Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

*UPDATE* January 2, 2019
Of the three trees (Two Hirt's seedlings and the one KSU Atwood that I planted in Spring 2016) two trees have flower buds that have developed throughout the 2018 growing season. Mainly one tree which is my largest seedling tree (over 6ft tall but averaging around 5-6) with NC-1 grafted onto a bottom branch and Sunflower that I grafted onto a midway branch in Spring 2018. Overall this tree has like 40+ flower buds. It actually bloomed in early Fall and it was amazing to see my first flower developing - it did fall off though. The other smaller seedling has like 4 flower buds but it is a small seedling tree with very few lateral branches and height (around 3-4 ft). The KSU Atwood has reached 6ft tall at it's tallest point but has no flower buds at all. I think in 2019 this tree will develop at least a few or many flower buds. I did plant 5 trees last year. Two are KSU Chappell which one grew almost 4 feet which is crazy to me since the first year I planted my trees in 2016 they only grew like 5-8 inch shoots at most. The other trees I planted were Chappell, Overleese, Potomac and Shenandoah. Plus I have seedlings I directly sowed in the ground in 2017. Overall my trees are all doing well and I am very excited to try cross pollinating the flower buds on the largest seedling. The tree has flower buds that have developed on the seedling portion, the NC-1 graft and even 1 flower bud on the Sunflower graft. Very excited and impressed with how quickly the Hirt's seedling has grown and developed flower buds - especially the willingness to attempt flowering in Fall. Hope everyone is doing well and happy new year! Share anything you can :) Here is a link to my Youtube channel that has video diaries of the growth of my trees:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzV...zfWylM83q20s2g

Just keeping a record to see how long the tree takes to flower & fruit. Thank you!


*Update* May 1st 2018
The trees are so much bigger this year than any other year so far.. they doubled in size from 2016 for sure.. one seedling tree has big nice leaves and strong growth - grew like a 35 inch shoot last year and developed some flower buds along the trunk.. didn't bloom this year but the flower buds remain on the trunk brown red color - this tree also has the NC-1 grafted on a lower branch and thats alive i see the leaf buds swelling so i'm happy it survived.. my other seedling looks good too - my graft failed last year so theres 3 main branches.. i have sunflower scionwood i'm going to try grafting onto this seedling this year. The KSU Atwood leaf buds are starting to swell and it looks ready to grow - not like last year when it was having nutrient and leaf trouble - I also planted my final pawpaw which is a KSU 4-1 pawpaw.. i setup a shade cloth for it.. it's a tiny stick like 8-9 inches long if that.. Everything seems okay so far!


*UPDATE* Aug. 22nd 2017

It seems that the KSU-Atwood grafted tree has been cured of its stunted growth in the beginning of the season. I'm not exactly sure what was causing the issues for the little tree - it could have been a bit of transplant shock as well as the need for fertilizer - I did give the tree Jobes Organic Acid Loving Formula as well as worm castings and then seaweed & fish fertilizer throughout the season. I stopped with all of the seaweed and fish fertilizer the end of June though. I did this to all three of my trees so ensure they would grow well and they really did! I always try to give a lot of water but I also don't want to drown the trees so I try to be careful with giving too much water. All of the trees grew around 12-29 inch shoots. The KSU-Atwood grew shoots around 12-18 inches. My other seedling grew the largest and longest shoots ranging from 16-31 inches. The last seedling grew about 20-22 inch shoots. It was a successful growing season for the pawpaws. I'm looking forward to their growth next year! I also purchased a KSU 4-1 Pawpaw which I will plant next spring.

