Satisfying work.
I’m so jealous. I’ve been hunting for some around me. I’m supposed to be in the right area but can’t find any. I should just go buy a sapling or seed.
You should. Much higher chance of getting fruit if you have some genetic diversity in your plant stock. So I’ve ordered some from a couple different people, had people send me seeds, and rescued my own.
Hopefully after I get some seeds here from some wild trees near me, I’d be happy to mail you some to stratify.
Good luck in your journey, DM me if you want to talk pawpaws.
Thanks, good call on multiple sources. I’m probably at the wrong time of year now to start. I’ve added a reminder to my calendar for next year. Gives me time to clean up the spot in the yard I want to put them.
Have you tried using INaturalist? They have a map of plants that have been identified
I’d checked a few “find these plants” kind of sites and never saw any near me. That one’s got a few pegged deep in some woods near me though so guess I’m going hiking next weekend! Thanks!
It takes about 8 years for them to mature to get a fruit. Those things are picky too, but gosh do I love Paw-Paw season.
That explains why I haven’t gotten any fruit. I have 3 healthy trees that are about 5 feet tall but they’re only 6 years old.
Very jealous. I’ve been trying to grow Pawpaw in zone2b climate but I’ve not yet managed to get a sapling to survive past two winters yet. However, those were in scorching summer drought years too so that did not help. There’s a man in Quebec whose been working with these trees so they can survive extreme cold up here. Now we had a year’s worth of rain in one month early summer and still more rain since so I’m hopeful this time.
Keep trying. Hopefully at some point it will stick. The breeding and grafting of these has gained traction. So someone really might develop a resistant version at some point. It’s a fun hobby to mess with them that I think is inherently rewarding for its own activity, rather than necessarily requiring any perfect outcomes. So, document or share your experiences. Someone else can learn from what you learn. And we can all work together to help keep this wonderful tree common throughout North America.
Is that a fruit in the tree bottom right? I plant a paw paw three year ago. Still waiting for fruit.
It is. Get you a second tree from a different place. Genetic diversity increases chances. Takes years.
Are they going to deforest? There’s some more rescuing you could do for the trees too
Yep probably another big housing development. And this is a particularly rich forest for the area.
You should consider spiking/pinning the trees. Tbh pinning is probably easier, you drill a 5 inch deep hole into the tree and drop in 4 inch ceramic rod. Fill the hole with wood glue, and place a piece of bark over the hole. Conspicuously mark the trees. Do it at night with plain clothes and a face cover
I appreciate the sentiment, but that’s not for me. It might hurt some underpaid worker and won’t change the outcome. My organization has been allowed to work this site, better to not risk it and continue getting access to sites.
Very understandable. We all have to pick our battles, and you’re already doing what you can
