Paw paw

[newbieveggie]

Hi there
I have just eaten a paw paw (which was yummy) and I was wondering whether anyone has ever tried to grow one from the seeds inside, and if they germinated and then finally have they had any fruit ?

If it's got seeds I just can't resist trying to grow them

[seasprout]

I grow a paw paw every year in a tropical house at work, but having just seen your location you just might get away with it outside in a sheltered position.

Mine does fruit, you need to let the insects pollinate it. It also needs height, mine does not so gets chopped, then it side branches then flowers and fruits on smaller side stems.

Not ideal, but hey ho.

Be warned the seeds do not last as they are quite fleshy, also germination is erratic and may take 1-4 months, so i might be better to try earlier in the year for a longer growing season, but you know your climate better than me.


Last bit of info, my fruit always tastes of wet soap.

[newbieveggie]

Wet soap eh ? Perhaps I was trying to be very sophisticated and exotic when tasting it, or rather very grown up in front of the kids and not go running to the bin shouting 'bleuch..that's disgusting !'

I will try some more later and see how I feel, and then maybe I will have a go at growing it. The seeds are very soft so I rec I will have to pop them into soil very quickly.

Thanks for the info

[elizajay]

I was brought up in Durban and we had paw paws for breakfast in season, also avocado pears, we didn't have other fruit trees like mangoes. They didn't grow in the less tropical parts of South Africa, so I would give them zilch chance even in the Channel Islands. But then I am a believer in things growing where they are meant to grow.

[purplekat]

If you have a look on here
Asimina triloba - Plants For A Future database report
it' say's that they're hardy to zone 5 (about -23c) so would have thought they'd be ok in the channel islands

[greasyfire]

There is a differnce betweenn paw paw and papaya, papaya is the tropicazl one while paw paw is native to america and can survive in northen plants aswell as ontario canada so yeah is would suggest growing paw paw but papaya will be quite hjarder.