View Full Version : Pawpaws
Based upon questions asked in another thread, there seems to be some interest in pawpaws. Since I have a few trees of my own, a thick folder of printed information about them and plenty of links to share, I'll start a thread.
I don't have as much time as I'd like to devote to this subject, but I'll provide some links and attempt answers to a few questions. Whatever else comes of it depends upon the interest level of others and how much time you are willing to devote to it.
I'll check in from time to time and add more information as time allows.
Dances with Mice
08-10-2008, 15:01
3 years ago I
Dances with Mice
08-10-2008, 15:10
3 years ago ISorry. New laptop.
3 years ago I planted 2 trees. This year 1 had a few flowers but no fruit.
The other leafed out then died, then resprouted from the roots and is now abou knee high. Bummer. Its mate, the one that flowered is now about 15 feet high.
So that's the situation. How long before I can expect fruits? Any idea why one tree would die then resprout?
Both are irrigated, the one that died maybe got a few more handfuls of 10-10-10 than the one that's thriving. How much and when should I fertilize?
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba): A "tropical" fruit for temperate climates (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/v2-505.html)
Pawpaw production (http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/pawpaw.html)
The links above will get you off to a good start in your quest for knowledge about pawpaws and may answer many of your questions.
Check back for more links. I'll add additional links here until my editing privileges expire.
Some links to online documents I printed out years ago are no longer good and I'll need to see if I can find them under other file names. Stay tuned.
Dances with Mice
08-10-2008, 15:17
From the second link:
J.S. Akin (1), has found that one important
pollinator is the bluebottle fly, which is
attracted to the scent of carrion. He says that
in order to improve pollination, some people
will hang “road-kill” in the orchard. If the
flower is properly pollinated, fruit set is good
Do you do that?
Any idea why one tree would die then resprout?
I wouldn't hazard a guess, nor would I worry too much about it. One of my trees did the same.
I cut off the dead leader and trained the new shoot straight. Cut back your old leader to green wood. If you can begin training the new shoot early enough to get it completely straight, the wound will heal and no one will ever know the difference.
You may find answers to your other questions by reading the linked information.
Do you do that?
Although I do nothing special to enhance pollination of my pawpaws, you might consider interplanting dogwoods between your pawpaws from which to hang roadkill. Dogwoods as you know have stouter branches and they make excellent hiking staffs.
Waste not; want not. Your birds will love the maggots.:D
Didn't realize you could propagate them. Ever done that, and if so how tough were they to get going?
My trees were purchased as potted seedlings. I once belonged to a local group of amateur fruit growers, some of whom had experimented with propagating some of the more desirable pawpaw cultivars.
More success resulted from t-budding or chip-budding than other methods. Whip-and-tongue grafts did not take for the person who tried perhaps because pawpaw twigs of a size normally used in whip-and-tongue grafting have a pith resembling walnut which may contribute to the union drying out.
I don't know whether tissue culture protocols have been developed for production of desirable pawpaw cultivars. I'd think tissue culture would be beyond the capabilities of most home growers who would be better off ordering potted, budded plants.
Dances with Mice
08-11-2008, 13:03
Your birds will love the maggots.I already told my wife: "Our trees might not set fruit."
DWM, I predict you will be pleasantly surprised when the smaller tree bears flowers and you will be rewarded for your efforts. If not the 1st year, you may need to wait until the next year.
I had a good crop last year and almost got to the point I began to tire of eating them. This year the crop will be smaller because of less flower production. I don't know if alternate bearing is typically the norm.
As I wrote earlier, my trees were seedlings, rather than budded, select cultivars. One tree produces orangish fruits with a slight aftertaste suggesting walnut maybe even somewhat astringent as with native persimmons. The other tree produces yellow fruit that's something to rave about with no aftertaste.
There are all sorts of recipes available and I'll put up some links later today or another day. Probably if harvested and prepared before they soften too much, it might be possible to dry strips after removing the seeds for on-trail consumption or use at a later time.
Mine aren't, but they're beginning to show indications the blessed event is soon to occur.
SOBO A.T. hikers may want to begin watching for them along the river bottoms in particular.
middle to middle
09-18-2008, 19:39
I have biked the C@O canal along the Delaware
River in Maryland from Cumberland to DC.
Encountered several on the trail, I did not know you could eat them .
