I can't get mine to bear in Sacramento.... they like something like 20 hours or more of freezing temps.

Really? Couldn´t be it´s just too hot in there in summer and that way they never bloom or something, it`s a shame they don`t do well down here. Thanks

no.... unfortunately, it's the freezing they need. They aren't tropicals, related to tropicals, but they aren't even native here to the West. :o( I have given up.... 8 years, no fruit.

Sounds a bit difficult if you can't get it to bear in Sacramento, what's the chance of it fruiting in San Diego. But I have heard of a few fruiting ones in North California. Heathen, does yours at least flower. I think they also need to be cross pollinated too.
From what I heard about the tastes its kind of like a mango, banana, cherimoya or combination of them depending on the variety. However, they probably don't compare to good mango or cherimoya. And aren't really worth growing if your able to grow a mango or cherimoya in your area.
Most really good cultivars were also bred and adapted to a much a colder climate. Patusho, you can try growing out seedlings, but its supposedly very variable. And you would have tastes and climatic genetics working against you.

Heathen,

Pawpaws have been successfully fruited in places like Berkeley and the San Jose area, so there should be no problem with fruiting them in Sacramento -- at least so far as climate is concerned.

Most pawpaws are said to need cross-pollination, so that may be the problem if you have only one plant. Also, if you are growing seedling (rather than grafted) plants, they may require quite a few years to come to bearing maturity. Eight years may seem like a long time to us, but some fruiting trees may take fifteen to twenty years to start bearing.

Eggo: Pawpaws have their own unique taste. Based on the fruit I've eaten, I don't think they taste much like mangos or cherimoyas. Banana probably comes closest, but pawpaws tend to have a much more complex flavor/aroma than bananas do. They can also have strong caramel-like flavor overtones, which I find quite appealing.

As far as my own tastes are concerned, I would have to say that I agree that I'd take a good mango or cherimoya over a pawpaw. However, there are some who really, really, like the fruit -- I've heard from at least one person who I think does prefer pawpaws to cherimoyas. And, of course, mangos and cherimoyas are available in the markets. If you want pawpaws, and you don't live in their native range, you have to grow them for yourself.

Thank you all for your experiences, seems like I will never taste a pawpaw.

Thanks for the info Ashok. I would really like the chance to taste a paw paw one day but it probably ain't going to happen anytime soon. It seems like it could be quite appealing. The test of whether I would plant any fruit tree is if I can sit down and eat 10lbs of em and not get sick & tired of it. hehe.

Paw paw seedlings do quite well in Southern CA. Even poorly stored old seeds will germinate with low chill conditions. Transplantation is not that difficult, although they drop their leaves with transplantation, due to their tap root. They appear to be fairly hardy, although I have not seen them fruit.

On September 22, the San Diego chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers Assn. is having a meeting called "paw paw discussion... how to find them & grow them." I believe attendance is open. If I can get to the city to attend it, I will do so. If you are interested, I can send you contact information.

Zone 7 here, where Paw Paw is native. You do need two for cross pollination.

Thank you all. Perhaps next year will try with paw paws, right now I am going back home, I miss my 119°F (heat index). lol

PS: But before I leave I am going to the CRFG´s annual sale plant!.

Hi, tropical's forum. The CRFG, San Diego, Pawpaw meeting has been moved one week later, to the 29th of September. It is in the same place, room 101 of the Casa del Prado in Balboa Park at 7:00 p.m. I'm trying to get some Pawpaw seed to distribute and some fresh pawpaws (good ones) to taste.

The reason that the San Diego chapter is discussing this goes back a year or so. One of our members showed me the beautiful seedling Pawpaw trees he had in a marginal corner of his yard and he gave me a bag of beautiful fruit from them. Sadly, the fruit did not taste very good. But it showed the potential the fruit has here.

By the way, the trees I'm talking about grew in the Bay Park section of San Diego almost in sight of Mission Bay. This is a neiborhood of cool summers, no frost, and maybe 200 hours of winter chill during a cold year. Also, there was a guy from Orange County at last year's "Festival of Fruit" who was selling a cultivar he'd developed that he says fruits down here and tastes good.

Take care.

David Silverstein
Chairman, CRFG San Diego Chapter

I know this is an old post, but the paw paw will fruit in Southern CA. There is a fairly mature specimen at the Fullerton arboretum that is presently fruiting. If anyone has any questions they could probably ask the arboretum.

A friend of mine who is a repeatable nurseryman told me that Pawpaws have a high potassium requirement and because of my clay soils tying up potassium he didn't think I could grow them here in California. Does any one know anything about this? Thanks!

the potassium, etc. is well indicated here:

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/pawpaw.html

I have three paw paw cultivars doing incredibly well in van nuys, california, which is VERY hot and desert like, bearing quite a lot of this delicious fruit, which I prefer to all annona's save for the Guanabana (Anonna Muricata)...which very tropical fruit is seen in produce markets all over the world's tropics.

Mt three paw paw cultivars are Sunflower, Rebecca's Gold, Wells. But I just had 7 more shipped to me from Oregon: Shenandoah, Susquehanna, Allegany, Wabash, Potomac, Mango, KSU Atwood.

These 7 recent arrivals will take maybe three or four years to flower, and I planted them amongst several Cherimoya cultivars plus one Atemoya.

The beauty of experimenting with a transgeneric cross, in this case, is that cherimoyas MUST be HAND POLINATED...meaning that a human hand must do the work normally done buy flying bugs, meaning there is no chance for accidents in identifying WHAT sort of pollen will have been used IF a cherimoya flower comes to produce a fruit. OR - if you've brushed the slightly opened cherimoya stigma with fresh paw paw polin, any fruit that sets therefrom, though itself will be all cherimoya in flesh an shape, but the SEEDS will have DIFFERENT DNA. Then when you plant these seeds, you must HOPE they will germinate an strike root. IF they do...WOW!

This post was edited by Guy2882 on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 9:13

paw paws doing incredibly well in van nuys

paw paws doing incredibly well in van nuys

I just received a few pawpaw seeds in a trade last week. I live in San Diego a few minutes from the beach. I'm going to experiment and see what happens.

I have some seed, collected from ground fall fruit from the Fullerton Arboretum Paw Paw, which is sprouting in Irvine. So far, so good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Growing up in western NC, we had a seed grown tree which produced at least 25 root clones. The fruit was delicious - similar to banana/cherimoya. Competition with the squirrels for the fruit was intense. Hopeful to get some growing here. There is also a tree growing at the OC fairgrounds that seems to be doing well.

Well thats great to hear. My seeds have been in the fridge for the past 3 months and just about ready to plant. I'll have to go up to OC fairgrounds and have a look at the tree there. Good luck

i'm in northern california.. was looking to try some of these out. was wondering if anybody could spare a few seeds to try.