My philosophy with most any plant, is if you want a few good ones, plant way more. Racoons and possum are going to eat/ spoil some fruit, Deer alone destroy 4 or 5 trees a year minimum. Around here, if it is not in its own wire cage, it's like the famous schrodinger's' cat in that you don't really know if you own it, until you go out and look. One neat thing is that after about 10 -12 fruiting years, I started finding them growing wild in the surrounding area (via animal poo probably) and we know they spread by runners, so once you reach critical mass, they will always be there. You in a good area for them?
Wow awesome orchard. I have two 5ft tall trees in partial shade (they get morning and afternoon sun) growing in northern NJ. This is the first year they are loaded with flowers, but I found a strange caterpillar eating the inside (pollen receiving and producing parts) of the maturing flowers! I managed to get rid of the visible ones, then sprayed them with thuricide. I almost didn't get any pollen from the trees because of this insect. After some research I found that it is a called a Talponia plummeriana, the Pawpaw Peduncle Borer.
What a lovely orchard! Just got a seedling myself. It’s a European variety called prima “1216”. It’s supposedly self-pollinating but I am about to buy another one. What’s your favorite variety when it comes to flavor? Also, do you think potted seedlings might do well indoors for the first two years provided they get enough sunlight?
Your Prima 1216 is a grafted tree, right? You called it a seedling... I'm guessing because it is small? Prima 1216 is a very good tree. I like Mango variety a lot. Overleese too. I would advise against trying to keep a pawpaw indoors. They need to be in synch with the seasons. If you live in a very cold area, maybe put them on the south side of your home to shelter them from the worst weather. A potted tree CAN be "planted" and overwintered in the pot and then pulled back out in spring. I do that a lot (heeling in)
Qingeaton, I watch your Pawpaw videos weekly! How would I go about buying seeds of your Tracy & TLC varieties as well as some of ur grafted varieties? Thanks for all the great info
Hey BEO, We could maybe do it one better. If you want, I can put you together a box of fruit when they are peaking that would have TLC, and others and you can sample the taste and get the seeds too. A big fruit will have about 11 seeds on average, so a medium flat rate box with 6 or 7 fruit would have a good number of seeds in them. If you have trees already and are a grafter, I could send wood to switch them over. Contact me at Justonemorenut.com put pawpaw in the message first so I see it. Get a lot of offers to spend money if you have a website.
@@Qingeaton sounds incredible!! I’m grafting 48 varieties at the end of this month- 30 of them are Mango because you said they’re a favorite for ur customers. Also Mango was developed in my home state GA so I know it will do well. That would be awesome to taste some of what you’ve grown, I want to grow seedlings of TLC or Tracy and even just a couple scion wood would be great! I can send you something in exchange or gladly pay for it. Thanks for you time
Wow, your orchard is so beautiful and amazing. So big and green, with lots of fruit trees. Thanks for sharing and you inspired me. I wish someday I will have a orchard like that. I just started a small backyard garden this year and I have been enjoying looking at my vegetables and flowers every day. I just started to discover my passion about growing plants. Every morning after I woke, I went to look at my garden, checking each plant. I have never seen a pawpaw fruit anywhere near me in New Jersey. I am curious how it tastes. Would it be possible that I buy some pawpaw seeds from you?
Looks like a constant grafting job when you have to graft the suckers also. I raise pecans mostly and some other fruit. I'm grafting every year. Which variety do you think taste the most like pineapple
Well, you don't have to graft the suckers, it just helps continue the orchard since the trees don't live much past maybe 30 years or so in general. I'd be lying if I said this or that tastes more like pineapple. What I can say is that people who like pawpaws seem to like the variety Mango quite a bit. I like Overleese a lot too. NC-1 is good as well. Some of Neal Peterson's trees are very good, and may very well be among the best out there, but I have stayed away from planting them due to the fact that they are patented and I wanted lots of trees and can't afford buying lots of trees. If a guy just wanted a few, then Susquehanna and Potomac might be natural choices. Sorry if I sound evasive or vague, but taste is an individual thing. I had one lady who preferred PA Golden, while most everyone else couldn't tolerate the strong "wang" it has.
I have Moonglow Pear & Anjou Pear if you'd like some scions let me know. And on those scions you sent me the grafts are looking good. I have 1 tree with 5 dif cultivars on it and so far just the Mango hasnt showed any signs. I was able to find some nice trees to cut down and bark inlay graft onto so im curious how big TLC's fruit will be once its grown on a massive tree's root system that happens to be just 15 ft from a creek.