Hello all :) I am currently growing three paw paw trees. Two of the paw paw trees are from Hirt's that I purchased last year (2016) and I also bought a KSU-Atwood paw paw from One Green World last year. This growing season the two paw paws from Hirts are growing quite vigorously and have already put out 3-5 inches of new shoots with leaves (6-7 inches as of today (June 1st 2017)). However, The KSU-Atwood is growing much slower.. the leaves look light green with a discolor on the back, are smaller, and look a little deformed.. not completey deformed but not full or uniform - they look kinda weak almost? And its not growing too much. I am trying to keep the soil moist but i'm wondering if it could be transplant shock still? Last year when I planted all of the paw paws even the ones from Hirt's seemed like they were shocked and establishing themselves because the leaves were small, light green and sort of small looking. However, this faded and the leaves enlarged and they were healthy looking. I'm just wondering whats going on this year with the KSU-Atwood because the other two paw paws next to this tree are flourishing and they are all in full sun (direct sun from 7-8am to 3:30-4pm. The trees are about 2 feet tall each. The KSU-Atwood paw paw may be only 16-18 inches tall. Im gonna try shading it from now on but I was curious if anyone else has any tips or experience with paw paws to know what could be going on? Any other growing tips or experiences I would love to hear. Thank you!

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

I find it awesome your growing a native Ohio fruit.
Locally in our parks there are a few still around and Ohio has a few annual Paw paw festivals

While I do not grow them I do know there is a wealth of information on the internet and there is even a paw paw club which sells plants.

My guess is your plant is still in transplant shock

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Thank you! I am really fascinated with the paw paw tree. The history of this tree is so interesting and the fruit sounds delicious.. and the fact that it is fhe host tree for the zebra swallowtail butterfly.. it's like how could you not wanna grow this tree. Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you're right about the transplant shock

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

I have grown a few dozen Pawpaw trees over the years. Their growth rate varies greatly according to their genetics.

The fruit is one of my favorite on the planet in the custard apple family. They don't fruit very heavily mostly because of lack of appropriate pollinators which are flies.

I have never seen anything like what you're describing going on with discolored leaves. Perhaps if you showed us a picture it might be helpful.

Good luck

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

What kind of cultivars of paw paws did you grow ? And how long did rhey take you to flower and fruit ? Any tips for growing them well ? I like hearing other ppls experiences. I'll try posting a pic

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

These are the other two paw paws that are growing vigorously compared to the other one and they are greener with larger leaves. Just for comparison. They are all next to one another too.. spaced about 5-6 feet apart if that. sun from 7-8 am to around 3:30-4pm..

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

My paw paw trees had yellow leaves (but not as much) when the temperatures were cooler. Now that its been warmer, the leaves are much greener. There is just a hint of yellow on mine and the plants look to be similar in size to yours.

I read an article that said the small trees don't like direct sun. My trees are shaded by a big maple tree and my house for about 4 hours a day around noontime. You can try a shade cloth on the one plant, perhaps that type is more sensitive to sunlight when its younger....

Erik G in PA

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

I don't think that's a disease problem at all. It looks to me like some kind of chlorosis caused by a nutrient deficiency. I would hit it with some all-purpose fertilizer with trace minerals or some rotted manure or compost and keep it watered well.

I'm not a big fan of maple trees. They have a shallow root system and suck the life out of everything near them. True very young trees need some shade. I wouldn't use a tree to give them that shade though it will stunt their growth if there is competition in anyway from them. Once they're halfway mature, and it looks like yours are in good shape, they do better in full sun.

I have done all mine from seed. I enjoy starting things from seed, and I have had some success and some failure. I am told that they turn out true to form from seed.

If you would like to try seed I would recommend looking up the website of the University of Kentucky. Several years ago they were very kind and send me an envelope full of seed from there select trees in the orchard.

These trees have a habit of suckering and I let them do it. Sometimes a good sucker will produce better than the mother tree

Good luck

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Thank you for answering. I did put jobes organic all purpose fertilizer 2 weeks ago and I put some jobes acid loving plants fertilizer around the tree and scraped into soil.. I'll put more before it rains tomorrow.. I also put worm castings around the trees today and put a shade cloth around the tree.. I have little cages around them already for dogs to stay out but I wrapped a scarf around the cage overhead and secured at the sides so it sits over but allows air like a tunnel almost.. hopefully this helps? I also plan to put more fertilizer down but a better amount this time! Thank you for the tips !! Appreciate it very much. I also bought seeds from peaceful heritage.. got 14 seeds from a ripe susquehanna.. supposed to make superior or at least excellent fruit because the genetics are from susquehanna fruit so I'm very excited.. but I got a ksu Atwood which is the tree that I'm trying to preserve and that one is supposed to have excellent fruit.. I also tried grafting nc-1 and overleese onto my other two paw paw tree's in full sun.. so far the grafts have taken.. very excited !

