pawpaws, was honey bees
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: pawpaws, was honey bees
- From: m* l*
- Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 14:06:08 -0700
At 03:02 PM 2/5/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Margaret,
>
>That is great to hear. We were just talking about the PawPaw in my Master
>Gardener class last night. That it smells terrible is the word from the
>"expert". Of course, he had never seen one in person--or the fruit.
>
>Please tell me about the fruit. Is it good? What do you do with it? Is
>it worth growing? How nice to meet someone who actually has one!
>
>Lera Cavanaugh
>
I think the tree is quite attractive. It's small, the leaves long (8 or 9
inches), and remind me of lop-eared bunny ears. I have two trees (you're
supposed to have two for pollenization, but only one bloomed for two years
and produced fruit; of course I was noodling around with my finger in the
flowers), and they're about eight to ten feet tall. One looked like it had
been frosted a few years ago, and on impulse, I pruned off those parts. In
spring it bore its first flowers and the first fruit set. The other tree
did nothing. Last spring I nipped off some branches with pruning clippers,
and it blossomed, but no fruit set. Blossoms seem to be protected from
frost, perhaps because they hang down.
Fruit in the middle west is larger than what we grow; here it's about 4
inches long by 3 inches wide by 1 and 1/2 inches thick. there are about
six lima bean-sized seeds inside. I understand you ought to let them get
thoroughly ripe or else you'll "find a shorter way to the bathroom." The
fruit is custard-like in texture, and subtly flavored. Not flavorful
enough for some tastes, but there are recipes available for cookies and
stuff like that. It's sometimes called the Michigan (or Indiana) banana,
probably for good reason. It's hardy to at least 20 degrees below zero,
and has "no significant pest or disease problems." Isn't that sufficiently
attractive? Margaret L
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