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Paw Paws

Avon Barksdale

Avon Barksdale

Anyone here growing them? I was surprised to see in the sale section of the local nursery 2 paw paw trees, or as they're colloquially known, Indiana bananas. Then I looked at the price and was even more surprised: $5 each. :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :party: :party: :party: :dance: :dance: :dance: So I snatched them up with the quickness, and as I was loading them into my car, a lady walked by and said "oh are those the paw paws, I was going to get one of those." Too late!

pawpaw.jpg


Paw paws are so cool, they produce the largest fruit indigenous to North America. The tree looks like a tropical tree and the fruit tastes like a tropical fruit, yet they grow in temperature zones. It's the only member of the Annonaceae family that doesn't grow in the tropics. I don't know how they ended up in temperate zones, but I'm glad they did, so that we can grow a tropic-like fruit.

I don't have anywhere to plant them right now, so I need to pot them up to a 10 or 15 gallon deep pot. I'm a little worried though, since they are notorious for getting transplant shock. I've read people say they've had transplant shock that lasted years. :eek:
 
Don't really care for the ripe fruit but the green fruit is good as a salad.
 
I planted two in 24" pots this year. Never had them but I thought it would be a good idea to get a variety of fruit for the kids. They were sent from Gurney's as 24" twigs with roots. They're just starting to put out leaves.
 
Nice score! I have looked for these in the woods around here for years but we are on the northern end of their natural range. I've heard they are really cool trees. Enjoy!!!
 
hot stuff said:
I planted two in 24" pots this year. Never had them but I thought it would be a good idea to get a variety of fruit for the kids. They were sent from Gurney's as 24" twigs with roots. They're just starting to put out leaves.
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It's supposedly extremely hard to plant bare root paw paws successfully, you must be very lucky or very skilled. :cool:
 
Try picking some when green and make a Thai papaya salad.
 
hot stuff said:
Greeaat. Really looking forward to getting some now. :)
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They really have a nice flavor imo, they taste like a custard. Unfortunately the shelf life after ripe is extremely short, which is why they're not sold in grocery stores.

polarbearforge said:
I've always wanted to grow those. Nice score. I have a feeling I'd get "that look" if I asked for them at the local nurseries.
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Man, I hate that look, I don't even bother asking questions at nurseries anymore, no one ever has any idea what I'm talking about unless it's a mainstream item, in which case I probably don't need to ask anyway. Like time I asked if they had pine bark fines and she looked at me like I was speaking Japanese. Then she pointed to me giant chunks of pine bark mulch. Worse is when the 18 year old kid at the big box stores asks if I need any help. I want to say "I know 100x more about this stuff than you, so what's the point?" Instead I just politely say "no thanks". :lol: I've seen them on www.onegreenworld.com and some other online nurseries though, you could always order from one of them.

thehotpepper.com said:
Never heard that term! We call them papayas.
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It's probably only here in Indiana that they're called that. Supposedly the name comes from the word papaya though.
 
there not papayas no papaya even looks close, have 12 trees growing papaya are great tasting and good for your on the mainland they need to be protected in the winter time
 
Weird! You guys were talking about a different pawpaw.

pawpaw (papaya)
pawpaw - So named because it looks like a papaya.

Pawpaw = papaya. In North America, the term pawpaw may also refer to the fruit of trees in the unrelated North American genus Asimina. However, pawpaw and papaw are common synonyms of papaya both in North America and elsewhere.

Okay, so this is some NA fruit. Cool. What's it taste like? Are you going to make sauce?
 
thehotpepper.com said:
Weird! You guys were talking about a different pawpaw.

pawpaw (papaya)
pawpaw - So named because it looks like a papaya.

Pawpaw = papaya. In North America, the term pawpaw may also refer to the fruit of trees in the unrelated North American genus Asimina. However, pawpaw and papaw are common synonyms of papaya both in North America and elsewhere.

Okay, so this is some NA fruit. Cool. What's it taste like? Are you going to make sauce?
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:lol: I didn't know papayas were referred to as pawpaw too. Maybe that's a southern thing. :)

The flavor is usually described as banana/mango, but it has a unique flavor and a custard-like texture and flavor too. Years from now when I (hopefully) get some fruit I want to make a tropical hot sauce with them and some yellow habaneros or Yellow 7 Pods or something. :drooling:

HawaiiAl said:
there not papayas no papaya even looks close, have 12 trees growing papaya are great tasting and good for your on the mainland they need to be protected in the winter time
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Apparently there has been some nomenclature confusion, this is what we have: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pawpaw I wish I could grow papayas but it's wayyyyyy too cold for that here. :)
 
I have plenty of seeds if you want to try Papayas even have some mexican Papaya seeds witch are the size of watermelon. Good Luck with your growing.
 
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