Pawpaw Seedlings (1 Year old cluster of 3-5)

Greetings !!!

Up for sale are these rooted Pawpaw seedlings sown in a small cluster.  Each pot contains 3-5 seedlings.   The first ones that ship will have the most.   These were harvested from fruits in the fall of 2022, cold stratified and then sown out in spring of 2023.   You will receive a pot similar to the ones in the photograph.  You will be guaranteed 3 seedlings.   Some will have 4-5!

I started my Paw Paw Passion many years ago after making a connection with Marc Boone near Ann Arbor.   He's a local Paw Paw legend who has an orchard of his own where he has raised Paw Paws and sells the fruit in his U-pick farm for a short time every fall.  He introduced me to the Paw Paw Festival in Athens Ohio and to the fine people at the Michigan Nut and Fruit Growers Association.   During one of our discussions, he told me about a secret local Paw Paw patch that was close by and off I went in search of the elusive fruit.   It was a wild patch and I had quite a difficult time finding anything worth eating.   It's a beautiful forest with probably 250 trees, and while the patch was vast, there just wasn't much fruit to be had.    The problem with many wild patches here in our area is that really they're in very dark low land areas that have heavy shade and in some cases the patch can be a single cultivar that has spread by runners and is probably all one clone.  Without multiple varieties present for cross pollination, fruit set can be light.  So after many years now of enjoying fruit from my own orchard, I had this idea to provide these this way because as I just mentioned, you need two distinct cultivars of Pawpaw for proper pollination.  Why not sow these in clusters and give people a chance to plant for themselves a small Pawpaw Patch.   If all goes well, these should begin to bear fruit in 5-6 years if proper site selection is chosen.

Another option is that these could be gently separated and potted up individually, placed in the shade and healed in for use as rootstock for grafting in the spring of 2025.

1. Planting: Paw Paws prefer a partial sun location, needing no more than five hours of sunlight a day.  However, Paw Paws will tolerate full sun once established and will produce more fruit with more sun.  Rich, deep, and well-draining soil are ideal conditions from planting new Paw Paws.    Paw Paws will also send out runners and a patch can be established at the edge of a forest or property line.

Dig a hole that’s just as deep as the root ball and three times as wide. Place your tree in the hole and make sure that it's level with the surrounding ground and standing straight upwards a 90-degree angle. Backfill your hole and gently tamp the soil down to prevent air pockets from forming. Finally, give your tree a long drink of water and mulch around the tree to conserve soil moisture.

2. Watering: Paw Paw Trees require adequate soil moisture, especially in the first two years after planting. Avoid over saturating and only water when soil is dry at least 1 to 2 inches down.

3. Fertilizing: For optimal growth and fruit production, fertilize twice each year with a well-balanced fertilizer such as a 20-10-10.

4. Pruning: The best time to prune is late winter or early spring when the tree is dormant. Annual pruning will stimulate new growth.

5. Harvesting: The Paw Paw will be ready to eat when it is easily plucked from the tree. Paw Paws that are too ripe can have an astringent taste, so don’t wait until they’ve fallen.

My name is Dan Foster.   I’ve been growing Figs and Pawpaws for several years now and it’s become a passion of mine that I hope you’ll find to be as rewarding as I have.   You can find me on Facebook and Ourfigs fig forum.  I'm also one of the Admins for a Facebook group called Pawpaw Fanatics.   Stop on in and give us a look.   Better yet, join us in Albany Ohio at Lake Snowden and enjoy everything that the annual Pawpaw festival has to offer.  

Thank you for your support and happy planting!!!!!