OK, I can help with this one -- As long as you have 2 or more trees that are genetically different, seed-grown or grafted ones of different varieties, as opposed to suckers taken from the same mother plant, you have the right genetic combination to make fruit. However, the issue might be proper cross-pollination. I picked up this tip from a gardening magazine some years back, and it really works. Paw Paw flowers are brown/purple for a reason -- they are carrion mimics that produce the scent of rotting flesh, although it is subtle, and are pollinated by various species of carrion-loving flies. In the magazine, there was a profile of a paw paw breeder from Jackson, Michigan. He went out every spring and gathered roadkill -- racoons, possoms, etc. -- and also enlisted the help of a couple of friends to catch big carp in the local river. He hung a carcass in each tree. He had like 200 trees, so I don't envy his downwind neighbors. Now, I know it sounds nasty, and it is, but it sure does make a dramatic difference in pollination. Now, being sort of weak in the stomach, I couldn't see myself hanging dead animals in my paw paw trees, and I'm sure the neighbors wouldn't approve, and someone would probably call the cops on me. So, my solution -- I use the bait powder from Ortho disposable flytraps -- I mix it with an equal volume of water and pour it into a foam or plastic cup that I tape with duct tape to a vertical trunk of the tree about 4 feet off the ground. Pour the mix in there about 4 or 5 days before the first blossoms open, because it gets progressively more smelly as it ages. By the time the blooms open, it will be rank smelling and attract a lot of flies. Some will actually fall in and drown, but that's ok, because it just makes it smell all the worse and attracts even more flies. When I did this, the blossom set increased dramatically, about quadrupled. A lot more fruit set and ripened. Too late for this year, but try it next and see if that doesn't make the difference. Finally, one other thing -- I have one tree that is a couple of hundred feet away from the other two -- that distance does cut down a lot on the transfer of pollen, and it sets far fewer. So, if your trees are far away, you can use my other method, which is to cut several longer branches of buds and flowers from a pollinator tree and put them under the tree which needs cross pollination in a bucket of water with some cut flower preservative in it -- they'll last about 4 to 6 days this way and will do the job.

When my daughter was approximately 6 years old we were out in the yard making a map of my gardens and putting the names of each plant on the map, she looked at me mid way and asked "Mom when you die will I get your hostas!" I asked her if she wanted them, and she answered "yes". I assured her she would as long as she wanted them! She is now almost 11 and she knows alot of the names, hopefully when the time comes she will still want my hostas and I hope she gets as much pleasure from them as I have. I too moved into a house that had a much neglected yard after the wife passed away, and sat as an empty house for a couple of years. The yard was overgrown with black raspberries, violets, elderberry and crazy ground cover that I would never wish on anyone. I started in one area very slowly removing unwanted overgrowth and found one small hosta, not very big, basic smaller round leaves with white edges. I split it up in several different clumps and it was the beginning of my hosta interest. Now I have over a 100 and can't stop! I grew up with a Mother who had a love of flowers and a Dad that grows an awesome garden. I can only hope it carries on!

Mine do. I'm no expert, but I'll give you my experience. I have quite a few clumps in only partial sun all year round. I'm sure they would flower and grow more with more vigour given more sun though. They are healthy and grow and flower every year, I just keep an eye on the leaf litter etc around the base and remove black ink spot leaves etc. Mine were inherited when I bought the block so I don't know excatly what they are, I did add some long stemmed more robust 'bush dawn' I think, and they are doing equally as well. They are also on a substantial slope which I suppose would help? - with drainage and moisture build up as I am on the east coast with a bit of humidity. It could all depend on the type of paw...

I also have not received any seeds. I've seen no effort on Olivia's part to contact me. For what it is worth, I have participated in quite a few swaps within this community before and have always found them worth taking the chance...sometimes fantastically so. However, I walked into the swaps recognizing that it IS taking a chance, especially if someone is a first-timer at facilitating a swap, as in this case apparently. I don't plan to stop participating in swaps in the future, but find it wise to gamble no more than I can afford to lose.