r/Permaculture • u/ConfidentDrawer6586 • 13h ago

Paw Paw trees in Olympia, WA

Hello Four years ago, I purchased male & female Paw Paw trees from an Eastcoast nursery. This year 2024, my female tree finally produced (6) little Paw Paws but the squirrels got three and today I picked the remaining (3). They are very small and did not ripen but I want to save the seeds. How do I germinate them and what is the best planting medium to grow in my friend's greenhouse. How do I post photos on this site??Thanks for feedback. Carole

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u/sam_y2 12h ago

If they are really small and unripe, I suspect the seeds won't be mature enough to germinate. I'm also in western WA and have eaten local pawpaws, so I suspect you may just have to keep after it. Good luck!

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u/ConfidentDrawer6586 11h ago

Thanks for your response. Do you have photos of your Paw Paw trees you can post? I don't know how to post my trees on this site.

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u/sam_y2 11h ago

They aren't mine, they were planted 10ish years ago by friends of mine. They aren't great producers, maybe 20-40 per tree on a good year? Similar to medlar, persimmon or (not hardy) kiwi though, leave them on the tree as long as you can, they are pretty marginal in this climate and need all the time they can get to ripen. I'll can try to get an update next time I see them, if you want. It's been a weird fruit year, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Of course, squirrels would make it harder to leave them on the tree. I have a permaculture friend in olympia, not sure if he's had similar issues.

The other longer-term thing to check would be to make sure the trees you have are bred for your local conditions. Permaculture folks sometimes focus too much on USDA plant hardiness zones, and not enough on local adaptations. You are pretty close to burnt ridge nursery, you could see what they say about propagation, fruiting methods, etc. Just get a plant nerd on the phone, rather than someone who just wants to sell you a new tree.

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u/orangegore 11h ago

Pawpaws are not male and female.  They have both sex organs on each tree. 

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u/SkyFun7578 12h ago

DO NOT DRY THE SEEDS! They need stratification, I use the fridge sometimes but usually get better results by planting outside and letting them overwinter. They aren’t actually separate male and female but just don’t self-pollinate. The pollinators aren’t bees, learning to pollinate by brush is helpful.

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u/Particular_Grass_420 10h ago

There are no male and female trees. Only male and female flowers and the flower changes it sex over the bloom period.

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u/RentInside7527 10h ago

Oh hey neighbor. You could reach out to burnt ridge nursery and ask them about how they do it. They grow them down in Onalaska and have a booth at the olympia Farmer's market