Cold hardy paw paw available?

Does anyone have cold hardy paw paw seeds available? I can trade honey locusts seeds,  or I'm happy to just pay for them.  Would like to end up with at least 10 trees,  so 20 - 40 seeds would be great.  As many varieties as possible, and several sources would ensure diversity.
Thanks for reading.

People I know have planted pawpaws here (Northern Utah) and apparently the deciding factor isn't cold. They can survive the cold just fine, they can't survive the dry air and lack of water.

I grew 10 from seed last year but I started them too late and they didn't survive the winter.  I want to start them earlier this year.

I grew mine from seed I kept in damp paper towels in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator all winter and had about 30 percent germination.

-40 F  was our coldest temperature this winter,  but that was short- lived and extreme even for here.  Every winter we have days that are more than -20 F so zone 5 trees may or may not survive here.  I have had good luck with zone 5 trees with heavy mulch if I get them pretty well established before it gets too cold. 5 degrees is pretty balmy weather compared to ours 😊

Hi Trace,

If I recall correctly, they are only cold hardy to zone 5, so if you want to grow them there in zone 4 ish, they will need a micro climate to survive. They will also do best growing in pots where they can get some shelter in the first winter, at least untill they are more established after the first winter sheltered. If the tree doesn't have the ability to produce enough sugars, their cold hardiness drastically diminishes based on that poor health or vigor. So keeping them in tip top health will be essential to winter survival. The only down side is with grand solar minimum on the horizon, it's not the best time for pushing the boundaries of winter hardiness. As unusual cold weather in winter will be a common problem during grand solar minimum, making any long term use of most micro climates obsolete for effectively pushing cold hardiness zones with long lived perennials like trees.

If I'm correct about the cold hardiness, it may be best to look at more hardy options like apples, plums, mulberry and even honeyberry for tasty fruits or berries.

Hope that helps!

I believe The Draw in northern Wisconsin grows and experiments with pawpaws. It's a really neat permaculture orchard/nursery

R. Steele wrote:Hi Trace,

If I recall correctly, they are only cold hardy to zone 5, so if you want to grow them there in zone 4 ish, they will need a micro climate to survive. They will also do best growing in pots where they can get some shelter in the first winter, at least untill they are more established after the first winter sheltered. If the tree doesn't have the ability to produce enough sugars, their cold hardiness drastically diminishes based on that poor health or vigor. So keeping them in tip top health will be essential to winter survival. The only down side is with grand solar minimum on the horizon, it's not the best time for pushing the boundaries of winter hardiness. As unusual cold weather in winter will be a common problem during grand solar minimum, making any long term use of most micro climates obsolete for effectively pushing cold hardiness zones with long lived perennials like trees.

If I'm correct about the cold hardiness, it may be best to look at more hardy options like apples, plums, mulberry and even honeyberry for tasty fruits or berries.

Hope that helps!

I agree.  I mostly try to plant things that are zone 3, just to make sure my plants are a little more resilient in case we have a really hard winter.  I just really want to try paw paw.  I had a few at one time, one lasted three years before it got killed by rodents over the winter.

James Landreth wrote:I believe The Draw in northern Wisconsin grows and experiments with pawpaws. It's a really neat permaculture orchard/nursery

James, thank you!  That looks like it may be a great resource.

I haven't been to The Draw yet but hope to this year.  While they're in far northern WI, they're 5a since they're on a peninsula in Lake Superior.  

That's officially their zone, but it's gotten down to -40 there I believe

Try Twisted Tree Farm in upstate NY.