I believe I'm going to get the trees but I will go with the potting them up and storing them in my unheated garage until spring. I store my fig plants in there as well but I cover them up so I will wrap the paw paw trees with two layers of grafting tape (paraflim). Also I have two large thick foam like planting pots, which might help a little with the insulation factor on the root area. If needed I can wrap insulation around the whole pot. I won't fill the pot to the top so I can add about 2 inches of mulch over the soil. The pots are 14 inches across the top and taper down to 10 inches at the bottom. They are 13 inches deep (inside measurement). My only concern is getting these tree out of the pots come spring with out doing damage to the roots. The other trees I planted I just cut through the thin plastic pots they came in with shears and never bothered the root ball whatsoever. These being in a sort of thick foam container I won't be able nor do I want to cut them up because they belong to wifey. They are the decorative type. What type soil do you recommend I store these bare root trees in? Lou

Well, it sort of depends on the quality of the plant. I bought some years ago from a mass-market type mail order nursery, and they were pathetic little shoots with minimal to no root system, and they didn't take. I got some from a much more reputable specialty nursery that also came bareroot, but had a good root system with a lot of fine feeder roots, and these took and did fine, and buds are now breaking on them. I've also dug up and spread around a lot of the suckers produced by my two mature trees, and they generally take as long as you get at least four or five inches of the taproot that comes off of the parent root. Personally, I don't see a problem planting them in the wet ground, I think that actually would help them to get established, since drying out would be the main reason for failure, assuming the plants were sound to begin with. I would just augment the native soil with some good compost and sand, and go for it. However, if you want to pot them up, that will work just fine, too. I've done this three or four times for friends, using a standard soilless potting mix, and letting them get established for a year prior to giving them away. So, whatever you think will work best for you. Dennis SE Michigan

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.

Hmmm...well Smivies post got at least one more of my brain cells turned on. Massachusetts does have a fairly broad range of climate (much more so than I would have guessed for such a small state). Some areas, especially in the northern and western parts of the state, stay cold for much longer than I imagined. I should have looked before posting, but was lazy (or enough brain cells weren't firing). Pawpaws have fleshy roots that tend to rot if planted and left dormant for long. That's why you'll always see advise against planting pawpaws in fall or winter (unlike many other types of trees). Even though Smivies seems to have caught my off-timing issue, I'm not sure the instructions on when to plant were stated as meant. If the pawpaws had broken bud at Easter, then you should plant them then; they would have already began their growth. It's if they haven't that you might wait until your May visit. Another way of addressing timing would be to consider where in the state your parents live and plan that way. If they live in the eastern part of the state or around Springfield, plant during your first visit. If they live in one of the colder areas, you might be better off to wait until that second visit. Your goal should be to avoid letting the fleshy roots lie dormant in wet soil for an extended period of time but to also get them in the ground in time for them to become somewhat established before hot weather. See the map linked below. The last frost date isn't what determines root survivability, but it will (in the case of fleshy-rooted plants) give you an idea of when it's too cold for the necessary growth to occur. Here is a link that might be useful: Massachusetts Last-frost-date Map