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There are enough people growing pawpaws now that they will increasingly start showing up in farmer's markets over the next five years or so. The fourth generati

There are enough people growing pawpaws now that they will increasingly start showing up in farmer's markets over the next five years or so. The fourth generation of pawpaws (i.e. four generations improved from the prize-winning 1916 Ketter tree, which was selected from the wild) didn't start getting released until the mid 90s, and the fifth generation didn't start getting released until the mid 2010s. And it's at least decade between when a new cultivar gets release and when it's widely available to purchase, and then it takes another 5 - 7 years to grow to maturity after that. So it's really only within the last five years or so that it's even been possible to start growing commercial-quality fruit. I started growing them in 2018, and even though that's not that long ago, the best cultivars you could get back then were complete garbage compared with what you can get today.

SauciestGNU 3y ago
Agreed, wife and I planted a hobby orchard, hoping in a few years we'll be able to at least enjoy enough for ourselves, and eventually do some commercial production.
dakna 3y ago
Do you have any recommendations about the newer variants and where to find them? A brief search turned up Peterson Pawpaw, but maybe you have others in mind.
- Alex3917 3y ago
  Yeah these are the cultivars I'd start with: KSU Chappell, KSU Atwood, Wabash, Shenandoah, Susquehanna, Potomac If you're on the east coast and willing to drive to New Jersey, then I'd recommend ordering from Charlie West: https://sites.google.com/view/westfarm https://sites.google.com/view/westfarm If not, then Peaceful Heritage is very reputable, the main problem with them is that their grafted pawpaws only go on sale one day per year and are completely sold out in 20 minutes. If you can't get from them, then your options are OneGreenWorld, StarkBros, and the other usual suspects. Logees also sells Shenandoah and Susquehanna as a set for super cheap and they typically have a lot of inventory in the spring, so I'd recommend picking up those cultivars there and getting them shipped. Also, Cliff England no longer ships trees, but still sells to customers that are willing to drive to KY: http://nuttrees.net/ http://nuttrees.net/
- eterpstra 3y ago
  I got mine from Edible Landscaping in Virginia. The owner is super friendly and very helpful. One of my grafted saplings died almost immediately after planting, and he replaced it no questions asked. https://ediblelandscaping.com/collections/pawpaw https://ediblelandscaping.com/collections/pawpaw
  - pvaldes 3y ago
    They really dislike being moved. Deep vertical main root.
  - Alex3917 3y ago
    I've also ordered from these guys, they are good. Just don't get NC-1, Mango, Rappahannock, Prolific, Overleese, Wells, or PA Gold. Don't get me wrong, if you get one of those when they're perfectly ripe then it may well still be a completely life changing experience. But you can also do better, and given then you're going to have them for the next 25 years, it's worth doing the extra work to get the absolute best cultivars you can rather than just buying the first ones that are in stock, even if it takes an extra year to get started.

SauciestGNU 3y ago

Agreed, wife and I planted a hobby orchard, hoping in a few years we'll be able to at least enjoy enough for ourselves, and eventually do some commercial production.

dakna 3y ago

Do you have any recommendations about the newer variants and where to find them? A brief search turned up Peterson Pawpaw, but maybe you have others in mind.

Alex3917 3y ago
Yeah these are the cultivars I'd start with: KSU Chappell, KSU Atwood, Wabash, Shenandoah, Susquehanna, Potomac If you're on the east coast and willing to drive to New Jersey, then I'd recommend ordering from Charlie West: https://sites.google.com/view/westfarm https://sites.google.com/view/westfarm If not, then Peaceful Heritage is very reputable, the main problem with them is that their grafted pawpaws only go on sale one day per year and are completely sold out in 20 minutes. If you can't get from them, then your options are OneGreenWorld, StarkBros, and the other usual suspects. Logees also sells Shenandoah and Susquehanna as a set for super cheap and they typically have a lot of inventory in the spring, so I'd recommend picking up those cultivars there and getting them shipped. Also, Cliff England no longer ships trees, but still sells to customers that are willing to drive to KY: http://nuttrees.net/ http://nuttrees.net/
eterpstra 3y ago
I got mine from Edible Landscaping in Virginia. The owner is super friendly and very helpful. One of my grafted saplings died almost immediately after planting, and he replaced it no questions asked. https://ediblelandscaping.com/collections/pawpaw https://ediblelandscaping.com/collections/pawpaw
- pvaldes 3y ago
  They really dislike being moved. Deep vertical main root.
- Alex3917 3y ago
  I've also ordered from these guys, they are good. Just don't get NC-1, Mango, Rappahannock, Prolific, Overleese, Wells, or PA Gold. Don't get me wrong, if you get one of those when they're perfectly ripe then it may well still be a completely life changing experience. But you can also do better, and given then you're going to have them for the next 25 years, it's worth doing the extra work to get the absolute best cultivars you can rather than just buying the first ones that are in stock, even if it takes an extra year to get started.