posted 8 years ago
@Bryant R: "The one thing you absolutely have to do is keep the soil moist but not wet, these trees are found near streams and creeks in the wild, growing up through the canopy so they can get enough sun to fruit. "
Thanks for this additional encouragement. Bryant, you probably are familiar with the Red River Valley (the *really* flat part of North Dakota)....clay soil, high water table, a "challenging" winter which will be selecting hard on the seedlings. But we do live right on a river, so my question is whether or not Paw-Paws have the ability to withstand some flooding. We have some shaded, flood-free areas in which I will be trying to initiate the stand, but as you might image, there is really nice partial shade from older elm, ash, willow, cottonwood, and a few oak that grow along the river. River flooding can occur anytime it's not frozen, but most typically in the spring after the snow-melt and before dormancy has broken on most trees. So I was thinking trying some plantings at about 40 - 60 ft from the river, close enough for the moisture and shading benefit, but far enough away to avoid the sporadic and low-level summer flooding as well as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver and sons....and daughters. And if there is a preferred "overstory" that would be providing the shade for these trees, that would be helpful. We have scattered stands and windbreaks of the aforementioned trees, but also some blue spruce, juniper, box elder, and Chinese elm. Great idea on the transplant procedure.....when you say " put these (grow tubes) in the shade for the first year, preferably two years. ", do you mean with the grow tubes above ground level with their bottoms against the ground or do you mean the whole tube sunk into the ground for digging up later? If above ground, I assume they might need to be brought indoors for the winter (?) Thanks!
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