Regarding the comment about "A potting soil made from pine bark, peat, perlite ... works OK for a year and then shows strong nutritional (disease?) problems (general chlorosis) ... I'm still baffled." What is the pH and composition of mineral salts in the irrigation water. This type of problem is common in soilless mixes after they are watered for a while with groundwater that is relatively high in pH and high in disolved lime (Calcium carbonate). It's a very common problem in my potted, acid-loving plants like citrus, camellias, gardenias, etc. My groundwater is very hard and very high in lime -- it crusts over shower doors, coffee pots, etc in just a few days. Aside from using a water softener, 'Lime-Away' brand lime remover is a constant in the household, because the water softener doesn't remove it all no matter where it's set. The untreated groundwater is even worse -- even a single, hour or two session of watering with a sprinkler can leave everything coated with lime scale. For the potted plants, I find it necessary to remove them from their pots about every other year, wash all of the potting mix from their roots, and repot in fresh soilless mix. I also use acidifying fertilizers and trace element supplements in between. I wonder if you have a similiar problem. Initially, the orginic compounds in the soilless mix can absorb and neutralize the calcium, but eventually, the amount of lime from the water just overwhelms the ability of the soilless mix to act as a calcium sink, and the pH rises rapidly, resulting in the chlorosis symptoms you describe. There is realistically next to nothing you can do to purge all of this lime out of the soil at this point that wouldn't also fry the plant, so it's time to replace the soil.

When was it first noticed about the way some of the leaves look? I have a Wabash and a Sunflower that are about a year or two older in containers and they suffered some in mid Summer,the Wabash more so,even though it is bigger.I moved them to more filtered light.They didn't get worse,but the burned leaves stayed the same.Some varieties may be more light sensitive. Brady

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.

My pawpaws didn't start blooming til 4 years (and that was the grafted ones) the seedling ones haven't bloomed and this is their 5th year. There is a way to look at the twigs (after leaf fall) and see if buds are there for next spring. Look for round buds (the pointed ones will only produce leaves). ~Chills