Meet the Indiana Jones of Pawpaw

Neal Peterson hunted down lost pawpaw varieties from the early 20th century to use in his pawpaw breeding work.

Meet Neal Peterson, the Indiana Jones of pawpaws. He was so moved by the taste of pawpaw that it became his life’s work.

There were improved pawpaw varieties in the early 20th century—but the fruit fell into obscurity.

Peterson dug through the literature to uncover past pawpaw breeding work, and then set out to track down lost varieties for use in his own pawpaw breeding work.

About Pawpaw

Peterson says that in the wild, pawpaws are an “understorey” tree, often growing in shade of larger forest trees. When they are in shady locations they become lanky and do not produce a lot of fruit.

But given more light, they produce much more fruit.

Two genetically distinct trees are needed to produce fruit.

Pawpaws sucker extensively, which can give rise to groves of pawpaw that are all clones from a single parent tree.

Peterson says that in the wild, pawpaw fruit can be quite seedy, with up to 25% seed by weight. In his work he has bred varieties with more fruit and less seed. His best variety has 4% seed by weight.

Pawpaws at Home

Pawpaw trees are well suited to a home garden, growing to approximately 20 feet high. While orchardists might space trees widely for equipment, home gardeners can reduce spacing.

• Grow 2 in the space of 1: Peterson recommends planting two trees only a couple of feet apart if space is a challenge.

• Choose a sunny site: While trees are shade-tolerant, they produce more fruit in sunny locations.

• Minimize competition: Keep weeds and grass two feet away from the tree until it is well established

• Keep soil moist: Mulch with compost to minimize weed growth and keep soil moist.

• For cold climates: Choose early-ripening varieties such as ‘Shenandoah’ or ‘Allegheny’

• Caution: Weed eaters can damage the bark.

Once established, pawpaw trees sucker profusely. If growing an improved variety that is grafted onto a rootstock, remove the suckers, which will be the same as the rootstock.

Grow Pawpaw from Seed

For gardeners who want to grow pawpaw from seed, Peterson notes that they are slow to germinate.

He suggests planting the seeds in the fall where they are to grow, or storing in the fridge in damp sphagnum moss in a sealed bag. They require a period of cold, moist conditions before germination.

Do not allow seeds to dry out because this will greatly reduce germination.

He says it can take 7 years until seed-grown trees flower.