Paw Paw hybrids or not?
moontraveler
21 years ago
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Comments (62)
mioko_loco
20 years agoflatwoods_farm
20 years agoRelated Discussions
Paw paws for Central Florida?
Comments (17)I'm the Xentar_GW from the previous posts. My largest TN seedling finally bloomed for the first time in 2015, and it produced its first two fruits in 2020. I can only guestimate that the actual tree was somewhere around 20 years old at the time, albeit I've had a Florida panhandle seedling bloom in just a few years. My grafted 'Mango' cultivar also just now bloomed for the first time this year (2022). So, it looks like the mango took 13 years to bloom in my area. As a grafted cultivar, that seems like a long time. Compared to even northern grafted cultivars of paw paw I have, which sometime have bloomed within just a few years of being planted, I was surprised that something like the 'Mango' cultivar wasn't blooming, when the 'Sunflower' and Pennsylvania Golden had been for many years. I haven't kept up with yearly chill hours and what has bloomed or hasn't bloomed, but in 2015, we had 378 chill hours and had enough for the Florida panhandle seedling, a TN mountain seedling, 'Sunflower' grafted, and I believe a Pennsylvania Golden grafted cultivar all bloomed. Although some have stated that the 'Sunflower' is partially self fertile, I have seen no evidence of that btw. Maybe in the north, where wild paw paws are likely somewhere in the area, they are just randomly being pollinated, and people think they are producing fruit on their own. I'm assuming the PA-Golden paw paws are from Pennsylvania, and the Sunflower is from Kansas, Mango from Georgia, and Florida panhandle seedling is obviously from the Florida panhandle. At 378 chill hours, they all eventually produced flowers, sometimes just a couple years, for both seedling and grafted varieties, and sometimes over ten years, also for seedlings and grafted cultivars. Using the origin of each paw paw cultivar doesn't seem to be a good tool to go by, in terms of either how long they're going to take to produce blooms or how many chill hours they need. I can tell you that, as probably one of the only people in the world that has produced flowers from Haskap in Florida, if not the only person, it's not always about the chill hours. People may tell you that there's no way you can get the chill hours needed in Florida for Haskap, but it's actually the heat that kills the plants. From my limited successes, Haskap may not need much, if any, chill hours. It may have its own internal clock, to tell it when to bloom etc. Obviously, paw paws are different from haskap. Many don't like sun, or they may have to be started in shade, but what we really don't know is how far south they can go, and what the minimum chill hours are, for either all varieties of paw paw (asimina triloba) or some specific cultivars. I'm going to venture to guess that, one day, there will be paw paws that can bloom in Orlando, maybe even Tampa, but most of the people experimenting with them are doing it north of Florida, not in Florida, and certainly not that far south in the state. We know there are some Gainesville cultivars and maybe some of the Duckworth cultivars somewhere, which were seedlings from Louisiana that just happened to produce fruit. I don't think people will want to buy a paw paw cultivar that tastes like crap, is too small, and has too many seeds, with very little edible pulp. So, sorting out chill hours and then trying to breed in good qualities may take some time. BTW, my TN seedling has produced more flowers this year than ever, probably over 100. It's currently in-bloom right now, and one of my smaller TN seedlings, right next to it, is also blooming, albeit far less. Hopefully we can get a good amount of fruit this year from it....See MorePaw Paw
Comments (20)They (Asimina triloba!) like moist soil but not wet soil. What is the difference? In moist soil, there is enough water that you can detect its presence by rubbing the soil together between your fingers: it doesn't break up like a dry powder. But there is little enough water, that air can regularly penetrate easily all the way down into the soil -- there is no zone of standing water (the water table is well below). In wet soil, there is enough water that the air exchange is limited. This may be due to capillary action from a lower water pool, or to continuous supply from above. You may even be able to press water out, given sufficient direct pressure. These two types of soil will likely smell different (the wet soil is anaerobic, generates methane and gaseous sulfides), as they host different populations of bacteria and fungi, even if they had the same original composition. Some plants tolerate low-oxygen soil (sweetgum, sycamore), and some do not (paw paw). Paw paw favors riverbanks not only because of the (at least intermittently) moist conditions, but because riverbanks tend to be deep fertile alluvial topsoil. To explore just a little deeper: many if not most plants require specific fungal partners (mycorrhizae) to assist their roots' nutrient gathering. If you don't provide proper conditions for those fungal hyphae to thrive, neither does the plant. The fungus is also symbiotically assisted by the roots, which leak a little sugar to feed them. In addition to the fungi, wet soil drives out earthworms, which otherwise increase soil fertility by recycling nutients. What can you do to alleviate wet soil? Reconfigure the soil into ridges with drainage swales between and redirect drainage from slopes and buildings. It's a delicate balance, since you don't want to run all your rain off into storm sewers!...See MoreNew tree advice- Peach, plum, Paw-Paw and Kiwi
Comments (15)Rusty, I'll bring the discussion back here, the PM was only to send you my phone number where the bots couldn't harvest it. You asked what else I grow. I have planted many plums, with limited success, but I continue to try new varieties. If you are going to plant plums plant a Mount Royal. You will not get plums every year, but when you do they are fabulous and abundant. If you time a visit for mid September you can taste some, I have a decent crop coming this year. Although every thing is running a little late again this year and they need a full season. It is claimed that mount royal has many strains and some are freestone or at least semi-freestone. My original bought locally(supplied by Bylands) is a full cling-stone. Very delicious, but during the on years we try to dry some and it is very labour intensive. I planted a second mount royal this year(from nut cracker in Quebec) hoping for freestone plums. If you are going to plant any hybrid plums in the future, plant a native plum next spring - they are slow growing and it takes them a while to start blooming and pollinating your hybrids. I also have planted a dozen apple varieties. Not all of them have borne fruit yet, but all of them have survived. I have not lost any zone 4 rated apples, where many zone 4 rated plums are no longer with me. The berries are the quickest and the most dependable. Raspberries, saskatoons, and haskap produce every year. I also have some sour cherries with a decent crop for the first time this year....See Morepaw paw trees for ornamental value
Comments (6)I grew up in Bucks County and had pawpaws there in my parent's yard. I now live slightly north in New Jersey and have had pawpaws growing here for quite some time. They grow easily. Start with potted plants (not bareroot).....they have roots with little root hairs and it is hard for bare roots to survive. They start out slow the first year or three and then take off. Plus is the large tropical looking leaves. The bark is smooth and attractive. Of course the fruit is a plus too.....it is very good (well most people love it, a few will hate it). My yard is small so I originally planted two trees close together. Negatives, which were mentioned, they do get root sprouts as they get older..........and between that and seedlings (from fallen fruit) you end up later with pawpaw sprouts everywhere at least close to the parent trees. I like them though!!...See Morelucky_p
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