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nafex - [NAFEX] Pawpaws for PA; temp considerations

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  • From: mauch1@aol.com
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Pawpaws for PA; temp considerations
  • Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2006 13:54:46 -0500

<Chris if I remember you do have sunflower pawpaw... I believe that was
the only variety that was bearer in you garden this summer when I visited
you right?>
 
I do not currently have Sunflower.
 
On one tree, I have Mary Foos Johnson (just started to produce last year),
Sweet Alice, and a probable PA Golden (neither producing yet).
 
I have repeatedly grafted Sunflower, but have had a tremendous run of bad
luck. 
 
First (when I still lived at home),I had purchased a Sunflower pawpaw whose top died.
I grafted Sunflower  to 3 lower branches, got very easy, nice takes.  Later, my father
decided that those branches were too low for easy mowing (and he had been talking
to me when I originally grafted them ) and lopped them off. 
 
Now in my own home, since then I've raised 3 seedlings, to which one I grafted the 3
varieties I listed above.  The other grafts on the other seedlings been broken off by
birds, did not take for unknown reasons, or broke when I removed the graft covering. 
This past yearI thought I was good, but turns out I unwrapped the grafts too early
(in my experience, on successful takes, pawpaws go through a dangerous period
where the tree expands mightly above and below the graft, but cannot expand
against the graft wrapping.  This makes for a weak point.  Once the wrappings are
removed, the grafted area rapidly expands to be the same size as the remainder of
the branches).
 
Anyway, my current Pawpaw orchard includes the tree I mentioned above, 2 of my own
seedlings that I've repeatedly grafted to, 3 more seedlings (one may be from a root
sprout) that I plan to graft to, and the 3 varieties of Peterson Pawpaws - Rappahannock,
Shenandoah, and Susquehanna.
 
I've had good luck when transplanting Peterson Pawpaws (which come bare root), in
cutting the pawpaw back to only a few buds.  Also used tree shelters which seemed to
help.
 
 
Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6
40° 5' N 75° 51'W
~650 ft elevation



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