Definitely thinking about doing it, seriously now. I have nothing to lose, other than about $50 for 2 trees. I've had less fun with $50. :) I've narrowed it down to 3. NC-1 - Early Ripener, highest scores on UKY taste test. Shenandoah - Early Ripener, a farmers market favorite. Susquehanna - Mid-Season, very little seed, 5 for 5 on taste testers, even in limited quantity. Considering the short shelf life, I may want to spread out the 2 tree harvest, so I may go with NC-1 and Susquehanna I gotta be honest, the mortality rate definitely scares me a bit (50%?!?!?). Im not a green thumb, but I did plan out and put in 3 apple trees in a difficult sun situation, that now works well, they seem to be OK so far. Apples are pretty easy though. From what I've read, bare root is a no-no unlike apple trees. I am 99% sold on One Green World, even though they are 5 business days shipping away from me, Oregon to New York. Do they come potted from them? I DO want potted plants, and I'll want to essentially bury the contents of the pot into the ground to not disturb the tap root(s). I've got a long time to read about this stuff, it just seems to be different from apple trees, no diseases or pests to worry about other than the above mentioned rabbits, which are scoring the cherry tree I have because the previous owner didnt put up protection, but I have hardware clothed out the apples as a precaution, and I would do the same for the Paw Paws. I understand that I would have to self-pollinate. Learn, learn, learn, apply. Any advice on narrowing down between the 3 varieties to 2, but Im thinking it doesnt matter, they're probably all excellent. Thanks everyone for the posts, its all been really helpful. -Eric

I don't really know if it's all that necessary to have a lot of heat to ripen paw paws. Mine had no problems ripening in the summer of 2008, which was very cool, nor in the summer of 2009, which was record-setting cool here. I didn't notice any difference in flavor or sweetness in them in 2008 or 2009 versus other years. Here, they generally bloom in early to mid May, and the fruit ripens over about a 3 week period in very late Sept. into October. All of mine that are fruiting are seedlings. I did plant some grafted varieties in the past couple of seasons, but none of them are close to bearing size yet. RE: the second picture Frank posted, I would say that tree is more like 10 to 12 years old, IMO. It wouldn't be nearly that large nor that big of a trunk caliper at 5 years, at least, none of mine were. Oh, yeah, one more thing, while I'm thinking of it. File this tidbit of information away for future reference -- paw paws are fly pollinated. You will get FAR more fruit to set if you put something really foul-smelling and rotten in the trees a few days before the first blossoms open, and keep it there during the 7-10 days the trees are in bloom. I learned this a few years ago from an article in Michigan Gardener magazine -- there is a guy near Jackson, MI who grows and breeds paw paws, and he hangs either roadkill or dead carp in each of his trees. Too gruesome for me, I use the bait out of Ortho fly traps, I put it in a little plastic cup taped onto the trunk. Works like a charm. Makes me gag when I have to dump it out, but it's a small price to pay for all of the extra fruit.

I ordered from Forrest Keeling when Peterson pawpaws became available. I was on a list Neal sent to the two nurseries. I waited for a long while after the expected delivery date, and finally called to see what was going on. I talked to the daughter of the man who started the nursery, and she informed me they couldn't deliver to Virginia, even though they had been sitting on my payment for months. I was very frustrated, and tried to find an alternative address to send to. There is actually a legal battle going on with Forrest Keeling and some east coast nursery that uses a similar air pruning pot. That is why they are not able to sell to certain states. A few months later I was called by Bob the sales guy, and he told me they had a problem with the pawpaws and wanted to make sure they could send out viable plants. I asked if they intended to send my plants and he said they did. I haven't seen them yet. I must stop procrastinating and call back. If they only will send to another state, well that could be difficult as most of my relatives are on the east coast.

Hi Ano, I have some very small (American) persimmon seedlings. You are welcome to some; bear in mind that most persimmons require both a male and a female closeby for pollination and fruit production. So about 50% chance of that with 3 seedlings, sex unknown. However: the cultivar 'Meader' is unusual in that it is parthenocarpic -- it sets large fruit, with a few sterile seeds generally, *without* a pollinator. So that might be worth the additional time and expense to procure? Also note that many opinions exist as to the best-tasting American persimmon; I considered putting in a 'Prok' also but decided to use the space for Chinese mulberries instead. Another cheap possible source: state university nurseries generally raise and sell a variety of trees, once-a year, bareroot, in the late autumn. These sales are usually not well publicized. -- Stan in Hamilton, NJ 609.731.3882