I'm in zone7b (Raleigh NC) and mine do best growing on the edge of shade, so they get some sun but not long extended periods of full sun. Mine are all offspring from named varieties, grown from seed, about 5 years old and 12 feet tall. They have started to sucker but I am afraid to dig the babies up for fear of damaging the long tap root. All the fruits from my 5 trees tastes the same but come in different sizes and shapes and ripens at different times (sometimes even from the same tree). One of my trees blooms and sets fruit twice each year - the normal early Spring bloom with summer fruits and an August bloom with October fruits. This same tree also goes to sleep in the fall earlier than all the others. This is the tree that happened to be blooming when my Cherimoya (greenhouse) was in bloom so I tried to hand pollinate them. I have those seeds sowed and isolated from all the other pawpaw seeds to see if they will sprout. I should be able to tell when they get their first set of true leaves since the pawpaw leaves are long and thinner than the Cherimoya. To me the pawpaw fruit flavor is as good a grocery store Cherimoya, not as good as a perfectly ripe Cherimoya in South America or California but still pretty good.