[NAFEX] Pawpaws for PA; temp considerations
Richard Moyer
ramoyer at gmail.com
Mon Jan 2 10:28:15 EST 2006
*Bassem wrote:*
*I ordered already for the spring a pawpaw "mango" variety. Does anyone have
experience growing this variety? I'm wondering if it will do well in zone 6
pa. Since it was discovered in Tifton, Ga..
The discription sounds promising... however I'm not sure how the flavor is
compared to others... and on productivity. I Only have room for 3 pawpaw so
I'm gonna plant sunflower, taytoo, and mango. So I'm looking for the best
varieties. Thanks zone6 pa
*
*Bassem, I've tasted Mango compared to some other named varieties, and it
did not have an outstanding mango flavor. I live in East TN with much
native pawpaws, and the range of flavors is large, from wonderful to
nasty. So there is diversity in flavor, but as Lucky and others have noted,
most of the better ones have been selected more on the absence of the bad
'off' flavors than a diversity of pleasing flavors. Size of fruit and yield
also are factors. Hidden Springs Nursery in TN offers a selection of better
pawpaws, which they've tasted and compared. I suggest you contact them.
Their catalog is at www.catalogs.google.com. They offer some of the better
ones identified by my students here, as well as many others in their
catalog. If you Email or call Hidden Springs, they could discuss the
differences. You may want to think about extending the season, selecting
early and late ripening ones, as they do not keep well fresh. They freeze
well; I had pawpaw muffins for breakfast this morning. *
**
*You should be fine growing any pawpaw at your location. A few of the 18
locations where they are being tested nationwide, such as Corvallis, OR,
lack enough summer heat to ripen many pawpaw cultivars. Since
www.petersonpawpaws.com has the only patented pawpaws, it may be more
important for you to choose well rooted, well grown rootstocks to ensure
survival the first two years. Then you can graft on multiple,
unpatented varieties, as Lucky noted. Beware that the price you pay may
reflect the care that went into growing your rootstock. Pawpaw is one plant
with a bad reputation for not surviving its first year, but nurseries such
as Hidden Springs send well rooted plants and instructions to ensure
survival.
Much more pawpaw info can be found at
http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/KSUstory.htm and links therein, as well as the
Peterson Pawpaw link above. Lee Reich's book 'Uncommon Fruits' also
includes a pawpaw chapter.
Richard Moyer
East Tenn, Zone 6, 1800'*
**
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