Tree · Annonaceae
Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
North America's largest native fruit, rich as custard and tasting of banana and mango, ripens on a tree few gardeners know.
Full sun
Every 5–7 days
USDA 5–8
15–30 ft · 4.6–9.1 m
Overview
The pawpaw is the largest fruit native to North America, and for its size it stays a stranger to most gardens. It grows wild in the understory of eastern woods, from the Gulf states north into Canada, and hangs a soft, green-skinned fruit whose pale custard flesh tastes of banana and mango at once.
It is a small, slow tree that ripens its crop in the shade of taller trees in the wild, though it fruits best once it stands in full sun. The flowers are an odd deep maroon, opening in early spring before the leaves unfurl, and their faint scent draws flies and beetles rather than bees. That single trait, more than any other, sets whether the fruit swells.
A pawpaw carries broad, drooping leaves on slow-growing wood, and it asks for patience up front before it hands back a fruit no store keeps. It needs two unrelated trees to set a crop, steady moisture as it settles, and a few years before it bears. After that it nearly tends itself.
Care
The short version: the pawpaw wants deep, fertile, moisture-holding soil and steady water while it establishes, shade for the first year or two, then full sun for the ripest fruit, plus a second unrelated tree so its maroon flowers can cross-pollinate.
Light
Young pawpaws want shade for their first year or two, the same low light the seedlings meet under a woodland canopy. Once the tree stands on its own, it fruits best in full sun, though it will still grow and bear its green fruit in partial or even full shade.
Water
Pawpaws want deep, evenly moist soil that still drains, with regular watering through the first two years while the pale taproot takes hold. They settle happily into moist river-bottom ground but recoil from heavy or waterlogged soil that never dries.
Soil
Give them deep, fertile, well-drained loam that stays moist, leaning slightly acidic at a pH of 5.5 to 7.0. Heavy, sticky clay and ground that stays sodden are the two things the roots will not endure.
Temperature
Pawpaws hold up through hard cold, hardy from about -20°F to 90°F (-29°C to 32°C), and the wood needs a true winter chill to fruit well. The early maroon flowers still bruise and drop under a hard late frost.
Humidity
They favor the moderate to high humidity of their native eastern range, roughly 50% to 80%, the damp air that hangs over those woods on its own. Out in the garden there is no number to chase.
Feeding
While the young tree is filling out, feed a balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 every couple of weeks from spring into early summer. Ease off as the trunk thickens and growth settles into its slow, steady pace.
Pruning
Pawpaws ask for little pruning. In late winter or early spring, dead, damaged, or crossing branches come off and the open crown is shaped, and the pale root suckers are cut back so the tree does not knit itself into a thicket.
Repotting
Not applicable; grown in the ground as a landscape or orchard tree, not as a container houseplant
Size & spacing
A mature pawpaw rises 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) on a straight trunk and spreads its drooping leaves about as wide, so it takes the same 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) of room. It throws suckers, so the space allows for the leafy colony it builds around itself.
When to plant
The pawpaw keeps time with the temperate woods. A containerized tree goes in during spring as new growth pushes, giving the pale brittle taproot the whole season to settle, the deep maroon flowers open in early to mid spring ahead of the leaves, and the green fruit softens and ripens from late summer into fall.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring, during new growth, using containerized stock to protect the brittle taproot
- Harvest: Blooms early to mid spring before the leaves emerge; fruit ripens late summer to early fall (about August to October)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–8
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Pawpaws stay remarkably clean of pests and disease, so most trouble traces back to pollination or a rough transplant rather than anything chewing at the leaves. Match the look of the damage below and the cause comes clear. Step in early and the fix stays simple.
Maroon flowers open, yet the branches stay bare of fruit
A tree hung with blooms and no fruit points straight to pollination. Pawpaws are largely self-incompatible, and bees pass over the flowers, so a single tree or two grafts of one cultivar rarely fills out. Two unrelated trees give the pollen it needs, and a hand-held brush carries pollen between blooms when flies and beetles run thin.
Fix:
- Plant at least two different cultivars or unrelated seedlings; hand-pollinate flowers if natural fly and beetle activity is low
A young tree wilts and fails soon after planting
Below the soil the pawpaw sends down one long, fleshy, brittle taproot almost bare of the fine root hairs that grip and drink, so any dig snaps it and the tree collapses, which is why wild and bare-root plants so often die. A container-grown tree keeps that pale taproot whole, and set out in spring as new growth pushes, with light shade over the seedling for its first year or two, it takes hold.
Fix:
- Use container-grown stock, transplant in spring during new growth, and shade young seedlings for the first one to two years
Flower stalks brown, shrivel, and drop before any fruit swells
Inside the slender flower stalks, larvae of the peduncle borer moth hollow out a tunnel and the whole bloom browns and falls before it can swell into fruit. The loss stays small on any one tree. The chewed stalks pull free and are burned, the rest hang on, and the acetogenins built into the plant leave it nearly untouched by anything else.