Really glad you've had such success with your grafting. I haven't had the time to do 1/10 the grafting I need to...everything else "has" to be done first. Thanks for the offer, maybe I can try both of them next year. You will be doing me a favor in testing those two varieties I gave you, so thanks.
There are probably some areas in zone 4 that they would grow, but most people say zone 5. There is a pawpaw fanclub on facebook, where you may talk with people trying in zone 4
@@truefact4439 I guess you have looked at pawpaw range maps to see where you are in comparison? www.google.com/search?q=pawpaw+range+map&oq=pawpaw+range+map&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0i22i30j0i390l3.4837j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
@@Qingeaton Yes I have. I live north of Minneapolis. I spoke with a gentleman yesterday. He has paw paw growing in st paul/ Minnesota. Zone 4. I am basically looking for inspiration and info .
These trees in nature are grown under big trees, so it's an understory tree. It's pollinated by Beetles and Flies, but there are no diversity of other plants around it to attract beneficial insects...
In nature, they are indeed understory trees and get very little light, and produce very few fruits. The best trees in nature are often found at the edge of a river where the light is better. Here on the farm, we have many other different trees growing in close proximity to the pawpaws. Our Chestnuts draw in at least 10 different types of pollen seeking insects. The rose bushes, Japanese wisteria, southern magnolia, redbuds, willows, pear trees, etc provide a varied habitat for beneficials. Since we are organic, we see mantis on our trees regularly, though the pawpaw trees are not eaten by most insects, and so, don't really need their protection. You won't find aphids on them, so lady beetles have no reason to hang around.
Ronald L. Jones these are so small. I’ve got huge 80’ PawPaws on my farm which is pretty, love the look of them but the fruit is unattainable. When they fall they smash. Very high quality fruit flavor though.
@@zfilmmaker If you get a chance sometime, could you take a photo of that 80' pawpaw tree? I have never seen one grow past about 30 foot before dying of old age.
Qingeaton I should add that mine are wild. All of them. I’ve given fertilizer from 1998 on. I would imagine the 80’ PawPaw could be as old as some oak trees that are 200+ years. Girth’s on these trees are wider then two cars. I have something that few have, a sizable tract of land that was deeded to my great great grandfather from an English lord, so the forests have been protected.
Wow nice pawpaw orchard, I can't seem to find any of these trees around here or even the seeds. do you have any seeds or trees to share? I never have had one nor had the chance to taste one and would love to add a couple to my garden, lol. guess I'll add this to my bucket list... nice job with the paw paws. thanks for sharing.
That's not how it really works. All the seedling trees are capable of bearing fruit. Pawpaw flowers are complete and trees are not male/ female as in some plants. The only difference is in the genetics of each individual tree. Pawpaw also flower over an extended period, meaning they have 3 weeks of bloom and pollination time and uneven ripening related to when they flowered. These trees had every chance to bear and what you see is the difference in bloodline expression.
These were all from seed of selected varieties, Mango, Overleese and Shenandoah. I have the grafted trees they came from as well and add new trees and varieties over time via grafting.
I am grateful they cannot speak, or I would never sleep hearing their cries for water. This spring has been like summer. This is the 1st spring that the pond did not overflow. ( since 1988 anyway when it was new and first full) Instead, it was 14" lower than the spillway at max, and then we started watering from it. 1" gets used up per hour, meaning we missed out on 14 uses of the system, so the trees will have to make do, or the fish will suffer. Be quiet little trees and dig deep.
Yes, they grow like a pyramid. The big leaves look tropical. If you were to fertilise them, (which we don't) they get crazy dark green leaves. I saw it in person at the University Research Center in New Franklin, Mo. I was working on their Pawpaw variety trial and we gave them a good dosing for sure. Also did work on the Chestnuts and Pecans while I was there. It takes a good 5-6 years before they will flower. That's IF they have ideal conditions. It would probably be best to not let them fruit the first time they try and go for building the tree. They like moisture and shade when young, but can tolerate drought pretty well once established, They need at least half a day full sun, preferably in the morning rather than late afternoon. The bark has a habit of splitting on the west side due to winter day warming/ night freezing cycles. A few years back, we had a very dry spell and some of the (unwatered) trees responded by ripening fruit extremely early. It was completely fine in every way, just 3 weeks too soon. I wasn't even looking for them yet and here was one on the ground already. I have mostly Mango and Overleese trees. People like the size and taste and they are different enough to provide variety. I also have 1 tree of Shenandoah and 1 of Susquehanna. Those are Peterson varieties. Shenandoah is a very good tree here. The tree bears heavily, flavor is mild for newbies to start on, tree grows well.The Susquehanna tree is very stingy here. The few fruits we have gotten have been amazing in flavor quality, but maybe I just got a weakling, because it always has some excuse for not bearing. I also have Prolific, which I don't care much for, Prima 1216 (from Europe of all places), two of my own that I am looking at, called Cooper and TLC. I used to have PA Golden, but the flavor was so strong that I lost people at the first taste. I cut it down.
