Any Advice On Paw Paw trees?

[Featherbaby]

I want to plant a paw paw tree in my yard in N. Florida. How easy are they to grow? Any pests/diseases I should anticipate? Do you have to have two for fertilization of the fruit? How old do they have to be to make fruit?

Any ideas where to get one?

 

[journey11]

We've got several. You need two varieties for them to pollinate (one could be a nearby wild paw paw.) They take at least 8 years to mature enough to bear fruit. (Mine should bear any time now, finally!) Don't plant them in full sun. They are a lower canopy tree. Put them on the shady side of your house or along the tree line of a wooded area. They like lower, not too dry areas, like nearby streams or creeks or the base of a hill (run off water), but don't let them sit with their feet wet. (Alternately, you could plant them near where your gutters run off.) I've seen them in several of the major nursery catalogs. I forget now where I got mine. Maybe try Millers?

ETA: I have not had any pest/disease problems with mine. When they do fruit, your biggest challenge will be beating the deer and turkeys to them.

 

[Featherbaby]

Journey 11, thank you SO MUCH for the info. It's just what I needed and hadn't been able to find. I saw some in Gurney's catalog a long time ago, I should be able to find two somewhere. Now I just have to walk around the property and see where the conditions would be optimal.

 

[journey11]

They say the cultivated varieties taste even better than the wild ones. I wouldn't know about that...I'm still waiting for mine! At least they make a pretty interesting tree while you're waiting on them.

 

[hoodat]

I never developed a taste for pawpaws altough they grew wild in Oklahoma.
This video will tell you all you need to know about pawpaws.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-88Nk2V14qk

 

[4grandbabies]

Hummm. I hadnt thought about Paw Paw's for a long while, I can remember my dad finding wild ones when I was growing up. I also remember my mother in law getting then somewhere near a creek where they lived.
I remember them being interesting tasting, but cant remember really loving to eat them..
I am curious about tame ones, I wonder if there are any grocery stores that actually carry them?
I have never run across them in the stores that I shop.

 

[Featherbaby]

I never developed a taste for pawpaws altough they grew wild in Oklahoma.
This video will tell you all you need to know about pawpaws.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-88Nk2V14qk

OOOOOHHH That was SOOO FUNNY! Thanks for the smiles today.