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

]

Your trees are beautiful ! Thank you for showing me pictures and helping me! I put a shade clothe over the plant immediately.. hopefully my trees will have nice leaves like your trees someday ! I'll also try adding more fertilizer and organic matter like worm castings and nitrogen rich mulch.. thank you again!

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Thank you!

Hopefully your tree will fix itself once summer arrives. One of my trees was much slower to grow than the others. I have susquehanna, shenandoah, and one seedling tree.

My lot is small so I had to find a compromise location to plant my trees. The maple tree is on my neighbor's side so not much I can do about it.

Good luck!

Erik

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

That's awesome those are supposed to be two of the best paw paw cultivars.. how old are your trees? They look like they have a year or two of growth more than mine. I only planted these trees last year.. the two from hirts were like 14-16 inches if that? & the ksu Atwood from onegreenworld was like 12 inches tall.. very small to start but I am patient I figure they will be in shock for a few seasons.. the ksu Atwood seems very slow and more shocked than the other two.. I even tried grafting onto the other two pawpaws with vigorous growth and the grafts look like they have taken.. so the grafts will be overleese and nc-1 if they live.. I'm excited! thanks again for sharing

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Very cool. I've never grafted but I am planning to try it sometime soon. Either with pears or paw paws or figs. When I get some cuttings that are grafting size, perhaps we can talk....

I received the paw paws as dormant plants in the fall of 2015 and kept them inside the first winter. Then, I planted my trees in the ground last spring. They were only about a foot tall when I got them as well. I covered them with burlap and leaves this past winter just for extra insurance. I just started with fertilizer treatment this year.

Looks like we will be in a holding pattern for several years till we get any fruit.

Erik G

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

I got paw paw scion wood from kentucky state university.. go to their facebook page. Their name on facebook is ksu pawpaw.. send them a message asking them what pawpaw cultivar scionwood do you have left. They sent me 2-3 twigs from overleese, nc-1 and sunflower. They had many others and they send them for free! Just a heads up so you know. And sounds good you're a year ahead of me. Looking forward to seeing how the trees grow! Send me updates if u wanna i'd love to hear about anything you learn or notice

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

So I just wanted to post a little update for some people who may have experienced this problem at all.. what I did was put worm castings onto the soil and worked that in.. put down more jobes organic natural acid loving fertilizer and then watered well with the entire bottle of maxi crop seaweed diluted in water and saturated the soil around the tree really well.. then I put a shade cloth over the tree.. I removed the cloth while it is rainy and cloudy for now but when the sun comes back out I will put the shade cloth back over the tree.. Here is the progress so far.. the tree seems to be in better shape now than before.. still growing slowly but at least the leaves are turning a darker green where the new ones are emerging.. I guess it was a nutrient deficiency with too much direct sunlight?

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Hi Eric
It is a nutrient deficiency. It looks like an iron or magnesium deficiency. Putting the fertilizer for acid loving plants is the right answer. My pawpaw exhibit the same problem if I don't stay on top of the fertizing. The soil is pretty alkaline in the Dallas area.

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Thank you very much for commenting on this. I still have a lot more fertilizer. It was almost two weeks ago that i put down fertilizer. Do you think it will hurt if i put down more for this tiny tree ? I also purchased seaweed and fish fertilizer. I don't wanna give the plant too much of a good thing but i don't intend to lose this tree. Is it okay to fertilize again two weeks later ?

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

I would follow the directions on the fertilizer bag. Generally you can fertilizer on a monthly basis. Seaweed and fish emulsion can be used weekly if diluted to 1/2 strength.

Re: Asimina Triloba (Paw Paw)
 

Okay i'll do that. I put some some more fertilizer and used the seaweed and fish liquid. I just wanna pump this little guy up as much as I can. Now i'll just keep it well watered and use a shade cloth when it's sunny. Thanks again !