# I think we found PawPaws here!



## Bricore (Sep 8, 2007)

I am excited to say I think we found PawPaw trees here (a very nice lady told me that's what they were.) If, so we have lots and lots of them.

Does anyone know what kind they are?


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i'm jealous! we have a paw-paw tree and its root suckers that blooms but has not produced fruit ever in 25-30 years.


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## Bricore (Sep 8, 2007)

Well not too many are fruiting. The small ones like this have some fruit but the really big ones don't seem to have anything on them (at least that I have seen.)

Do these look like the ones you have? 

Dora Renee' Wilkerson


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

the leaves look like they are the same shape, but i am having a hard time with scale and i don't know if they are the same size. my leaves appear to be just a tad larger. maybe i will remember to get a pic today, lol,


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## Fonzie (Nov 5, 2003)

MELOC said:


> i'm jealous! we have a paw-paw tree and its root suckers that blooms but has not produced fruit ever in 25-30 years.


Hand pollinating should get you plenty of fruit and it's easy to do.
I hand pollinate my pawpaws every spring.


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## jimarh (Feb 21, 2005)

does anyone know anything about Paw-paws? We live on a wooded hill covered with the trees scattered through out the woods but no fruit. We have been here several years and never seen a bloom or fruit. Why?? I would love some but have walked the woods and none of the trees produce.


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

fonzie has a point about hand pollination. it is just difficult on my tree as i would need to do it from a ladder. paw paws make both male and female flowers, but they don't always bloom at the same time, so pollination is difficult. paw-paws also root-sucker and clone readily, so i am thinking it is a good idea to have some different stock besides just a stand of clones. maybe the different colonies of clones would bloom at slightly different times and overlap as needed for natural pollination.


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## Fonzie (Nov 5, 2003)

MELOC said:


> fonzie has a point about hand pollination. it is just difficult on my tree as i would need to do it from a ladder. paw paws make both male and female flowers, but they don't always bloom at the same time, so pollination is difficult.


I'm no expert, but to pollinate pawpaws {by hand or otherwise}, you need to have flowers blooming at slightly different times. That way you {or an insect} can transfer the pollen from a "mature" flower of one tree to the ripe pistil of a slightly "younger" flower of a different, unrelated tree. That's the way I do it.
Since people are talking about natural stands of pawpaws, I would wager that the fruit from those stands would be of an inferior quality to those pawspaws picked from "named", grafted varieties. But then again free fruit is free fruit.

Here's a link that I find useful http://www.petersonpawpaws.com/

Neal Peterson actually answers his e-mail and even answers his phone !


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## MELOC (Sep 26, 2005)

i am no expert either or i would have paw-paws, lol. i guess what i was trying to say is that i read that on a single tree, the male and female flowers don't always bloom at the same time. you need male and female flowers to bloom at the same time so you have both pollen and the female flowers to accept it. that's where having different trees that are not clones fo each other may help as they may bloom at slightly different times and provide the overlap you need. another factor is vector of pollination...bugs. not many bugs like the paw-paw and you need bugs that like foul smelling flowers. i think i actually read that some folks hang chicken bones in the trees to attract flies and aid with pollination. beyond that, i guess volume would help. maybe having a big grove of the trees helps with pollination...like planting at least 4 rows of corn together.


i don't know...i just want some dang paw-paws.


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## WayneR (Mar 26, 2007)

Have several mature trees with suckers. Also have five growing from seed.
More information here:

http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/cropfactsheets/pawpaw.html

Hand pollination is necessary as the flowers are nearly black in colour and insects may have difficulty in recognising them.The pollen can be collected and stored for staggered blooming. Use several small paint brushes.
Have a good fruit crop developing now. Will offer seed this fall to those interested. Planted a short row. Germination was approx 50%, concentrated on one end. Something probably ate the other half.

Will make a separate seed post here at the appropriate time.
The original trees are from a mail order nursery.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

To propegate from the seeds; mix a handfull of seeds with a couple handfulls of compost and place in plastic bag in your refridgerator for a couple months. they should germinate or at least be ready to.


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## Modern Pioneer (Jun 9, 2008)

I always gather mine wild. There are thousands of them here in the rich bottoms of Ohio. 2 years ago there was a bumper crop of them. Got so sick of eating them *****, possums, and other critters love them, and know how to pick the ripest ones. Its always a battle to beat them to the biggest 1s. I know people grow them,but they grow so well here in the wild i dont bother. I have sent seed to N.Ireland as well as California I like to swap seeds. 

Keep your powder dry


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