Fix:
- Tolerate minor damage; remove and destroy affected flower stalks; trees are otherwise nearly pest-free due to natural acetogenins
Dark specks on the leaves or ragged bites in fresh growth
Here and there the broad leaves pick up the dark flecks of Phyllosticta leaf spot or a sooty stipple of flyspeck fungi, or their edges go ragged where zebra swallowtail larvae, Japanese beetles, or thrips have fed. The blotches read worse than they are. They sit on the surface and never reach the fruit, so no spray is called for, and the swallowtail caterpillars leave nothing lasting behind.
Fix:
- Usually cosmetic and not harmful to yield; no treatment normally needed; zebra swallowtail larvae seldom cause permanent damage
Toxicity
The soft ripe flesh, once peeled, is a genuine treat and safe for people, but the rest of the plant is not for eating. The dark seeds and green skin hold acetogenins that upset the stomach, and the broad leaves, slim twigs, and bark carry insecticidal compounds. No pet-toxicity data is on file, so the seeds, skin, foliage, and prunings warrant a mild caution around animals and children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Caution
No cat-specific data exists, so caution is warranted. The dark seeds, green skin, broad leaves, and twigs all hold acetogenins that upset the stomach, so a curious cat is best kept from chewing fallen fruit or prunings.
Dogs Caution
A dog that swallows the glossy seeds, the skin, or mouthfuls of chewed leaf may drool or turn queasy from the acetogenins. The soft ripe flesh is mild, but every firmer, greener part is best kept out of reach.
Horses Caution
No grazing data covers horses. The bitter leaves and slim twigs carry insecticidal compounds, so the tree is fenced off rather than left within reach of a grazing mouth.
Rabbits Caution
The broad leaves, hard seeds, and green skin do not suit rabbits, since the acetogenins can irritate the gut. Only a small taste of the soft ripe pulp is worth considering, and even that rarely.
Livestock Caution
Cattle, goats, and sheep turn away from the bitter foliage on their own, and that instinct holds. Prunings and fallen seeds are kept clear of pastures as a precaution.
Birds Caution
Wild birds and mammals eat the soft ripe flesh and carry off the large seeds. Those seeds and the skin are not for a pet bird to swallow, and only a little of the ripe pulp is worth offering.
People Ripe flesh safe
The ripe, peeled flesh is a custard-soft, custard-sweet treat and safe to eat. The dark seeds and green skin, though, hold emetic acetogenins that turn the stomach, and handling the fruit raises a skin rash on some people.
Wear gloves when harvesting if you are prone to skin irritation; do not eat or let pets or children chew the seeds, skin, leaves, or twigs.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Wild pawpaws differ from tree to tree in the size, color, and flavor of their fruit, so breeders have picked out the best for large fruit, fine flavor, and few seeds. These named cultivars are the ones worth seeking out.
Shenandoah
A Peterson Pawpaws release carrying large, yellow-skinned fruit filled with butter-colored flesh, a mild sweet flavor, and few seeds for the size of the fruit.
Susquehanna
Another Peterson Pawpaws release, prized for its very large fruit, thick flesh, few seeds, and a sweet, rich flavor.
Mango
A vigorous selection whose round fruit splits open to orange-yellow flesh.
Sunflower
A large, late-ripening pawpaw that first came out of eastern Kansas.
How to propagate
A pawpaw grows from its large, flattened seed if you have patience, but a named cultivar holds its fruit true only when it is grafted.
SeedModerate
Growing from the large, dark, flattened seed takes patience. It needs 90 to 120 days of cold, moist stratification before the first pale shoot breaks, and the seedlings inch along at the start. They also come up genetically variable, so a seed-grown tree never quite copies the parent cultivar.
GraftingDemanding
Named cultivars keep their character through grafting, not seed. A cutting of the chosen variety is fitted onto a seedling rootstock by whip-and-tongue, cleft, bark inlay, or chip budding, and the cut surfaces are bound so they knit, a skilled join that turns on good timing and a steady hand.
Myths
Pawpaws are pollinated by bees.
The maroon flowers breathe out a faint, fetid odor that bees will not go near. Flies and beetles do the real work, drawn in by that scent, which is why a stand of pawpaws hangs full of bloom yet stays quiet of any buzzing.
One tree, or two of the same grafted cultivar, will give you a full crop.
Pawpaws are largely self-incompatible, so a flower cannot be fertilized by its own pollen or a clone of itself. You need two genetically different trees for a real harvest, which means two seedlings or two separate cultivars, not two copies of the same one.
The whole fruit is safe to eat.
Only the soft ripe pulp belongs on the plate. The dark seeds and green skin carry acetogenins that turn the stomach, so the custard flesh is scooped clear and the rest is set aside.