Canadian pawpaw – Asimina triloba

Description

Description

“Canadian pawpaw” refers to the subset of American pawpaw plants that are native to Southern Ontario, Canada, which is their northernmost native limit. This northernmost population has evolved to ripen fruits in a shorter growing season than their southern counterparts, and so these genetics are ideal for areas of New Zealand that have milder summers. These plants once mature can handle -25C so are suitable for the coldest parts of New Zealand.

We have grown these Canadian pawpaw seeds in previous years and found the plants to be among the earliest to leaf out, and more vigorous than almost all other pawpaws we have grown (from about 8x seed sources now).

In terms of soil requirements, Asimina triloba prefers free-draining soils that are deep (as they are heavily tap-rooted) and rich. They have been grown and fruited in many areas of NZ (e.g. Auckland, Waikato, Manawatu, Nelson – to name a few). Not many pawpaws are self-fertile, so best to plant a few.

Seeds per packet: 8

Germination Instructions

The seeds have already been cold-stratified for 3 months, so you can plant them as soon as you’d like and plant them outside where they’ll continue to cold stratify until germinating naturally in Spring, or you can germinate them inside, or you can keep them in the fridge until planting out during Spring.