Pawpaw trees question on shading (Asimina triloba, not papaya)

So I have about 12 pawpaws, two about a foot tall and 10 about 3’ tall. All were planted this fall

Baker creek just sent an advertisement saying they have pawpaw seeds for sale but noted you need to shade them for a few years and full sun will hurt them in that period.

Has anyone here done that or had issues with not doing that?

Zone 6a/b, Louisville area.  In an open field with other fruit trees of similar size.

i have some being delivered today actually.
i did a good bit of reading, and after 3-4 yrs old
they should be able to handle full sun
especially in your zone. though, im not sure i would plant them in a very dry area with full sun,
unless you have irrigation.

smaller plants should not get full sun
and maybe only a couple of hours of direct sun per day
over a couple of summers it can be increased to full sun (6hrs +)

not sure how you would do that in an open field
except maybe keep them in large pots for a year or 2.

also...
Pawpaw usually  put out a VERY deep taproot.
if you have to keep it in a container, it should be very deep.
or, you can look into pruning the end of the tap-root..
im no expert on that, but it should stop it (the tap) from growing ,
and it normally doesnt hurt the plant, but, Pawpaw may be different, im not sure.
i would ask a Pawpaw pro


http://www.petersonpawpaws.com/CulturalAdvice.php

http://www.pawpaw.kysu.edu/pawpaw/ppg.htm

They suggested putting cages around them and adding shade cloth.  Sounds like I do need to do that then. Easy enough with just 12 trees.  Any suggestions on what % shade I should go with?  

They are already in the ground, so can’t do pots etc

I have planted pawpaw (Asimina triloba) trees in Missouri. It is true that full sun will burn them and kill them. I have the same guideline Brad does, shading for the first three years should be pretty safe. These trees are used to growing in understory of ravines and the banks of tributaries with lots of trees overhead. When grown in understory, their crown will be more sparse and stretching in order to find the dappled sunlight. Out in orchard style, they can resemble peach trees if pruned well. But, if planted in orchard style in the open, you will have to shade them for three years.  I simply used some cheap welded wire for a cage and went to a thrift store and bought a bunch of extra large pillow cases and pull them over the cages. I think next time I would use a canopy style so there is more breeze flowing past the sapling so it is a bit stronger in the wind as it gets larger with a fuller crown.

As a small side note, since there is an international audience to these forum postings, I find it a good idea to include the scientific name of this tree to avoid confusion. There are some places in the world where papaya trees are referred to as pawpaw. If you refer to them as Asimina triloba, there will be no confusion.



Photo is of pawpaws I planted orchard style on an acreage in northwest Missouri.

Awesome, thanks for the pictures!  

I like the pillow case idea due to some winds we get vs canopy, but understand what you are saying about strength.

M Johnson wrote:So I have about 12 pawpaws, two about a foot tall and 10 about 3’ tall. All were planted this fall

Baker creek just sent an advertisement saying they have pawpaw seeds for sale but noted you need to shade them for a few years and full sun will hurt them in that period.

Has anyone here done that or had issues with not doing that?

Zone 6a/b, Louisville area.  In an open field with other fruit trees of similar size.

PawPaw tree leaves will sunburn until they are around 5 years old, if you plant trees that were raised in shade out in direct sunlight, you will have mortality issues.
The pawpaw tree grows wild as an understory tree, it starts out in deep shade and as it grows it reaches towards the sunlight, it normally takes a pawpaw tree 4 to 5 years to actually reach enough height to get leaves into mostly sunny conditions.
That is the natural growth pattern of the tree, deviate too much from that and the tree leaves will sunburn which will cause the tree to die.
pawpaw seeds are demanding, they have to be stratified for 3 months, they want deep shade, enough heat in the soil and fairly consistent moisture in the soil, this is why they are usually found near streams but not at the exact edge of the stream.

Redhawk

Burnt Ridge offers seeds, seedlings, and named varieties.
http://www.burntridgenursery.com/mobile/Paw-Paw-Trees/products/9/

I'm starting with 6 seedlings this year. Thanks for the advice.

So wouldn't this make them a good option for the areas that are shaded? Am I missing the obvious?

I purchased an ounce of seed from Sheffelds.com last year hoping to grow a few that survive my experimentation with Paw Paw. I'm hoping to graft onto them from some other varieties once I get them going. I have about 18 that have sprouted so far.

We are also planning on Paw Paws for the spring, and I understand that they need shade when smaller, but am confused about how much sun they eventually need. Can they be productive in partial shade as mature trees?

May Ree wrote:We are also planning on Paw Paws for the spring, and I understand that they need shade when smaller, but am confused about how much sun they eventually need. Can they be productive in partial shade as mature trees?

good question.
i look to nature, and figure after 3-5 years they will grow enough to start to peek above the canopy of other trees in the area.
and i am guessing getting a little more and more sun the higher it gets.

i have an area in my yard that gets 2-3 hrs of direct sun, and the rest of the day, shaded by the garage.
i also have bamboo growing, so in summer it will be shaded a little more.
the garage is about 8ft.
i am hoping once the plants get that tall they will be OK.

Redhawk ?

and also hoping the will get that tall after 5 yrs.
they are only about 3ft tall now (just got them in)
https://www.justfruitsandexotics.com/JFE/product-category/fruit-trees/pawpaw/


also got a raisin tree and a CHE.

Brad,
This is my experience. I have several that I have planted from seed, in partial shade.  They grow and as they get bigger, they will be in full sun and produce fruit.  We have bone dry summers, so some deep watering is necessary, as they come from humid and rainy summer areas like US South and Midwest.
John S
PDX OR

John Saltveit wrote:Brad,
This is my experience. I have several that I have planted from seed, in partial shade.  They grow and as they get bigger, they will be in full sun and produce fruit.  We have bone dry summers, so some deep watering is necessary, as they come from humid and rainy summer areas like US South and Midwest.
John S
PDX OR

thanks
i am in New Orleans, so water isnt an issue.
it rains a lot, and the water table is high.

I kept my PawPaws in the shade first 2 years and then planted and worked well. Other sun sensitive plants i take left over cattle panel sections, and fold them over with sheets or weed cloth positioned to block midday and afternoon sun.

The normal time for pawpaw trees to be in full shade is 2 years, after that they can take dappled shade quite well with no sunburn.  

In their normal habitat by year 4 they are spindly looking trees and looking for the most sun they can find, by year six they are putting off fruits.

Once interesting thing about the pawpaw is that they use flies for pollination and that means, Stinky flowers.
Usually, when I find one in the wild they are around 30 feet tall (this height is how they reach the sunlight so they can produce fruit.

Redhawk

Hi i am from Serbia and i grow pawpaws and i have few pawpaw trees that bear fruit every year.
This year was good and i had a lot of fruits.

https://youtu.be/lzx7uSI5b0w

Thanks for the video Miroslav! Short, sweet and sprinkled with facts and experiences. I like that the Serbocroatian term for pawpaw is "Indian banana" :D