Paw Paw Trees

Anyone know anything about paw paw trees? I know they grow wild in Delaware and I would like to find one to try the fruit. There is a local nursery that sells the small saplings so maybe I could plant one and get the fruit someday.
 
I have literally hundreds of trees that all spread from the same root system. Mine typically do not bear fruit. I believe they have to be pollinated from a tree of a different cultivar. They typically grow as an understudy tree, growing underneath larger trees. I would plant different cultivars close to each other in a shady locagion.
 
All the ones I have seen on Eastern Shore Md. were growing along fresh water streams. It may be they weren't disturbed there, but they seem to like a moist environment under partial shade.
 
I have tried raising pawpaw trees for the past 10 years with very limited success. They do need a (mama tree) pollenator to produce. My planting instructions from the nursery said to plant in sunny location. One died and I replaced it, the other one put up a bunch of sprouts and soon died. After 10 years I now have two trees that are healthy but less than 6 feet tall and have never produced fruit. Good luck.
 
Here in western Ohio we have many Paw Paw trees .The trees growing in the lower ground with moderate shade seem to do the best .They usually have fruit in the early fall .You have to pick them before they are ripe to beat the raccoons or you will not get any .You may need more than one tree for proper pollenation .
 
I started out with two I bought from seed catalog. They arrived in foam cups about the size of pencils. The rabbits ate off flush and they gre back. That was about 20 years ago. They are now about 30 ft tall. One beared first and then later they both do. Now finally seedlings are sprouting. The fruit is very aromatic when cut open, kinda gross and slimy inside. Supposed to taste like custard. I don't bother any more. Funny, the mice gather the seeds and hide them in wood pile but never seem to eat them. The seeds are like hard brown big lima beans. I've heard of papw paws called possum fruit because that's all that will eat them.
 
Tricky tree. They like shade when small and sun when big. Need more than one gene pool to pollenate. There are plenty of wild ones near our farm and I've considered trying to start some near our stream. Deer generally don't bother em so that's a plus.
 
We have them in Indiana the coon usually get them before I do. I don't like the texture that much but they taste good. They make good banana bread.
 
Here is a picture of some paw paws
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I several Indiana Bananas that grow in my backyard, they multiply very easily, don't get very big and taste horrible.
 
We have a local golf course that has several fruit-bearing PawPaws on one of the holes. Not sure they ever get picked.

Since we are about 30 miles form Paw Paw, MI, there should be more, I would think.
 

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