Johndoug,
each tree will put out flowers staggered over several days, so you can wait until the first flowers on each tree have become receptive, and then transfer pollen back and forth. I did my 2 trees in 3 sessions last spring, which seemed to work well.
Good luck!
Rich

wow. i don't know how my brain didn't think of that. that is great news. thanks so much. very excited now!

Do you see any flower buds on your trees?

yes. i have buds. haven't opened yet.

I don't bother with checking each flower for stage. If it's open, in goes the soft-bristled small paint brush, one flower after another. When it coes out covered with pollen I go to another tree to pollinate until it comes out with notably more pollen. Then back to the first tree, and so on untill all flowers have been visited with some pollen (it doesn't take much). Do that three or four times spaced a few days apart or until all petals are withering and falling.

I'm sure more care would get some more fruit, but who can even get his eye up to each flower?

While I can't prove it, it seems like after a few years you get more little fly-like bugs buzzing around the flowers, though I have read (from a fruit tree professor) that small beetles are the main pillinator.

How do you know how to locate the flowers? I have two but no fruit and i had these for 7 years.

Pawpaw flowers

Here is a link that might be useful: Pawpaw flowers

Do you need to pollinate all pawpaw trees? What I mean is don't the bees do this for you?? I thinking of getting a few trees but if I have to do all that, it's a no go. Please say it's not so.

luke

luke,

i'm no expert, as i posted this question, but bees ain't what they used to be. also, bees don't pollinate paw-paw's. something i learned recently from google. pretty interesting. the flowers have rotten aroma, and are meant to attract beetles or flies. bottom line - especially with paw-paw, i think you're going to want to get out there with the paint brush. why wait all year, and leave it up to nature, and have a horrible / non-existant crop. you gotta be the bee.

A lot of people are hanging rotten meat or road kill in their paw paw trees to attract flies.

Some pawpaw cultivars are self-fertile, PawPaw Sunflower =Prima 1216
Here is what a member of GardenWeb wrote:
RE: paw paw varieties

Posted by greenhummer zone 5,Ohio (My Page) on
Sat, May 17, 08 at 22:41

Sunflower is self fertile period. It takes six to seven years to fruit. For the first two years I built a overhead screen to protect the small plant from the sun. That why its referred as understory plant. My pawpaw is the only one in a three mile radius that I'm know of. Last I harvested three gallons of fruit from this six year old fruit tree.
This year it looks like it will double when I compare the blooms to last year.

OK Now..do you need a pair of each type to pollinate then? Can another type be used for pollination? If so which ones can be used. Right now i'm in the process of clearing out small trees and brush for a spot to plant. Still have to do some reading up on types.

lukeott,
It should be any different cultivar or seedling pollen. Brady

Be careful about hanging road kill in your trees as I did this once many years back and during the night raccoons or something broke many branches in my tree trying to get at that rotten meat. Hand pollination is much easier if you do not have natural pollinators around. I suppose you could put rotten meat on the ground underneath the tree to draw more flies and beetles in the area if you can put up with the stench.
Concerning the variety sunflower I believe it is likely self fertile as many others do. I have noticed through the years that sunflower has more blooms than any other variety I have growing. It is very productive.

If you want to hang something rotten in the trees, it does make a tremendous difference in the fruit set. If predators are a concern, I have a couple of thoughts for you == 1) use the bait out of a fly trap, put into a small foam cup or similar with just enough water to moisten, making sure it's so shallow none of the flies drown; or 2) you could always hang your pollinator bait on a tall, smooth metal pipe or pole about 6-8 feet off the ground just beyond the dripline of the tree.

This is an old thread, but I wanted to add that you only need to touch the once with a brush loaded with pollen. More pollen=more seeds.

I planted a pawpaw seed in 2006. It sprouted in 2008 and is finally bearing flowers for the first time, probably several hundred. I understand paw paws are typically not self fertile, though I will certainly test that. Is there anyone who lives within 50 miles of south Orange NJ who has a flowering paw paw that I could get some pollen from?

I am further than 50 miles and am in Fairfax County VA. My trees are getting ready to bloom.

They are fruits....in hot place is better to choose an half-shady position for Paw Paw

I just got a paw paw as a gift with purchase. Im in los Angeles. Interesting thread. Hope they gave me sunflower.

I also learned that Pawpaws aren't pollinated by bees, the first few years I pollinated with a small brush, but since I've learned that enough fruits are also growing at the places I could't reach, I stopped pollinating and nature manages well.

One of my two trees finally has flowers but I don't know if any other paw paws for a few miles. I live in western suburb of Chicago anybody have a tree they would part with some pollin from?

Just curious what varieties are you growing?

They are originally from Oikos tree crops and say the are from "the Corwin Davis collection" and have the "Northern Banana-Custard Apple-Michigan Banana " flavor and were chosen for size and flavor. Really bummed I can't get a local tree to get some pollen from.

Over the past several weeks, my sunflower paw-paw had 15-20 flowers and I used my brush to extract yellow pollen from the older (black looking w/ leaves falling off) flowers and paint on to the younger just-opening flowers. The several fruit that looked promising last year were eaten by rodents so I'll have to do a better job of caging the fruit that I hope will grow this year.

Wild Haired Mavens, I wish you luck w/ your LA paw paw. They don't do well in direct sun light (I lost 4 last year because my canopy fell off while I was away) and regardless of the species (hopefully sunflower), make sure to hand-pollinate when the flower open to get the best chance of fruits. In the meantime, paw-paws are related to cherimoya (similar taste from what I've read), which I would recommend purchasing if you can find it. They're my personal favorite fruit and can be bought from Home Depot (make sure you buy two to cross pollinate).

I have a Shenandoah and a Susquehanna that are about 7 years old. I hand pollinated them on Easter Sunday using a small artist brush. The pollination of the Shenandoah appears to have been successful while the Susquehanna has not shown fruit, but there are a few blooms still open. My trees are only about 4 feet tall so I expect to have to provide support for the fruit. Has anyone used such support? If so can you share your ideas?

I've supported fruit from other trees, trying string the fruit to a larger branch above. This is dicey if you don't have it supported well, the branch will break at the spot you support it. Since your tree is small you probably can't do this.

I never had an issue with my two paw paw trees. When they were old and strong enough to support a full size fruit, they did with no branch break. if your tree is too young, maybe the fruits will either only become small, or drop off early.

If your branches On your tree are too thin and weak, you can always play it safe and take out the fruit, and wait another year. Waiting is as much of a technique as anything else.