Temperate Fruit & Orchards > Temperate Fruit Discussion

Pawpaw inquiry

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zephian:
Hello! I've seen a lot of talk in this forum about Pawpaws and I've been interested in them for several months now.
I have a couple questions about them though,

1) Will they grow well in my area? I am in zone 9b. Locally we grow alot of stone fruits in my area so chill hours should be ok?
2) What are some good varieties to grow? I've seen discussion about some tasting like mangos, others like banana, etc. I personally prefer banana, but the wife loves mangos.
3) Can they be maintained in a pot?
4) Sourcing: would anyone have seeds come late winter/early spring to try? I'm at my limit for what I can germinate and keep warm for the winter here.

Thanks!

Triloba Tracker:
Glad to hear of your interest in pawpaw!
It’s a really cool fruit and a pretty tree.

1) they need hot summers and moderate winters. Not sure about your area but clearly they’re not native. Though at least one guy is growing in Utah or Arizona- I cant remember.  Documentation suggests minimum 400 chill hours (below 40F). There is a Purdue PDF out there that talks about heat requirements -I won’t repeat here.
2) Peterson Pawpaws varieties are often considered the best. KSU cultivars are good. Brand new KSU Chappell is best I’ve tasted. Overleese, Sunflower, NC-1 are older but tried and true varieties. There are lots of others but not widely available. There’s even one called Mango but I’ve never tasted.
As far as flavor - I get a little tired of the banana +mango comparison because in my opinion pawpaws don’t taste like either. I think the mango/banana is coming from the fact that it’s a “tropical” flavor and that really it is very unique if not totally singular in the fruit world. There is no acidity or tartness, which is partly why “mango” doesn’t ring true for me. The other awesome thing is that after several days off the tree, the flavor changes to caramel/butterscotch. To me this is when they’re best. Almost like a flan or caramel custard. A great pawpaw will have the wonderful texture of a perfect fiberless mango. Some varieties are softer, however (e.g. Rebecca’s Gold).
3) pawpaw is definitely not a tree you’d associate with container culture but I think a savvy gardener could maybe pull it off. I don’t think you’ll find much literature about how to grow them in pots though. Some nurseries sell 15 and 30 gallon pawpaws so I guess it’s possible.
4) I may have some seeds in spring so PM me then and we can see.

Cheers!

Triloba Tracker:
More on flavor - (my favorite topic)
Sometimes you may get a ripe melon taste in a pawpaw. KSU Chappell that I’ve tasted had a distinct pineapple aspect, perfectly balanced with the aforementioned caramel flavor. Some folks have reported coconut flavors though I have not encountered this yet. Some have even compared to durian, and I have definitely encountered this, in a KSU trial variety.
This brings me to the point that flavor is highly variable. From year to year and even from cluster to cluster on the same tree. Ripeness when picked of course makes a difference too.

But in general the flavor (at least prior to the caramel phase) is just “pawpaw”

zephian:
Awesome. I think I will try a couple and see how they do. Chilling hours are readily available for <45 in my area but I don't see anywhere listing sub 40.
My area gets anywhere from 400 at the lowest to 800-1000 chill hours average a year and summers can hit 115.

Thanks for the input, I may reach out to you again in spring. I have several species planned already and this one may get cut to make room for cherimoya or something else.

Triloba Tracker:
If I had to pick between pawpaw and cherimoya, i would grow cherimoya (or atemoya or sugar apple).
Pawpaw is cool but for me not up to the tropical annonas.

Though the more I eat, the more I like pawpaw...

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