Pawpaw

Pawpaw Care

Asimina Triloba

What is the plant

Pawpaws (Asimina triloba) are small deciduous trees that can fit into almost any landscape. Native to North America, they grow wild in 25 eastern states and Ontario. Thriving in river-bottom lands where the soil is deep, moist and fertile, you can usually find them growing in clumps and thickets. The pawpaw trees available for sale in nurseries and online sources are usually grown from seeds, although you can occasionally find grafted trees. You probably won’t be successful planting a pawpaw tree that was dug from the wild. These saplings are usually root suckers that won’t have a good root mass of their own.

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Lighting

Full Sun

Hardiness zone

5a - 8b

Difficulty

Easy

How to Care for the Plant

Water
The paw paw tree likes to be kept in continuously moist soil. This is especially true when the tree is young, so water it thoroughly and regularly to ensure its moisture needs are met. As with any plant, the paw paw tree is susceptible to root rot, so don’t water it to the extreme as this will cause more damage than depriving the tree of water would.
Fertilizer
Help young seedlings and saplings establish themselves by fertilizing pawpaw trees with a balanced liquid fertilizer every few weeks for the first growing season. Afterward, use a granular fertilizer or a layer of compost in spring.
Sunlight
The paw paw tree can be grown as a tree or as a shrub, and depending on your intentions, the plant will have slightly different requirements when it comes to light. When grown as a tree, you should plant the tree in a full sun location. This will allow the tree to reach heights of up to 30 feet. If you are growing your paw paw tree as a shrub, then partial shade will be preferable.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
Paw paw trees need well-draining soil that is high in organic matter. You can encourage good drainage by adding sand or grit to your soil, working it through your soil to a deep level. Adding some organic matter such as well-rotted compost will also help drainage, and will help your soil to become richer.
Temperature
The paw paw tree is native to the United States, growing in temperate climates in eastern states. The tree is hardy through USDA growing zones 5 to 9, making it an ideal tree to grow if your region experiences a good balance of temperatures throughout the year, experiencing neither extreme cold or extreme heat.
Additional
The seed contains a toxic alkaloid and is poisonous. The leaves can cause dermatitis in a small number of sensitive people. Other reports say that handling the fruit can cause dermatitis