• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

‘Tis the Season of the Pawpaw

September 11, 2017 By Carol Michel 6 Comments

‘Tis the season of the Pawpaw and I’ve been going out every day, sometimes twice a day, to check on the fruit on one of my little pawpaw trees.

What? You’ve never heard of our native fruit tree, the pawpaw? Asimina triloba.  It’s a native tree if you live in the Eastern United States where it can be found in most wooded areas.

Because pawpaws seem so common, once you know what they are, people think they’ll just take their trusty shovel out to a woods, dig one up, and take it home to plant in their own garden.

And the tree will die 99 times out of 100. Maybe 100 times out of 100.  For many reasons. Primarily, pawpaws are grove forming trees so those little trees that people dig up are probably connected to mama trees nearby and getting most of their nutrients from those trees.  On their own, they don’t have enough roots to survive and they die.

People rave about how good pawpaws taste. Sort of like a banana, they say. I don’t know. I’ve never tasted one. But if those two pawpaws in my garden ripen and I get to them before the squirrels and raccoons do, I’ll soon know what they taste like.

I keep checking them every day. I smell them because they are supposed to smell “fruity” when ripe.  I gently tug on them because the ripe fruit supposedly comes off the tree easily. I look at them because I read somewhere that they turn bright yellow when ready to harvest, but I don’t know if that is true for all varieties.

Varieties, you ask? On a native fruit tree like the pawpaw? Yes, there are varieties sold by reputable nurseries and you should buy two varieties because pawpaw trees don’t self-pollinate.  I have two trees from Stark Bros. Only one had fruit this year, but they are still relatively young trees. This is their third summer.

And Stark Bros. grows them as grafted trees in a special long container so you get a good root system.

Occasionally, you’ll find pawpaws at a farmers market in late September but I’ve never seen them in a grocery store. When ripe, the fruit is quite perishable and only lasts a few days.  That’s why I’m checking my pawpaws every day, sometimes twice a day. And as the days go on, I might check them three times a day. I don’t want to miss the peak of their ripeness.

I was supposed to be going to Charleston, SC this coming weekend for a GWA: Association of Garden Communicators event but they canceled it because of Hurrican Irma. I was sad they canceled it but now realize that it will take the pressure off my pawpaw watch.  The proverbial silver lining.

Now I’ll be here to check on my pawpaws through the weekend, if that’s how long it takes the fruit to ripen, way down yonder in the pawpaw patch, by the Vegetable Garden Cathedral.

These are exciting times in the garden, aren’t they?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: fruits, gardening

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa at Greenbow says

    September 11, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    It would be exciting if one had paw paws to watch ripen.

    Reply
  2. David The Good says

    September 11, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    I hope you get some fruit to try!

    We used to have a few native varieties of pawpaw I grew on my old property in North Florida. I had A. triloba, A. parvifloria, A. obovata and a couple of others. A. parviflora has decent fruit, just smaller than the ones you have.

    I dunno what it is about these weird little trees but I really do enjoy them.

    Reply
  3. Covegirl says

    September 12, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    I have never tasted a pawpaw,either. I hoe yu get to taste the fruit.

    Reply
  4. Gingham Gardens says

    September 12, 2017 at 3:21 pm

    This reminds me of growing up in Indiana. I remember a few trips through the woods to look for Pawpaws, but I don't remember ever eating one.

    Reply
  5. Mel says

    September 13, 2017 at 2:39 am

    Many thanks for the info on paw paws. I've always been intrigued by stories of the importance of paw paws to Native Americans, and George Washington's fondness for paw paws. The fruits were a key food source for Lewis and Clark's exploration west. Inspired by these stories, I bought two small paw paw trees that grew slowly along the edge of the forest. Unfortunately this spring one of the two didn't leaf out. I assumed it was dead, but I couldn't pull it out. Last month it grew a couple of leaves at the base of the trunk, but still had no leaves elsewhere. It appears the bark was damaged above the leaves. What do you suggest I do with it? Should I give it more time or should I cut it down? Has anyone had similar experiences? Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Rebecca says

    September 13, 2017 at 5:51 pm

    We had Pawpaws at the old garden! We actually moved them down from our house in the northeast. I never got any fruit, but the squirrels did!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT