When we first bought our land, one of the early things we did was contact a local forester to create a forestry management plan. With 14 acres of mostly woodland, we wanted to understand more about how to be good custodians of the land: what was invasive and needed to go, what could and should be cultivated, and general best practices and techniques for ongoing management.
It was extremely educational. We spent a chilly spring morning clambering through our woods, identifying the trees and shrubs we saw and discussing what our wooded ridge would have looked like a hundred years ago (less cedar, more pines).
When we approached the bench halfway up the hill, where we would later build our house, we paused a minute to catch our breath and the forester announced: “You’ve got Paw Paws here.”
It was not the first I’d heard of the elusive Paw Paw, but I knew little about them beyond the fact that they could grow in our area. I was surprised that we had them on our land. I was even more surprised that some were of good size, possibly old enough to bear fruit in a few years.
A Brief History of the Paw Paw
Paw Paws (Asimina triloba) are indigenous to 26 states in the US Mid-Atlantic region, ranging from northern Florida to parts of Canada. They are hardy to USDA Zone 5.
Paw Paws are medium-sized understory trees that grow in fertile, well-drained bottomlands or wooded hillsides. With seeds spread readily by birds and deer alike, they typically form cloned colonies from root suckers where they sprout (Note if you’ve got a colony: the suckered clones can’t pollinate each other because they share the same genetic makeup). They also form deep taproots, which means they don’t transplant well, except when very young.
The Paw Paw fruit ripens in late summer/early fall, has a custardy texture, and reportedly tastes like a delicious cross between banana, mango, and pineapple. However, the fruit must be quickly eaten after ripening. It’s soft, easily bruised, and doesn’t travel or keep well, which is why this ephemeral delight is never seen in stores and remains relatively obscure.
After all, if we can’t pack something up, put it in a cooler, and ship it across the country to a grocery store, what commercial value does it have?
But the Paw Paw pops up in history and legend again and again where they were valued by those who could cultivate and harvest them locally.
It appears in historical records from explorers to America as early as the 1500s. Native Americans and early settlers enjoyed and relied on them. It was supposedly George Washington’s favorite fruit and Thomas Jefferson ordered them planted at Monticello and shipped seeds abroad for acquaintances to try growing.
May 7th - "Planted all my Cedars, all my Papaw, and two Honey locust Trees in my Shrubberies and two of the latter in my groves--one at each 'side' of the House and a large Holly tree on the Point going to the Sein landing."
— The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799
In recent years, efforts have been made to hybridize the Paw Paw to produce larger, higher-quality fruit with smaller seeds that might one day have a better shelf life. There are dozens of named varieties now and a cohort of passionate growers.
It’s a worthy enterprise because the fruits pack as many antioxidants as cherries and cranberries and are an excellent source of other minerals and goodness1. Of course, they are also supposedly delicious.
We wound up preserving and clearing around two good-sized Paw Paws that would be incorporated into our garden plan where they grew. One was a little taller than the other, but they were both relatively young trees. Native Paw Paw trees can take around 6-8 years to fruit after reaching at least 6’ tall. Ours didn’t set flowers or fruit that year, so we settled in and prepared to wait.
Paw Paw flowers are interesting. The trees bloom in mid-march before leafing out, which means that, in Tennessee, they are vulnerable to early spring frosts. The flowers are downward-facing purple/brown bells that appear as strange little balls on the branches before opening up. They are not traditionally beautiful, nor do they have a particularly pleasant scent, and they are pollinated (often poorly) by certain species of flies and beetles instead of bees.
What is beautiful, though, is the slightly mottled trunk of the tree and the distinctive canopy of long narrow leaves that provide lovely shade for other plants during our hot summers.
Back to waiting.
Every spring, we’d eagerly check for the tell-tale blooms. The biggest tree produced a handful of flowers first, which immediately got killed off by a late frost, but without its neighbor blooming, it wouldn’t have been pollinated anyway. By the second year, the larger one was slightly more floriferous, but there were still no more than five blooms between the two trees and certainly no fruit.
This spring marked the first time each tree had around a dozen or more blooms. Winter was mild and though we had a late frost, we covered both trees to protect the flowers. They are now just beginning to fully open, which means it’s a buffet for whatever insect friends may be interested in partaking.
Come one and come all.
Whether or not we’ll have Paw Paw fruit this year remains to be seen, but we are marching steadily towards the day when we can finally sample this usual fruit from our own trees.
Where to Buy Paw Paws Online
If you aren’t fortunate enough to have your own wild Paw Paws but want to add them to your garden, you need to buy two or more different varieties so they can cross-pollinate. You can occasionally find them at local nurseries, but I prefer to look online, where you can find a wider selection. While I’ve not personally ordered Paw Paws from these vendors before, I have purchased other things and can attest to the plants arriving in good condition:
“Field Notes from Woodside Gardens” is a collection of stories about creating a garden. Most Fridays, I share what’s going on in our garden, along with tips and ideas that you can use in yours, wherever you are. Please consider becoming a free subscriber if you haven’t already.
Pawpaw Description and Nutritional Information