Qingeaton that’s so cool how does your overleese do? I actually ordered a gallon sized tree of overleese from one green world and I’m waiting for it to get here so I can plant it. Yes I did hear that Shenandoah is a heavy bearer and mild flavor - I have a KSU Atwood that I planted in 2016 I heard that it’s a very heavy bearer and milder flavor so I figured it would be a good choice for someone whose never had a Pawpaw and I have 2 seedlings I planted in 2016 - I managed to graft nc-1 to it last year and this year I did 3 sunflower grafts and one seems to be doing very well. I also planted a KSU 4-1 this year which is growing strongly for a tiny stick lol. How old is your oldest tree? The trees look beautiful all together. I spaced my trees about 7-8 feet apart in my yard.
Overleese does well here. I have tasted NC-1 and thought it was very good. Never tried KSU 4-1. Sunflower was a bit small for me to graft, but it does have lots of supporters. My oldest tree is about 20 now. 7-8 feet is close, but will work fine. 12 feet would probably be optimum.
Susquehanna had the best taste ever...reminded me of cotton candy, but like I said, I never get any to speak of. Mango is my favorite all around. Most of my customers who know about and like pawpaw agree. Overleese is milder, so newbies like it better and Shenandoah is a child of Overleese, so it is lighter colored and flavored as well. If I could afford it, I'd buy a dozen Susquehanna and hope that they behave better than the one I have.
What state is your orchard in ? I’m in southern Georgia and just ordered three different KSU varieties . I am hoping they will grow in the Deep South .
Missouri. The variety "Mango" was found in Georgia growing wild, if memory serves, so you should be fine. I looked again and found a Georgia website that confirmed that just now. (below) Many different varieties are available including 'Davis,' 'Mango,' 'Mitchell,' 'P A Golden,' 'Sun-flower,' 'Taylor,' 'Taytow,' 'Wells,' 'Wilson' and 'Overleese.' In the early 1990s, there was a pawpaw variety trial at Tifton, Georgia. 'Overleese' was the best performing variety in this trial. The 'Mango' variety was selected from Georgia. They are doing good work down there at KSU from what I hear.
@@Qingeatonthanks , I actually live in Tifton ! There is a UGA Research Station here in Tifton . I am excited to grow them and see how they do . I’m also waiting on American and Japanese persimmons and figs . I already have Meyer Lemons , Satsuma mandarins and figs . The American native fruits are very intriguing to me . Thanks for your response !
For most of a pawpaw tree's life, 10 feet apart is plenty. If you happen to have more space and plan to be around there for 20 years, then 13-15 feet might be better, in case the do really well, get really big and live a long time. I have changed the way I'm growing them now. Having fruit way up the tree out of reach is too much work, so I am cutting the center leader out at 7 feet tall or so and grow it more like a peach tree, with 4-5 main branches. In this different way of pruning, they will end up getting wider, if I keep them from growing taller, so maybe 15 feet for this method is best too.
Yes sir. I have them right now in the fridge, but it's really too late to use any more of them this year. What is exciting to me is that I have some really nice seedling trees that, when they produce suckers, those will be clones without the need to graft.
@@Qingeaton My yard is surrounded by Black Walnut trees. I am thinking about putting in one or two small groves of Paw-paws. Not exactly sure how it's going to shape up yet, but I may be looking to purchasing scion wood or seedlings in the future. Do you have a web site or mailing list where I could stay updated on what you have for sale?
Thanks. I did most of the planting when I was a younger man. The Chestnuts and pecans as well. A lot of sweat invested. Older and wiser now,( but mostly slower), I realise that a "few hundred tress" is a full time job. A job for retirement I guess. I got a reward today, when falling a dead pine tree, I saw some young pawpaw seedlings growing wild about 70 feet from the nearest pawpaw tree. Had to have been "planted" by an animal. They are pushing out from the property and should become just another local to this area. The pecans are traveling well too.
