Paw-paw Stories

[ShenandoahJoe]

I've been thinking about planting a pair of paw-paw trees, down by the river under the black walnuts.  Does anybody have any do's or don'ts?

[Jason Akers]

Everywhere I've found them wild on my property (three groves so far) has been right next to water so I'd say getting as close to the river as you can is a good thing.  Also something I found out the hard way - plant two unrelated plants.  The groves are usually comprised of all clones which means they can't pollinate themselves. 

I don't know if the black walnut will have an affect on them.  I'd use the shade but keep them out of its root zone.  That's just my feeling though.  I've got 15 -20 foot tall trees in the dead shade.  Don't let anyone convince you to plant them in full sun. 

Jason

[ShenandoahJoe]

Several books tell me paw-paws are immune to juglone, which is what gave me the idea.  What do you think of the flavor of the fruit?  The descriptions I read aren't appetizing to me, but describing flavors is one of the hardest jobs in writing so I don't give that much credence.

[Jason Akers]

I didn't know they were immune.  That's good.  I think the juglone thing is overblown anyway.  I sat under a grove of walnuts on Monday deer hunting and there was all kinds of vegetation under them. 

The taste is hard to describe.  I had a listener send me Cherimoyas last year and the taste of them was even harder to describe.  But they are related to pawpaws so the texture was somewhat similar.

The texture is weird and that's the strangest thing for most people.  The taste really varies from fruit to fruit.  Some people say they taste like a banana or pineapple or mango but they don't really its just a hint of that being there. 

Yeah no description can really do it justice!

Jason

[WayneH]

I like paw-paws, it's hard for me to get to them before the squirrels do though.
Their texture is a strange and it's been described as like a custard, but even that doesn't describe it well.

Near the water is good, but I've never seen one in a flood zone.  Basically I see them on the high side of creeks.

I planted one in my front yard about 8 years ago in the full sun.  I don't live there any more, but it just lately seems to have taken hold well.  It's still only 4' tall right now, but I think it grew a foot over the last year.  Maybe it found itself or something.

Starting it in the sun like that did seem to have slowed it down at first, but I think it's going to be fine now.