Also found a lot of mushrooms in places. Sid not eat those either.
I'll try to remember to post some pics when they're ripe.
The other tree produces yellow fruit that's something to rave about with no aftertaste.
The 3 pawpaws I ate today were god-awful.;)
hurryinghoosier
10-05-2008, 19:36
Was on the Knobstone Trail (Indiana) at the northern end in Delany Park a couple weeks ago. Almost stepped on a pawpaw right in the trail. Looked up and there was about a 15 ft tree with a few pieces of fruit on it. That is the first pawpaw tree I have seen in many years.
I posted a guide to finding PawPaw trees on my youtube page. You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/trout2ber
PawPaw trees are everywhere here in Northern Virginia
I picked all of the remaining pawpaws from my trees today. It was only a few years ago when I ate a pawpaw for the first time. I hope others will not be deprived of the experience for so long.
Tipi Walter
10-12-2008, 12:30
I like eating pawpaws but don't find many when I'm out backpacking. To me they resemble fresh sweet persimmons as both have a sweet custard with large seeds.
Here's a brain-tease: Has anyone ever eaten Azalea leaf gall? It grows as a fungus on the branches of azalea bushes and can get pretty big. It's called Pinkster apples and is a food delicacy to some. I've been eating it whenever I pass by an azalea bush and see it, and it tastes a bit like mild watermelon close to the rind.
Today I picked the 1st ripe pawpaws of the season from my trees. Be on the lookout for them along the A.T. where it crosses river valleys and add some on-topic replies if you have any.
Snowleopard
09-21-2009, 15:04
I've never had a pawpaw and wonder what they taste like. Apparently some varieties will grow up here.
Be aware that in some countries papaya is called pawpaw.
After having eaten soo many exotic or rare tropical fruits I've yet been unable to eat a ripe pawpaw. Good small eastern native woodland tree.
Desert Reprobate
09-21-2009, 20:59
I wouldn't recognize a paw paw if it came up to me on the street and kissed me on the lips.
I've never had a pawpaw and wonder what they taste like.
After having eaten soo many exotic or rare tropical fruits I've yet been unable to eat a ripe pawpaw.
Either or both of you going to The Gathering?
Thought for sure we'd hear from DWM. Maybe he needs a PM.
Dances with Mice
09-22-2009, 07:04
Thought for sure we'd hear from DWM. Maybe he needs a PM.No fruit here. I have two trees, one died but resprouted in a couple of places a few feet away from the dead trunk. The tallest of the re-sprouts is only about 4 feet tall now, too small to flower. The larger tree, about 15 feet tall already, flowered heavily this spring but set no fruit.
Snowleopard
09-22-2009, 10:18
Either or both of you going to The Gathering?
Afraid not.
I've also eaten (and liked) some uncommon tropical fruits that rarely make it to markets, but I've never seen pawpaws for sale. They must not travel well.
Post about your experiences with tropical fruit not available in Appalachia. I started the thread. If someone else doesn't like it, they can start another more to their own liking.
I figure anyone who would eat a pawpaw has a sense of adventure and enjoys learning about the world by trying new things. Were someone who clicks on this thread to have an opportunity to visit a location where tropical fruits that don't ship well are available, they'd benefit from what you can share.
This thread isn't SF and I don't expect someone to start a thread on breadfruit.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ksu-pawpaw/cooking.html
No fruit here.
Sorry to hear it. Hope you will be rewarded for your patience.
If the root suckers aren't crowding one another, I'd keep both and see which produces the better fruit provided you don't mind where either is growing and they aren't nearer the larger tree than 15 feet.
Snowleopard
09-22-2009, 17:54
The best is aguaje ice cream, in Iquitos, Peru. Peruvians eat it raw, but it is so bitter that it will turn your face inside out. But, it makes the best ice cream I've ever had. It looks a bit like an avocado but the skin is much tougher and harder. The locals peel it by holding it in their hand and whacking at it with a machete. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moriche_Palm
Another fruit I had in Peru only in ice cream was Lucuma, also great in ice cream. Some of these fruit are hard to describe.
In the jungle, there was a fruit that I don't know the name of that the monkeys ate. It tasted like a wet marshmallow, a bit weird, too sweet for my taste and I have a real sweet tooth. It was really nice when I was there to step outside, pick a mango and make a refresca (ice, water, sugar and fruit, blended).