Good catch. We have a lot of different wildlife out here. I see something I've never seen before probably once every few months. I'm not that great at my bird calls, so thanks for that.
It's a 50/50 mix of cheap, interior latex paint and water. Put in a pump sprayer. It keeps the bark from warming in the winter afternoons on the west side, which then freeze at night. Too much of that and the bark dies off. From seed, about 6 years if everything is ideal. Grafted trees maybe 4 years, but we are talking a very few small ones then.
Is it possible that the watering of this orchid is just not what the Paw Paw tree likes? I understand they naturally grow by water and perhaps their natural inclinations are being stymied by the location????
We haven't had any water related problems. You are right in that they do like river bottoms and creeks. Once established, they are pretty tough. You just have to water them if they get stuck in a real drought.
The seeds used were from grafted varieties. It's the same seed I gather to sell on Ebay. I collect seed from the largest fruits of the best trees and plant them to see if I get anything special.
From what I have been able to see firsthand, 99% are going to be less than the parents, perhaps 1% will in some way be equal or even better, but probably only 1 in 1000 is going to be better overall than what you started with.. I have that 1 tree that has made fruit at a higher rate than any grafted tree I have grown yet. In that way, it is superior to its parents. The flavor so far is average. I don't know if the flavor would change to have more sugar if I were to thin the fruit, since the tiny tree is trying to put out 20 this year. It had 16 last year. The Susquehanna tree I have makes a very few fruit, and they are very sweet. There might be some connection with that. If you were to want to be a breeder, you would be doing controlled crosses using grafted trees. I just used natural crosses of grafted trees. As a side note, we are being once again invaded by Japanese beetles which are destroying our chestnut trees. I put traps up in the pawpaw trees thinking that the beetles could not eat them, and would be drawn away from the chestnuts, but I was wrong, they can eat pawpaw leaves.... dang near anything it seems.
Qingeaton Wow a lot of trees then to find a special one. I saw Japanese beetles recently too! Funny how they find the trees and munch away. This year a lot of my leaves are getting eaten too a little. I put them on my banana trees instead so they’ll eat those big leaves. My trees are only around 3-6 ft tall so it’ll be a few more years before I get to try some.
Those in the seedling orchard are at 10 foot spacing. The thought being...cram as many as I could in the space. If I were planting out an orchard of already grafted trees for commercial production, I think I'd go with 15 feet. We bought 11 acres about 30 years ago and have been planting stuff non stop, so most things are planted out here as close as I think I can get away with. At some point, I will have to admit that some of the trees are losers and either cut them out or change them over to the best of them via grafting.
Interesting. I do paint the bark of the older trees to avoid winter injury, but had never heard that the critters would be deterred by it. Guess I better look into that.
@@Qingeaton on saplings you can hollow out a Sprite bottle split it down the middle and open it up then clamp it around the trunk of the sapling this also slows the growth of suckers
@@Qingeaton I started doing it to my trees and it does seem to work the plastic and the paint my uncle also used sma mesh chicken wire to keep the deer out
@@megalodon4228 At one time, I had wire fencing around all my trees. Deer couldn't get at them, but neither could I to weed whip. I removed some cages from big chestnut trees just yesterday, so I could install them around the pawpaws but what a pain to mow and trim.
great video! just bought some of your seeds
Thanks, I'll get them out tomorrow
This is awesome. Exactly what I want to do with my property - have a couple rows of pawpaws.
My philosophy with most any plant, is if you want a few good ones, plant way more. Racoons and possum are going to eat/ spoil some fruit, Deer alone destroy 4 or 5 trees a year minimum. Around here, if it is not in its own wire cage, it's like the famous schrodinger's' cat in that you don't really know if you own it, until you go out and look.
One neat thing is that after about 10 -12 fruiting years, I started finding them growing wild in the surrounding area (via animal poo probably) and we know they spread by runners, so once you reach critical mass, they will always be there.
You in a good area for them?
Wow awesome orchard. I have two 5ft tall trees in partial shade (they get morning and afternoon sun) growing in northern NJ. This is the first year they are loaded with flowers, but I found a strange caterpillar eating the inside (pollen receiving and producing parts) of the maturing flowers! I managed to get rid of the visible ones, then sprayed them with thuricide. I almost didn't get any pollen from the trees because of this insect. After some research I found that it is a called a Talponia plummeriana, the Pawpaw Peduncle Borer.
Very interesting. I had never heard of that insect before. Will have to read up on him. Thanks.
