Paw paw seeds

So my neighbor was having landscaping and mulching done today and he wanted to have them put the mulch from on the side of his house to our house (there's only a few feet in between our homes that we just keep as a wide mulch pathway of sorts). Close to the side of our house I keep my mushroom logs and it's where I set up a nursery for young or vulnerable plants until they are ready for transplant. We told the head of the crew not to mess with my seedlings, and the message apparently didn't get conveyed to the rest of the crew. Long story short, they pulled out the larger two of my three remaining 2yr old pawpaw seedlings that I had planted last year. I'm taking a long-shot with them anyway, because to shade them for the first couple of years the best spot I have is that side yard. I've heard they are tough to transplant, but it's a risk I'd probably have to make because my yard is so sunny I might not be able to get them going anywhere else until they are more tolerant. I'd like to ask if anyone has any leftover pawpaw seeds if I could buy or send a envelope with postage on it for 1-5 pawpaw seeds so I can start over. I can easily wait until next year, the wildlife conservation district in my area sells seedlings every year, but in the off chance that I could start a different strain, it might be better for fruit production. Kind regards, Dee.

Denise,

Sorry for your loss. I wanted to say I would recommend tree tubes for the pawpaws. I have another post on this topic somewhere, but planting the pawpaws in tubes I had 100% survival, in a wide open field. Seems to be enough shade for them. Tubes are off after a year (they are now three years old after transplanting year 2) and they are happy and big.

Some species like the tubes, some were miserable in tubes (mildew, beetles, etc) but the pawpaws loved it. You don't need big tubes, a 24" should be fine. I got forest service seedlings and intend to try to get some scion wood to field graft this winter, they look that good!

If you plant in soil and then add the tube I would leave it on for two years.

Foxgreen might send you some seeds if you beg, most are done shipping for the year.

https://jiovi.com/collections/frontpage/products/pawpaw-paw-paw-prairie-banana-asimina-triloba-improved-from-jiovi-seeds

HI Denise that is a serious bummer!  I just planted Paw Paw seeds this year and after reading I don't expect any of them to come up.  I have some young apple trees ringed in comfrey and just dug holes and plopped them in.   Love the tube idea.

I don't have any extra seeds but I bought mine at Baker Creek.  I just checked and they have 5 seeds for 5 bucks.  They are selling the premium giant.  Good luck.

By an odd Twist of luck, I have a friend named Fred San Miguel who just got an order of pawpaw seeds. It was a very big deal for him. They came wrapped in paper towel in a special styrofoam container, very handled looking. I will get him on the phone and see if he will tell us where he bought them.

Thank you all, I'm glad to hear that tree tubes work well for them, and I'll try that next time. And Michael thank you for trying to locate your friend's supplier, I appreciate that! I found a seller that is fairly close to me in south central Pennsylvania that has seeds for sale that he's already stratified, so I may give those a chance. I thought it was nice that he is offering several varieties and can sell you a mix of early, mid, and late ripening seeds. Here's the link to his seeds in case anyone else wants to check them out: https://www.etsy.com/listing/291209493/10-ready-to-plant-2017-pawpaw-seeds

agh, well the missile had already left the silo.
Baker Creek Heirloom seeds, rareseeds.com
5 seeds for $5. if it is of use to anybody.

I agree with TJ on the deep containers.  I have transplanted many pawpaws successfully.  Just make sure that your hole is deep and dug before you remove the pawpaw. Have all of your amendments ready. MOve it just after it wakes up in the Spring or before it goes to sleep in the Fall.  Place it in gently and water it and it should be ok.  Make sure to keep your paw paw seeds moist. Like citrus seeds, they are from places that get a lot of summer rain.  If they dry out, they won't germinate.  Apples are from dry summer places and so they can dry out, then germinate, but not so with Paw paws.
JohN S
PDX OR

You should look at getting a couple of different varieties so they will pollinate and produce fruit.  My PawPaw is maybe 14 years old and I have seen maybe 3 fruit.