Mangosteens are really good and not at all like mangos. They're in Asia, I had them in Taiwan.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangosteen
A fruit that shows up in Puerto Rican markets around here is, I think, called quenepa. Sweet with some sourness, a bit like a mangosteen. http://reavel.blogspot.com/2008/09/sweet-flesh-of-this-fruit_30.html
Of course, we have some really good fruit here. A perfect peach is just perfect. Good cherries are as good as any tropical fruit. I've become something of an heirloom apple snob since I discovered Scott Farms near Brattleboro, VT.http://www.scottfarmvermont.com/index.html I highly recommend this place to anyone within driving distance of Brattleboro in Sept to Nov.
It is a source of eternal regret to me that Mangos don't grow in Massachusetts. :mad:
beakerman
09-22-2009, 18:02
I'm kind of partial to prickly pears-kind of hard to come-by on the AT but they are nice.
When I was in Venezueala a few yearsa go they were serving me fried yucca. It was really good. I have not seen it served here in theh States anywhere.
I don't like catus pads. I have never had any luck with preparing them myself and very few places actually serve them.
May apples are great but man you have to be lucky to get them when they are ripe. They don't last lone...much like the pawpaw they go from ripe to rotten very quickly. If you're unfamiliar with them only the fruit is edible the leaves, stock and roots are poisonous...go figure.
I've become something of an heirloom apple snob ...
What are a few of your favorites?
It is a source of eternal regret to me that Mangos don't grow in Massachusetts.:mad:
Are tree-ripened mangos that much better than what's picked early enough to tolerate shipping?
Snowleopard
09-22-2009, 21:50
RE: Heirloom apples
What are a few of your favorites?
For cooking or in oatmeal, Rhode Island Greenings. For eating, there's a bunch whose names I don't remember. Cox's Orange Pippin, Orleans Reinette, ananas reinette. Ashmead's kernel is odd; an absolutely delicious apple with the texture of styrofoam. There is a really nice pinapple flavored apple.
Here's a link to heirloom apples in the central and southern Appalachians. There are likely apples that do well down there that won't in New England.
http://www.longbrancheec.org/pubs/apples.html
For gardeners to the north, there's Saint Lawrence Nursery (gets to -50F). http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/ I was disappointed because my order for trees got in too late this spring.
Are tree-ripened mangos that much better than what's picked early enough to withstand shipping?
Well I don't know!! I've never had a tree-ripened mango straight from the tree.
When I was in Venezuela a few years ago, they were serving me fried yucca. It was really good. I have not seen it served here in the States anywhere.
I don't believe I've ever seen it on a menu, but a coworker of mine raised in Dominican Republic, called it to my attention. There's enough demand for it here primarily amongst Spanish-speaking people to cause some supermarkets to stock it.
Nicksaari
09-23-2009, 00:03
funny i saw this thread guys and gals: my mom recently had a spot in the local newspaper in virginia beach about paw paws. grew up with them in my yard and blanketed in the woods of my youth, but i never had a taste for them. anyways, here's the article, posted online without a picture of my beautiful mother...
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/09/pawpaw-sweet-soft-and-largely-ignored
Readers who have never seen a zebra swallowtail are missing a special treat. Some butterflies or moths are dependant upon a single plant species at one or more stages of their life cycle. It was mentioned in the article linked to the last post pawpaws serve as a host species for zebra swallowtail larvae.
I have long known this fact, but my trees have not yet been visited by any zebra swallowtails. Maybe I will give nature a helping hand. They sure are pretty (http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1353).
See also Butterflies and Moths (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42245) which links the reference to which you were directed for the butterfly image. WhiteBlaze provides assistance with identification and is always seeking good images for its gallery.
There are a LOT of PawPaws here in Virginia. If you're near harper's Ferry they're everywhere. It's fun trying to spot the trees that have fruit on them.
I have a video on finding PawPaws on YouTube. Click on the link in my signature.
beakerman
09-23-2009, 15:26
I grew up in MD and knew all about pawpaws when I lived there. I ate tons of them every year--as many as I could find anyway. I didn't realize they grew as far wouth and west as Texas i'll have to keep my eyes open for them down this way now...yay!
Jack Tarlin
09-23-2009, 15:40
The only Paw-Paw I can think of is around 90, survived Pearl Harbor, has thousands of Trail miles, weighs around 105 pounds soaking wet, and is partial to Maker's Mark.
