Author Topic: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?  (Read 1300 times)

Tropicaltoba

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How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« on: April 10, 2023, 09:01:29 PM »
I’m trying to find out how far North you can successfully grow a paw paw fruit? Hardiness is one thing but it think they also need many frost free days that are hot. I’ve been able to keep a small tree alive in zone 3 for one winter but flowering 2 trees and getting fruit is another thing all together. I’m looking for some success stories.

Oolie

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2023, 10:51:48 PM »
In a similar topic, I'm curious how far South someone is growing them.

In Southern Alabama, I planted tiny grafted trees, they took the 10 F lows in stride their first year in the ground, most of my other fruit trees fried.

I'm curious how well your trees do in subsequent years.

Pokeweed

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2023, 07:00:10 AM »
I have 4 pawpaws. South Texas 29° latitude. They survive, but that's about all. About 8 yrs in ground. Less than 3 feet tall. Summer burns them up. D

Daintree

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2023, 09:42:18 AM »
Tropicaltoba, the answer is "as far North as you want! In your greenhouse..."

Seriously, though, the NRCS Plant database map shows the native range well up into Ontario.

https://www.wildedible.com/pawpaws#range

Maybe you could  get them well established in your greenhouse then transplant them to a sheltered location. I started mine that way and they are doing well now in the yard. I am in zone 6.

Good luck!

Carolyn

Tropicaltoba

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2023, 01:33:11 PM »
Ha ha, I tried already unsuccessfully. I probably only get 200chill hours max. We get few clouds in January and my gh temps get over 80F I think it shuts down all the chilling. So inside I can go as low as zone 7 (feijoias) and outside I can push zone 4/5 but I don’t think I get enough frost free days to grow peaches and pawpaws. Perhaps I need another greenhouse.

bussone

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2023, 05:30:53 PM »
Tropicaltoba, the answer is "as far North as you want! In your greenhouse..."

Seriously, though, the NRCS Plant database map shows the native range well up into Ontario.

https://www.wildedible.com/pawpaws#range

Maybe you could  get them well established in your greenhouse then transplant them to a sheltered location. I started mine that way and they are doing well now in the yard. I am in zone 6.

Good luck!

Carolyn

There are towns named after pawpaws in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Its natural range suggests its really happy in zone 6 and will dabble in zone 5. This suggests a default hardiness similar to apples, pears, peaches, and sour cherries.

Its range along the Great Lakes shorelines suggests it's okay with not a ton of heat, so long as winters aren't too cool. Alternatively, its presence in the southern Midwest into the Plains suggests it can take a fair amount of cold and wind, so long as the summers are warm and humid. It appears to not love drought. This is consistent with a natural range that seems to follow the Ohio River watershed.

Daintree

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2023, 09:01:00 AM »
. . .Perhaps I need another greenhouse.

Duh. OF COURSE you need another greenhouse! You can never have too many greenhouses.

Carolyn

LazarusLong714

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #7 on: September 14, 2023, 11:52:24 PM »
I am from just west of Cleveland Ohio, not too many miles from Lake Erie.   I can verify foraging with my grandfather in the 1980's, along streambanks (digging RAMPS, if anyone knows what they are) and finding a number of Paw Paw trees as understory plants amongst the trees we were going through.   The taller trees were all deciduous trees like Oak, Maple, Walnut, and Ash.  I ride by the area on my motorcycle every few years, but it is mostly developed now.  The Paw Paws were a treat, for sure, growing wild.   I would imagine the wild-type would always just self select for the ones that could tolerate the weather/environment.

   Anyway, thanks for bringing up the memories.   I have never tasted a "named variety of paw paw, but the wild ones certainly impressed me when I was younger.

Lazarus

Oldmanfig

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2024, 08:56:25 AM »
Our house in Lockport ny in Niagara county has paw paw trees they are being studied currently by  cornel university…that were brought by indigenous peoples. And there are variety’s from niagara Canada area being enjoyed there.

Triloba Tracker

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2024, 08:15:51 PM »
That’s cool. What are they studying them for?

Oldmanfig

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2024, 09:00:00 PM »
They will come and look through my neighbors land and behind our house every season after the leaf fall to hunt them out. They are the last to drop leafs…they take leaf samples and gps coordinates. They told us that they were brought there before America was a country. Last two years…
 That’s all they have said so far.
Also here is a verity from up there
https://www.willowcreekpermaculture.com/product/pawpaw-nc-1/

Muni

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2024, 09:30:18 AM »
According to them, their trees survive in zone 2 https://www.greenbarnnursery.ca/products/paw-paw-taylor
Allow yourself to know, if you wish, that this is a multi dimensional communication.
See what happens.

Oldmanfig

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Re: How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2024, 09:44:10 AM »
This was a great reference to this subject…
Called 'Too mythical, too bizarre to be true'
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/ontario-paw-paw-1.4850247