What a lovely orchard!
Just got a seedling myself. It’s a European variety called prima “1216”.
It’s supposedly self-pollinating but I am about to buy another one.
What’s your favorite variety when it comes to flavor?
Also, do you think potted seedlings might do well indoors for the first two years provided they get enough sunlight?
Your Prima 1216 is a grafted tree, right? You called it a seedling... I'm guessing because it is small? Prima 1216 is a very good tree. I like Mango variety a lot. Overleese too.
I would advise against trying to keep a pawpaw indoors. They need to be in synch with the seasons. If you live in a very cold area, maybe put them on the south side of your home to shelter them from the worst weather. A potted tree CAN be "planted" and overwintered in the pot and then pulled back out in spring. I do that a lot (heeling in)
Qingeaton, I watch your Pawpaw videos weekly! How would I go about buying seeds of your Tracy & TLC varieties as well as some of ur grafted varieties? Thanks for all the great info
Hey BEO, We could maybe do it one better. If you want, I can put you together a box of fruit when they are peaking that would have TLC, and others and you can sample the taste and get the seeds too. A big fruit will have about 11 seeds on average, so a medium flat rate box with 6 or 7 fruit would have a good number of seeds in them. If you have trees already and are a grafter, I could send wood to switch them over. Contact me at Justonemorenut.com put pawpaw in the message first so I see it. Get a lot of offers to spend money if you have a website.
@@Qingeaton sounds incredible!! I’m grafting 48 varieties at the end of this month- 30 of them are Mango because you said they’re a favorite for ur customers. Also Mango was developed in my home state GA so I know it will do well. That would be awesome to taste some of what you’ve grown, I want to grow seedlings of TLC or Tracy and even just a couple scion wood would be great! I can send you something in exchange or gladly pay for it. Thanks for you time
Very nice looking orchard
Wow, your orchard is so beautiful and amazing. So big and green, with lots of fruit trees. Thanks for sharing and you inspired me. I wish someday I will have a orchard like that. I just started a small backyard garden this year and I have been enjoying looking at my vegetables and flowers every day. I just started to discover my passion about growing plants. Every morning after I woke, I went to look at my garden, checking each plant.
I have never seen a pawpaw fruit anywhere near me in New Jersey. I am curious how it tastes. Would it be possible that I buy some pawpaw seeds from you?
Caixia, Please contact me through my website Justoneonenut. com
We just have time to ship you a few fruit to taste with the seeds to plant inside!
@@Qingeaton，thank you!
¿Puede quitarse la fruta verde del árbol y madurarla en casa?
Looks like a constant grafting job when you have to graft the suckers also. I raise pecans mostly and some other fruit. I'm grafting every year. Which variety do you think taste the most like pineapple
Well, you don't have to graft the suckers, it just helps continue the orchard since the trees don't live much past maybe 30 years or so in general. I'd be lying if I said this or that tastes more like pineapple. What I can say is that people who like pawpaws seem to like the variety Mango quite a bit. I like Overleese a lot too. NC-1 is good as well. Some of Neal Peterson's trees are very good, and may very well be among the best out there, but I have stayed away from planting them due to the fact that they are patented and I wanted lots of trees and can't afford buying lots of trees. If a guy just wanted a few, then Susquehanna and Potomac might be natural choices. Sorry if I sound evasive or vague, but taste is an individual thing. I had one lady who preferred PA Golden, while most everyone else couldn't tolerate the strong "wang" it has.
I have Moonglow Pear & Anjou Pear if you'd like some scions let me know.
And on those scions you sent me the grafts are looking good.
I have 1 tree with 5 dif cultivars on it and so far just the Mango hasnt showed any signs.
I was able to find some nice trees to cut down and bark inlay graft onto so im curious how big TLC's fruit will be once its grown on a massive tree's root system that happens to be just 15 ft from a creek.
Really glad you've had such success with your grafting.
I haven't had the time to do 1/10 the grafting I need to...everything else "has" to be done first. Thanks for the offer, maybe I can try both of them next year.
You will be doing me a favor in testing those two varieties I gave you, so thanks.
More together fill in those lines just an idea and remember the seeds are all different
Would love to see more of your videos!
Is it possible to grow paw paw in zone 4? I hear mixed opinions
There are probably some areas in zone 4 that they would grow, but most people say zone 5.
There is a pawpaw fanclub on facebook, where you may talk with people trying in zone 4
@@Qingeaton I don't have Facebook. Your garden is awesome. Thanks for sharing it.
