North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Mark Garrison" <pawpaw1@cox.net>]

Jim wrote:
> George,
> If you get some fresh pawpaw seeds now, store them damp in the fridge for
> 100 days, plant them in pots in January, set them out a month after the
> last frost, you should have first blossoms in 2005, and first fruit in
2006.

I think George may find it goes a little slower in zone 5.  Here's my
experience in zone 6:  planted seeds (overwintered in refrig)  in pots  (1/2
gal milk containers) early spring '96, sprouted June, shoots appeared July,
kept in pots overwinter, set out April '97.  Planted grafted plants from
nursery  Sept '96.  Got first scattered fruit from both seedliings and
grafted 2001.  Heavy crop this year, both seedlings and grafted.  One early
seedling yielded 40 lbs., still picking others.  (This spring at early bloom
put handfull of cottonseed meal under blooming trees to attract pollinators,
don't know if it made a difference.)

Mark Garrison, RI zone 6