I planted a couple of pawpaw trees last winter. They have only grown about 4-5 inches this year, but I do have mine in fairly heavy shade. I have read so many stories about full sun scorching them, although I think I gave mine too much shade. If I had to do it over again I would grow them in containers the first year to gradually get them used to some sun. I'm ready for spring too, but I really wished it would get cooler for a couple more months. I hate to see my fruit trees start blooming too early only to have the blossoms get zapped by a cold front.

The relationship between secondary chemicals and lepidoptera is extremely complex. Paw paws do produce annonaceous acetogins, which may give the zebras some protection from predators. On the other hand these same secondary compounds may serve as attractants to parasitoid wasps and flies. The relationship between plants, butterflies, and parasitoids is probably thousands of years old with a complex chemical warfare developing during that time. This relationship has been studied really well in some plant/animal complexes such as the Manduca sexta, the tobacco hornworm, and the common tobacco. The plant can actually sense chemically when the larva is chewing on it and release volatile chemicals. These volatile chemicals signal parasitoid wasps. Often times, parasitoid wasps follow olfactory clues of feeding damage. Again, this could be from signals the plant is giving off, or just from the actual damage of the plant. In studies on zebras (Eurytides marcellus) this seems to be the case to some extent(see below). -Elisabeth The parasitic wasp Trogus pennator (Ichneumonidae) attacks the larvae of swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae). Female T. pennator were followed in the field as they searched for larvae of the zebra swallowtail butterfly, Eurytides marcellus (Papilionidae), feeding on Asimina (Annonaceae) in central Florida, USA. Predictions of host-finding theory and interactions with the host were thus investigated in a natural setting. Wasps seldom flew to plants other than Asimina and apparently recognized the plants by visual cues. Plants were attractive regardless of host presence, as the wasps approached plants lacking E. marcellus feeding damage twice as often as they approached damaged plants. However, wasps approached damaged plants at a rate greater than their frequency in the Asimina population, indicating that they can detect host damage before they approach the plants. After approaching within 0.5 m of plants, wasps tended not to land on plants lacking feeding damage. A comparison of the plants they landed on, however, showed no consistent preferences for damaged plants. The weaker trends in the latter data indicate that the presence of feeding damage was not the sole criterion for landing, although it evidently influenced behaviour. After landing, wasps spent more time searching damaged plants than undamaged plants. Butterflies preferred to oviposit on plants shorter than those searched by T. pennator. Possible adaptive consequences of this phenomenon are discussed.

irish rose grower, teh yellow butterfly weed certainly attract the butteflies including the beautiful Monarch!!The butterfly weed is easier to grow than the bushes. Those should be pruned but not the weed!! Jean, I live in the country and we have lots of deer here but they never bother anything. Could be, because we have so many dogs.. They do not run loose though.. Michelle, abnatives.com Spring Hill nursery have it. I saw it lots of places and they called the ordinary oakleaf, Harmony. Harmony is different the the wild hydrangea.. Thank you Nancy, we have tons of the wild butterfly weed here too!! Thanks Debra. They aren't red spots though, the are more stripes..Beautiful anyway!! Thanks everyone...Ellie

I don't know about buying one at a nursery. As I say, they are hard to come by and don't transplant well. Even Biosphere, a native plant nursery, doesn't have them. At least, not the last time I was out there. Could cross pollination be necessary just for getting fruit? I know absolutely nothing about that part of gardening. Sounds like something we should learn more about, since the plant is disappearing and that is a problem for the butterfly. I'm going out to Biosphere Saturday...I'll see if they can give us more info. Marcia