@@truefact4439 I guess you have looked at pawpaw range maps to see where you are in comparison? www.google.com/search?q=pawpaw+range+map&oq=pawpaw+range+map&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0i22i30j0i390l3.4837j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
@@Qingeaton Yes I have. I live north of Minneapolis. I spoke with a gentleman yesterday. He has paw paw growing in st paul/ Minnesota. Zone 4. I am basically looking for inspiration and info .
These trees in nature are grown under big trees, so it's an understory tree. It's pollinated by Beetles and Flies, but there are no diversity of other plants around it to attract beneficial insects...
In nature, they are indeed understory trees and get very little light, and produce very few fruits. The best trees in nature are often found at the edge of a river where the light is better. Here on the farm, we have many other different trees growing in close proximity to the pawpaws. Our Chestnuts draw in at least 10 different types of pollen seeking insects. The rose bushes, Japanese wisteria, southern magnolia, redbuds, willows, pear trees, etc provide a varied habitat for beneficials. Since we are organic, we see mantis on our trees regularly, though the pawpaw trees are not eaten by most insects, and so, don't really need their protection. You won't find aphids on them, so lady beetles have no reason to hang around.
Ronald L. Jones these are so small. I’ve got huge 80’ PawPaws on my farm which is pretty, love the look of them but the fruit is unattainable. When they fall they smash. Very high quality fruit flavor though.
@@zfilmmaker If you get a chance sometime, could you take a photo of that 80' pawpaw tree? I have never seen one grow past about 30 foot before dying of old age.
Qingeaton absolutely! I also have a few younger ones topping 35-40’ too.
Qingeaton I should add that mine are wild. All of them. I’ve given fertilizer from 1998 on. I would imagine the 80’ PawPaw could be as old as some oak trees that are 200+ years. Girth’s on these trees are wider then two cars. I have something that few have, a sizable tract of land that was deeded to my great great grandfather from an English lord, so the forests have been protected.
Wow nice pawpaw orchard, I can't seem to find any of these trees around here or even the seeds. do you have any seeds or trees to share? I never have had one nor had the chance to taste one and would love to add a couple to my garden, lol. guess I'll add this to my bucket list... nice job with the paw paws. thanks for sharing.
@@Qingeaton thanks I would like that very much, I will email you soon.
How old does a paw paw have to be to fruit? I have 2, 2 year olds trees.
If you have perfect conditions for them, about 6 years.
They dont put out pollen and get polinated at the same time. The 'baren' tree might just be the polinator
That's not how it really works. All the seedling trees are capable of bearing fruit.
Pawpaw flowers are complete and trees are not male/ female as in some plants.
The only difference is in the genetics of each individual tree. Pawpaw also flower over an extended period, meaning they have 3 weeks of bloom and pollination time and uneven ripening related to when they flowered. These trees had every chance to bear and what you see is the difference in bloodline expression.
Qingeaton m
Planting an orchard and bringing it to maturity is a labor of love.
I was thinking much the same today while mowing it for the 45th? time since It was planted :) You better love it.
So did you start all these from seed and your creating new varieties or have you bought a bunch of different varieties and you are trying them all?
These were all from seed of selected varieties, Mango, Overleese and Shenandoah. I have the grafted trees they came from as well and add new trees and varieties over time via grafting.
Leaves look like green tongues
I am grateful they cannot speak, or I would never sleep hearing their cries for water.
This spring has been like summer.
This is the 1st spring that the pond did not overflow. ( since 1988 anyway when it was new and first full)
Instead, it was 14" lower than the spillway at max, and then we started watering from it.
1" gets used up per hour, meaning we missed out on 14 uses of the system,
so the trees will have to make do, or the fish will suffer. Be quiet little trees and dig deep.
They have beautiful shapes. How long does it take your trees to fruit. What cultivars do you have ?
Yes, they grow like a pyramid. The big leaves look tropical.
If you were to fertilise them, (which we don't) they get crazy dark green leaves. I saw it in person at the University Research Center in New Franklin, Mo. I was working on their Pawpaw variety trial and we gave them a good dosing for sure. Also did work on the Chestnuts and Pecans while I was there.
It takes a good 5-6 years before they will flower. That's IF they have ideal conditions.
It would probably be best to not let them fruit the first time they try and go for building the tree.
They like moisture and shade when young, but can tolerate drought pretty well once established,
They need at least half a day full sun, preferably in the morning rather than late afternoon.
