and shooting 300yrds. That may as be a good place to drop in a few seedlings and see how they transplant in natural conditions in a buffer transition, heavy hardwood forest to open meadow?
BUT, I will dig some today and climb to get the scion. I need some instructions about what to collect please.
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My thought as well.
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Where to at VT? Address and required info with scion wood delivery. The tree is just 2 counties south of VA/NC line, near I-77/421 west.
I would be very interested in some scion material as well as probably a few others. @Vid @TrilobaTracker @Barkslip @JustPeachy or others, any takers? If I have trades going with anyone I’d be happy to “middleman” so Appleseed doesn’t have to send extra packages.
@Appleseed if you are willing and able to grab some wood I’d be happy to go through the process via pm and pay for shipping. Now (this week) is probably the time to do it unless it waits until next year.
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Honestly I would need more info. It sounds like a description of overripe and sunburned fruit on the ground, which is normal.
Sorry to say I Would need to see near-ripe fruit still on the tree to be convinced there’s anything unique.
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Well it won’t fruit until late summer and I have lots of work to do in between. But on the way out the drive now to collect. And as far as info, that’s why I asked here. I really don’t know enough to answer your questions., sorry. The pawpaw has been an interest of mine for many years, but apples are my thing. Be happy to shoot you a pm?
James
No thank you.
Barlslip
What’s the flavor like compared to some other varieties,if that’s available?
Sounds like the location is Jonesville, Jefferson, Lenoir, or Sparta in North Carolina. Not too far from Ron Joyner and BHCF.
Be interested to hear if there’s a Aug-Sept. crop this year.
Report and off to the barn, I’m tired but need to slop some paint and work up some scion wood.
I have some pics with Randy and the mother tree.
The tree is very old and sick, riddled with wood pecker drillings throughout and galled at chest height about 1/4 dia around and deep in rot. This tree may not have long until it gets put in the wood stove in the garage. It’s on the way out. It’s 24" across at chest high, multi-stemmed, crown is open spreading 40+ feet with sparse branching structure, way past mature.
Randy keeps the grounds mowed to a crew cut and digging today was futile in the woodlands below the yard. So maybe there will be lots of seed growth next fall on the ground if he will not mow until I can get to them. I have seen that two years ago, hundreds of seedlings scattered in the yard.
OK, I cannot answer any questions about fruit taste, but the color/skin quality/fruit firmness appears very good in my handling. I asked three times about my memory of fruit color, he confirmed some of the tree-ripened fruit sometimes purples on the branch and then falls, but noted it is weather related. What I have picked up on the ground is almost entirely deep purple fruit as soon as it hits I suppose, because he rakes and cleans, it cannot be very long on the soil.
I would like to help all who have pm’d but there are 150 pieces of apple rootstock coming this week, my time is of the essence.
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That’s a big one!
That’s the biggest Pawpaw tree I have ever seen !
Could be the national champion ?
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Yikes, that is huge for a pawpaw tree!
link indicates the largest is in MD and is 105 points. It doesn’t provide specifics on the diameter/height/spread that derived those points though.
link is Maryland state champion trees list from 2020. The pawpaw on the list is 37" circumference and 12" diameter
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Wow that is a massive, sprawling tree. Thanks for posting.
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