He's also one of the finest gentlemen I know.
What are the chances he might post to this thread? Were he to post on pawpaws, he would be straight on-topic! That's even more on-topic than straight forward. Maybe I wish for too much.
Never had one! Would love to get to sample a wild one at some point though :)
LaurieAnn
09-24-2009, 08:10
I've tried lots of different fruits... wolf berries, mangosteens, pitahaya, durian (had to plug my nose with that one) and permissons but I can honestly say I have never had a pawpaw. You have me quite intrigued though. It isn't often a food comes up that I am completely and utterly unfamiliar with.
Snowleopard
09-24-2009, 10:03
I've tried lots of different fruits... wolf berries, mangosteens, pitahaya, durian (had to plug my nose with that one) and permissons but I can honestly say I have never had a pawpaw. You have me quite intrigued though. It isn't often a food comes up that I am completely and utterly unfamiliar with.
I've had durian milk shakes, which are good. Supposedly fresh Durian smells awful. My sons and I keep saying we'll get a durian from one of the local Asian markets and go to the back of my land (500' from human habitation) and open it up.
Dicentra
09-24-2009, 10:13
Never had one! Would love to get to sample a wild one at some point though :)
Me too! I think there are some pawpaw recipes and/or information in a couple of my edible plant books. I'll have to look. I'll post a recipe if there is any.
Sarah needs to bring some back next time she heads east! :)
Hmmm...about the time I bore of wild Huckleberries I'll go fixate on Pawpaws :D
LaurieAnn
09-24-2009, 10:27
I've had durian milk shakes, which are good. Supposedly fresh Durian smells awful. My sons and I keep saying we'll get a durian from one of the local Asian markets and go to the back of my land (500' from human habitation) and open it up.
It's an odor I can't even describe... but if you can get past that - they taste and texture were wonderful. Like custard.
I recently found mini golden kiwis. While not exotic, they were totally delicious. I made some into fruit leather but sadly the guys ate it all so there won't be any on our upcoming trip.
I think I'll go grab some paw-paws this weekend. They grow like mad along the C&O canal tow-path. They're actually ripe when they start to get black spots on them, and should be softer to the touch. Unripe they're all green and hard to the touch.
I picked about half a bushel yesterday and gave them to a friend. When I pick the remainder, I intend to puree and freeze all but a few dozen for pawpaw walnut bread to keep the resident baker warm and happy through the winter months.
I still have pawpaws hanging on my trees. Just ate one, no different from those picked a month earlier as far as I could tell. Later and slower to ripen due to shading and reduced temperatures perhaps?
Snowleopard
10-19-2009, 21:04
Emerald, do you have any recommendations for pawpaw varieties to plant? Miller's nurseries has them good to zone 4 (cold). http://www.millernurseries.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=10
That's who supplied mine. Given what I read at the link you provided, they appear to be offering seedlings, i.e., not grafted or budded cultivars. I would call and ask them for more information.
You might want to spend some time Googling names and characteristics of recommended cultivars and their suppliers. I believe U of Kentucky had some of the best information online at one time. Cultivars vary in size, color of flesh, when they ripen and probably also in their hardiness.
I picked about half a bushel yesterday and gave them to a friend. When I pick the remainder, I intend to puree and freeze all but a few dozen for pawpaw walnut bread to keep the resident baker warm and happy through the winter months.
Put me on the Christmas list for some of that pawpaw walnut bread!!! Please!!!
I'd send some, but why give a man a fish who can be taught to obtain many himself?
http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=PAW (http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=PAW)
schnikel
10-20-2009, 13:13
The paw paw season is over here in Ohio, but I did get a couple wild ones by a river. Saw tons of trees hiking but no friut. I have never done the dead animal idea, but I do look by fields, because I figure there will be flies which is needed for the friut. I love em, and wish I had found more.
One secret I have found is to pick the friut while still unripe and out them in a brown paper bag for one day. That is usually all it takes for the fruit to ripen.
Schnikel
The last of my pawpaws I hadn't picked fell from my trees some time ago. I neglected to record the exact date.
I still have some fresh fruits in my refrigerator which demonstrates it's possible to retard ripening with refrigeration so long as they are fully formed and firm when picked and none which have advanced beyond that stage is stored with them.