The bark has a habit of splitting on the west side due to winter day warming/ night freezing cycles.
A few years back, we had a very dry spell and some of the (unwatered) trees responded by ripening fruit extremely early. It was completely fine in every way, just 3 weeks too soon.
I wasn't even looking for them yet and here was one on the ground already.
I have mostly Mango and Overleese trees. People like the size and taste and they are different enough to provide variety. I also have 1 tree of Shenandoah and 1 of Susquehanna. Those are Peterson varieties.
Shenandoah is a very good tree here. The tree bears heavily, flavor is mild for newbies to start on, tree grows well.The Susquehanna tree is very stingy here. The few fruits we have gotten have been amazing in flavor quality, but maybe I just got a weakling, because it always has some excuse for not bearing. I also have Prolific, which I don't care much for, Prima 1216 (from Europe of all places), two of my own that I am looking at, called Cooper and TLC. I used to have PA Golden, but the flavor was so strong that I lost people at the first taste. I cut it down.
Qingeaton that’s so cool how does your overleese do? I actually ordered a gallon sized tree of overleese from one green world and I’m waiting for it to get here so I can plant it. Yes I did hear that Shenandoah is a heavy bearer and mild flavor - I have a KSU Atwood that I planted in 2016 I heard that it’s a very heavy bearer and milder flavor so I figured it would be a good choice for someone whose never had a Pawpaw and I have 2 seedlings I planted in 2016 - I managed to graft nc-1 to it last year and this year I did 3 sunflower grafts and one seems to be doing very well. I also planted a KSU 4-1 this year which is growing strongly for a tiny stick lol. How old is your oldest tree? The trees look beautiful all together. I spaced my trees about 7-8 feet apart in my yard.
Overleese does well here. I have tasted NC-1 and thought it was very good. Never tried KSU 4-1. Sunflower was a bit small for me to graft, but it does have lots of supporters. My oldest tree is about 20 now. 7-8 feet is close, but will work fine. 12 feet would probably be optimum.
Qingeaton what’s your favorite fruit variety ? How does overleese taste to you? : )
Susquehanna had the best taste ever...reminded me of cotton candy, but like I said, I never get any to speak of. Mango is my favorite all around. Most of my customers who know about and like pawpaw agree. Overleese is milder, so newbies like it better and Shenandoah is a child of Overleese, so it is lighter colored and flavored as well. If I could afford it, I'd buy a dozen Susquehanna and hope that they behave better than the one I have.
What state is your orchard in ? I’m in southern Georgia and just ordered three different KSU varieties . I am hoping they will grow in the Deep South .
Missouri. The variety "Mango" was found in Georgia growing wild, if memory serves, so you should be fine. I looked again and found a Georgia website that confirmed that just now. (below)
Many different varieties are available including 'Davis,' 'Mango,' 'Mitchell,' 'P A Golden,' 'Sun-flower,' 'Taylor,' 'Taytow,' 'Wells,' 'Wilson' and 'Overleese.' In the early 1990s, there was a pawpaw variety trial at Tifton, Georgia. 'Overleese' was the best performing variety in this trial. The 'Mango' variety was selected from Georgia.
They are doing good work down there at KSU from what I hear.
@@Qingeatonthanks , I actually live in Tifton ! There is a UGA Research Station here in Tifton . I am excited to grow them and see how they do . I’m also waiting on American and Japanese persimmons and figs . I already have Meyer Lemons , Satsuma mandarins and figs . The American native fruits are very intriguing to me . Thanks for your response !
How far apart do you plant the trees?
For most of a pawpaw tree's life, 10 feet apart is plenty. If you happen to have more space and plan to be around there for 20 years, then 13-15 feet might be better, in case the do really well, get really big and live a long time.
I have changed the way I'm growing them now. Having fruit way up the tree out of reach is too much work, so I am cutting the center leader out at 7 feet tall or so and grow it more like a peach tree, with 4-5 main branches. In this different way of pruning, they will end up getting wider, if I keep them from growing taller, so maybe 15 feet for this method is best too.
Will you have scions for sale at any point?
Yes sir. I have them right now in the fridge, but it's really too late to use any more of them this year. What is exciting to me is that I have some really nice seedling trees that, when they produce suckers, those will be clones without the need to graft.
@@Qingeaton My yard is surrounded by Black Walnut trees. I am thinking about putting in one or two small groves of Paw-paws. Not exactly sure how it's going to shape up yet, but I may be looking to purchasing scion wood or seedlings in the future. Do you have a web site or mailing list where I could stay updated on what you have for sale?
