Comment by cmrdporcupine
10 hours ago
My pawpaws (Asimina triloba) mainly need (house) flies to pollinate. They make their flowers look like meat.
I have a couple 100 foot rows of them, it's tricky to get good pollination.
10 hours ago
My pawpaws (Asimina triloba) mainly need (house) flies to pollinate. They make their flowers look like meat.
I have a couple 100 foot rows of them, it's tricky to get good pollination.
My grandpappy told me that if you want a good crop of pawpaws you have to hang a dead cat in the tree. I think dead cats were in greater supply back in his day.
Fascinating flowers for a tree though. Red meat color and odor only a fly could love.
For anyone that’s close, go to the upcoming Ohio Pawpaw festival! https://ohiopawpawfest.com/
Yeah I've wondered about just really nasty ass stinky fresh manure around the base of each tree. That would attract flies.
Probably a flush of nitrogen at exactly the wrong time tho. Most plants respond to that by pushing excess green growth instead of flowering and fruit set.
Solid cow manure is really low in nitrogen, though, and maybe 90% is organic N which is released slowly.
Maybe you meant fresher manure.
1 reply →
they are interesting plants, not many people cultivate them though, what do you do with the fruit? I hear it spoils fast and is not very marketable because of its lack of shelf life.
edit: Just saw your reply to the other guy, actually I'm in Ontario, any chance I can get a fruit or two :) ? I've been wanting to try it
Yeah, you can't really sell it in market as it bruises easily and spoils quickly.
We're in our 7th or 8th year on these trees and only get a dozen or so fruits despite it being quite a few trees. Last year we got none because of heavy rains during pollination time. I've planted more but it will take another 5 years before they do anything.
There are people on FB marketplace who offer them around October when they ripen, keep an eye out.
I will try to check later in the year! I planted a few of my own actually, but considering they are still saplings, it will take some time before i get any fruit myself. I also managed to find some at a park nearby, but I don't think those are producing anything either.
2 replies →
You grow these commercially? Always wondering where I can buy good quality ones when they're in season (in NYC area)
Email me and I can connect you with some. There is a FB group for folks growing them in the NYC area, plus a list of all the parks where they are planted.
No, from those trees we basically only get enough for personal consumption because fruit bearing (so far) is so unreliable.
Also, southern Ontario.
the little beetle that could, and pawpaw's are self-incompatible. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimina_triloba#Pollination
plenty of sap beetles around here, but i don't tend to see them on my pawpaws. they come around later season when my raspberries ripen
would not rule out the cash crop farming on both sides of me from doing a number on the insects, though i seem to have plenty overall.
unfortunately an excessive number of japanese beetles