HI,
So I purchased Paw paw fruit from Chris at Intergration Acres. My wife and I planted around 30 seeds and now they are starting to sprout....pretty exciting

Has anyone done this and does anyone know what type of Paw Paw Chris sells? I have asked him w/o a response.

Do I have to keep the seedlings out of the direct sun for the first few years??

Thanks Frank

Don't know what cultivars, but for sure, about the first three years, provide partial shade.

They grow very slowly & need only filtered light for first 3 yrs. Direct sun for even 1 hour may kill them. You will also need at least 2 grown close by to pollinate. They should fruit in 4-5 yrs.

Here are the seedlings I bought from Oikos nursery. They were not quite large enough to graft, maybe next year! I ordered 25 and got 28!

The local chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers passed out Paw Paw seeds last year. I threw them in the ground and I have one seedling. It is in the ground and withstood the direct southern California sun last summer. Whether it will fruit in this climate or not is unknown.

I have to believe that 4-5 years from seed is very optimistic. We have about a dozen trees, most put in last year. The largest is 5 feet tall. We are hoping for fruit this year.

The reason why they should be grown with diffused light (as opposed to shaded) is to have faster growth. We need long hours of diffused light.

A person in Southern California would grow the Paw-paws in the open fields, individually place a big tomato cage over each one, and then place a jute sack over the tomato cage. It has long sunshine hours but diffused light. He claims his plants grew very rapidly the first two years and have to remove the cages before two years when he was expecting 3 years.

Other people also went overboard with the idea and even supply grow lights to extend the daylight hours.

Thanks

what is a Juke sack and where can I find one


Frank