@@Qingeaton Emailed!
Very nice orchard
Thanks. I did most of the planting when I was a younger man.
The Chestnuts and pecans as well. A lot of sweat invested.
Older and wiser now,( but mostly slower), I realise that a "few hundred tress" is a full time job. A job for retirement I guess.
I got a reward today, when falling a dead pine tree, I saw some young pawpaw seedlings growing wild about 70 feet from the nearest pawpaw tree. Had to have been "planted" by an animal. They are pushing out from the property and should become just another local to this area. The pecans are traveling well too.
mockingbird starting at 8:13
Good catch. We have a lot of different wildlife out here. I see something I've never seen before probably once every few months. I'm not that great at my bird calls, so thanks for that.
What did you paint the bottome of your trees with it?
Also how long till pawpaw fruit ?
It's a 50/50 mix of cheap, interior latex paint and water. Put in a pump sprayer. It keeps the bark from warming in the winter afternoons on the west side, which then freeze at night. Too much of that and the bark dies off. From seed, about 6 years if everything is ideal. Grafted trees maybe 4 years, but we are talking a very few small ones then.
Is it possible that the watering of this orchid is just not what the Paw Paw tree likes? I understand they naturally grow by water and perhaps their natural inclinations are being stymied by the location????
We haven't had any water related problems.
You are right in that they do like river bottoms and creeks.
Once established, they are pretty tough.
You just have to water them if they get stuck in a real drought.
i want some wood from those two trees...
We will make that happen.
All of these seedlings - what fruit did they come from ? Were they just random seed or were they from cultivars ? Just curious : )
The seeds used were from grafted varieties. It's the same seed I gather to sell on Ebay. I collect seed from the largest fruits of the best trees and plant them to see if I get anything special.
Qingeaton Very cool. So in your experience the true to seed ratio isn’t too high for Pawpaws since the seedlings vary.
From what I have been able to see firsthand, 99% are going to be less than the parents, perhaps 1% will in some way be equal or even better, but probably only 1 in 1000 is going to be better overall than what you started with..
I have that 1 tree that has made fruit at a higher rate than any grafted tree I have grown yet. In that way, it is superior to its parents. The flavor so far is average. I don't know if the flavor would change to have more sugar if I were to thin the fruit, since the tiny tree is trying to put out 20 this year. It had 16 last year.
The Susquehanna tree I have makes a very few fruit, and they are very sweet. There might be some connection with that. If you were to want to be a breeder, you would be doing controlled crosses using grafted trees. I just used natural crosses of grafted trees.
As a side note, we are being once again invaded by Japanese beetles which are destroying our chestnut trees. I put traps up in the pawpaw trees thinking that the beetles could not eat them, and would be drawn away from the chestnuts, but I was wrong, they can eat pawpaw leaves.... dang near anything it seems.
Qingeaton Wow a lot of trees then to find a special one. I saw Japanese beetles recently too! Funny how they find the trees and munch away. This year a lot of my leaves are getting eaten too a little. I put them on my banana trees instead so they’ll eat those big leaves. My trees are only around 3-6 ft tall so it’ll be a few more years before I get to try some.
I haven't seen beetles on my banana trees....don't tell me they can eat those too.
how far apart are you trees?
Those in the seedling orchard are at 10 foot spacing. The thought being...cram as many as I could in the space. If I were planting out an orchard of already grafted trees for commercial production, I think I'd go with 15 feet. We bought 11 acres about 30 years ago and have been planting stuff non stop, so most things are planted out here as close as I think I can get away with. At some point, I will have to admit that some of the trees are losers and either cut them out or change them over to the best of them via grafting.
Paint the trunk of the tree with white Oil base paint or latex the deer and rabbits don't like it
Interesting. I do paint the bark of the older trees to avoid winter injury, but had never heard that the critters would be deterred by it. Guess I better look into that.
@@Qingeaton on saplings you can hollow out a Sprite bottle split it down the middle and open it up then clamp it around the trunk of the sapling this also slows the growth of suckers
@@megalodon4228 And maybe the green color will keep it from overheating too.
@@Qingeaton I started doing it to my trees and it does seem to work the plastic and the paint my uncle also used sma mesh chicken wire to keep the deer out
@@megalodon4228 At one time, I had wire fencing around all my trees. Deer couldn't get at them, but neither could I to weed whip. I removed some cages from big chestnut trees just yesterday, so I could install them around the pawpaws but what a pain to mow and trim.