Pawpaw Pollination
This picture is of a pawpaw flower in the receptive stage. The petals are cut away to expose the sexual parts. The large green mass at the bottom is the immature anthers. There are 5 stigma protruding up through mass. If pollinated there is a possibility of 5 fruit. A flower with only say three stigma will develop only three fruit if all are pollinated.
When the petals are still green, the flower is not receptive (female). You want the petals to turn maroon (some green showing is okay). You want the stigmas to be swollen and glisten. The petals will be rather tight. The ball of anthers will be green and tight. When the flower changes to the male stage, the petals flare out more widely, petal color can be darker; the ball of anthers darken and loosen and begin releasing pollen.
The next picture is of a flower which is past the receptive stage and the anthers have matured. The green mass has turned gray and if you look closely pollen is on the petals. The problem is getting this pollen to flowers that are receptive.
This is easy to do. Most flowers hang up side down. Simply take a small bottle such as a prescription bottle hold it under the flower and rake the anthers which contain pollen into the bottle. Be careful to not break off the stigma and ovary which is under the anther mass. Don't worry about separating the pollen from the anthers. Now take a Q-tip or tiny paint brush pull off some of the cotton, not all, Then twist into a smaller ball, dip into the pollen mix and touch to the stigma of receptive flowers. You will get anthers and pollen, but the flower doesn't care and the pollen will find the stigma. Pollen isn't available when the first flowers open due to the delay of maturing anthers. But again that is no problem as the bloom period is nearly two weeks. So don't try pollinating until several days after the first flowers open.
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