How far North has someone grown a pawpaw?

[Tropicaltoba]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

. . .Perhaps I need another greenhouse.

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

Carolyn

[LazarusLong714]

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