Paw Paw

Paw Paw (Asimina triloba) BARE ROOT TREES WILL BEGIN SHIPPING OCT/NOV. 

Paw paw is a small fruit producing tree native to the eastern United States. Humans have planted paw paw trees successfully outside its range in hardiness zones 5 through 8. Although the tree itself is small the fruits can be large. Fruit size varies from tree to tree with the small fruits around the size of an egg and the larger fruits the size of a baked potato. The trees will typically grow up to 35 feet and occasionally reach 45 feet. Trunks typically max out at 8-12 inch diameter.

Animals of all sorts (including humans) will travel great distance to paw paw trees when the fruit are ripe. The fruits are unlike anything that can be found in a grocery store. The taste varies from tree to tree but generally speaking is often described as a mix of banana and mango. The consistency of the fruit is custard like and there are large inedible seeds. The thin skin is also inedible and paw paw are commonly eaten by scooping flesh out with a spoon.

Breeding work has been done on the paw paw over many thousands of years by native peoples and for a much shorter time by modern institutions. This work has lead to many named cultivars with various beneficial qualities such as larger fruit, less seeds per fruit, improved taste, and regional adaptation. Fruit typically ripens in August through October depending on variety and region. Multiple genetically distinct trees are required for good pollination. Interestingly paw paw are pollinated by beetles. Paw paw will form dense thickets by sending out suckers. If you find a paw paw patch in the wild there is a decent chance all the stems are from one seed originally. 

It is important to note that paw paw require shade during their first year but can handle full sun after that if they receive adequate water. More sun will lead to more fruit production. Paw paw can also happily grow in dense shade although fruit production will be decreased. Paw paw trees that are transplanted may also benefit from shade during the establishment period regardless of their age. Paw Paw trees like water. In the wild they are often found growing near streams and rivers. In cultivation they benefit from consistent access to water be this ground water or irrigation. As always thick mulch is highly recommended. We find that irrigation is most important during establishment in areas with full sun.

If you find a wild paw paw patch that has valuable qualities we would love to work out a trade for some seed! If you do any paw paw seed collection it is important to keep these seeds moist. Happy hunting!  

2024 selections

Minka Farms - BARE ROOT 

This seed came from fruit gathered at Minka Farm's paw paw orchard near Mebane NC. Varieties in this orchard include Wells, Mango, and NC-1. Paw paw grown from seed tend to resemble their parents so this batch of seedlings is expected to produce high quality fruit. We have both one year old and two year old trees from this seed source available. The two year old trees are larger and priced accordingly. 

Feralwood breeders mix  - BARE ROOT 

This seed came from Feralwood nursery in Western NC. We highly recommend checking them out if you haven't already. Here is what they have to say about this selection, "a mix of seed sourced from different orchards or programs where breeding operations are taking place. The 2023 batch being sold at present contains seed sourced from the KSU breeding program, as well as the orchards of Jerry Lehman and Ron Powell. The mix is roughly composed of equal numbers of seed from each source". We expect these seedlings will produce high quality fruit. 

These trees are a roughly 10 inches tall 

2024 Mix  - BARE ROOT 

Seeds for this batch came from many different populations of wild paw paw growing near Hillsborough and Durham NC. Fruit size ranged from small to medium. Flavors ranged as well, we were not able to taste all of the fruits. This paw paw selection is recommended for wildlife planting and native habitat restoration but is not recommended for on farm fruit production. These trees would make good root stock for grafting as well. 

These trees are roughly 10 inches tall