North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[sherwin <sherwindu@att.net>]

On 7/5/2013 1:02 PM, Mike Levine wrote:
> I just wanted to elaborate on what I've done recently (this year) with
> pawpaws.
>
> I realize my sample size is small and I didn't use a control, but I had
> great success digging suckers this spring.
> Last year I cut the suckers from the mother on some but not all of the
> trees I dug this year.  Probably half of them got cut last year and half
> were just cut this spring while transplanting.
>
> This spring, a few weeks after bud break I dug 20 pawpaw suckers up from my
> favorite tree and potted them up in large pots.  The suckers ranged from 2'
> to 12' tall.  19 of the 20 trees lived and the one that died was about 4'
> tall.  All the pots have been sitting in a hot driveway receiving weekly
> watering.  I believe that most of my failures in the past were due to not
> watering enough after transplanting.  Pawpaws like moist soils so it's hard
> (though I'm sure it's possible) to over-water them
>
> Recently I've planted some of them in the field and it seems as though the
> feeder roots have grown nicely since the spring transplant.  I'm quite
> pleased with the results.
>
> I was quite surprised that the 10-12' pawpaws responded so well to being
> transplanted in pots (in pots no less!) and are thriving.
>
> So there you have it, I successfully potted up 19 out of 20 suckers some of
> which were cut last year and some of which were just dug up this year w/o
> being cut last year.  I do think it's a good idea to cut them from the
> mother the year before, but I suspect that cutting them from the mother
> before leaf out and them transplanting after bud break might be
> sufficient.
>
> No firm science here, as I'd prefer a sample size of at least 30 and would
> have liked to pay more attention to which ones were cut last year, but I'm
> convinced that it's not as hard to transplant pawpaws as some might think.
>
> I have also been digging grafted seedlings from the field into pots for
> about 12 years now and rarely have losses over 10-20%.  Again, I do this a
> couple weeks after bud break in the spring, but before the leaves are full
> size.
>
>
> Mike Levine
> Ann Arbor, MI
> Zone 5b
      Mike,

      Were some of those trees 12 feet high, or did you mean inches?  A 12
      footer must have had a very deep tap root, besides being rather large
      to pot up.

      It would have been more informative to know the 'age' of these
      root sucker plants.  I would guess that after one or more seasons,
      the suckers would be completely independent of the mother tree
      for support.  That would probably insure their survival if conditions
      allowed for their continued growth.  My issue was with the very
      young suckers that could be removed prematurely.

       Also, how old are these seedlings before you dig them up?

                            Sherwin Dubren