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Pawpaw

Botanical Name
Asimina triloba
Min Zone
5
Max Zone
8
Height
15 to 20 feet
Width
15 to 20 feet
Flowers
Early spring: cup-shaped, 6 petaled, nodding dark purple
Fruit
Edible, 6 inch cylindrical shaped, yellow-green
Fall Color
Yellow to yellow-green
Light
Full sun to part shade
Soil
Moist to wet, well-drained, slightly acidic
Planting & Care
  • Drought sensitive
  • Will grow in shade, but tree will be open and shaggy in habit
  • Often spreads by root suckers to form colonies
  • Flavor and flesh consistency of fruit is similar to bananas
  • Fruit is sought out and relished by wildlife such as raccoons, opossums and squirrels
  • Tolerant to black walnut toxicity
  • Best fruit production occurs when trees are growing close to each other
  • Native to low bottom woods, wooded slopes, ravines and along streams
Problems
None serious
Varieties
  • Mango - late ripening cultivar, large fruit with orange-yellow flesh, 15 to 25 feet
  • NC-1 - large fruit with fewer seeds and thinner skin, early ripening, 12 to 15 feet
  • Pennsylvania Golden - very early ripening fruit, very sweet fruit, 12 to 15 feet
  • Prolific - abundant fruiting, early ripening 12 to 15 feet
  • Overleese - large fruit with few seeds, early ripening, 12 to 15 feet
  • Sunflower - large fruit with fewer seeds, late ripening, 15 to 25 feet

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