I am in Fort Worth and started growing Paw Paw trees last year. I planted them in 2 ft of expensive soil on top of clay. How long did yours take to fruit? Can they handle the Texas heat? What types did you plant? I have a Mango, Sunflower, KSU, some Peterson varieties. Which ones will do well? Thanks for your help.

Good for you. The wider the above-clay good soil reaches, the larger the root systems can reach outward into user-friendly soil. If they are in small enclosures, they would benefit from replacing the small walls with wider walls as the trees grow in size. Being above ground, gravity will continually pull downward on the water that you provide and quickly dry out the young roots, so continually check the soil moisture and remoisten as often as possible when dry below the top 1" of soil mix. Dry roots are bad news, so protect your investment diligently. Regular light doses of fertilizer are welcome. Regretfully, the leaves dry out in daytime Sun blasts much faster than tiny root systems can replace the leaf moisture, so having some kind of shade to decrease the blast is a high priority. I actually used a roll of aluminum window screen to form a 4 ft. tall cylinder shaped Sun screen over a pot of brand new potted seedlings and it has worked very well to eliminate the drying of tender new leaves. You can bend the top of the cylinder together and staple a seam all the way across. As for varieties and their taste, you will have to test your own on several varieties to see which are best for you. I would guess that your plants won't venture to make babies until they develop enough roots to make enough trunk to support it. Think "size" to be the real goal rather than how soon you can eat fruit.

My pawpaws are 3 ft tall. I noticed the leaves are turning yellow due to the recent heat wave. I water them everyday. Will they die and will they tolerate the sun better when they grow bigger? Thanks

Vu Le - So, how are your Pawpaws doing now? Any update report?

I tried two paw paw trees in Temple 2 years ago. They both leafed out and appeared healthy and were putting on new leaves daily. I only watered them (no fertilizer) as they were so young (3' when planted), They were in a semi-shady spot (with the intention to perhaps move to a sunnier location once they seemed to get going and showed signs of being heat/sun tolerant). Then in the first year, in their original location, suddenly they just died at 4-5' stage. I won't be trying them again.

^ Hmm, weird, were they still in their pots? And was this during Summer heat, perhaps?

I have 2 good sized paw paw trees, about 10', that I planted from small trees. They are in partial sun and I watered when they were young - now they are doing fine. Dont know if they are male or female or if they will bloom or not. They are healthy and growing well so I am happy. Have had no problems with them