A field guide to America's largest native fruit

PawpawMap

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Pawpaw seeds: where to buy them and how to grow them

Pawpaw seeds are cheap, easy to find by mail, and genuinely rewarding to grow, with two rules that make or break them: the seed must never dry out, and it needs a long cold, moist spell before it will sprout. Below: sellers who ship seed, then the full seed-to-seedling method.

Where to buy pawpaw seeds

You can buy pawpaw seeds from dedicated seed houses, from pawpaw nurseries, and from small farm shops on Etsy. Some list them as pawpaw tree seeds; it is the same thing, Asimina triloba. Because the seed is alive and dies if it dries, where you buy matters. Check three things before ordering: the seed should come from recent fruit and never have been dried, it should ship moist, and you should know whether it arrives stratified (ready to plant) or raw, in which case you do the 90 to 120 day cold treatment yourself.

These 14 sources from our verified directory sell pawpaw seed; most ship it, and the notes flag the ones to contact first:

The cheapest source of all is a ripe pawpaw. Every fruit carries a row of big brown seeds, and they grow readily when handled right, so a trip to an orchard or market on the where to buy pawpaw fruit page doubles as a seed run. If you would rather skip seed starting entirely, the where to buy pawpaw trees page lists nurseries that ship seedlings and grafted trees.

Why pawpaw seed is different

Pawpaw seed is recalcitrant, which means it dies if it dries out, so you cannot treat it like a packet of dried garden seed left on a shelf. It is also dormant when fresh and needs a stretch of cold, moist conditions, the kind a seed would get lying under leaf litter through winter, before it will germinate. Skip either point and nothing comes up. Handle it right and germination is reliable.

How to grow pawpaw from seed, step by step

  1. Clean the seed from ripe fruit. Take seeds from fully ripe pawpaws and rinse the pulp off. Do not let the seeds dry out at any point, drying kills them.
  2. Cold-stratify for 90 to 120 days. Seal the moist seeds in a bag with damp sphagnum or sand and refrigerate at about 32 to 40 F for 90 to 120 days. This cold, moist period is required before the seed will germinate.
  3. Plant in a deep container. After stratifying, plant each seed about an inch deep in a tall, deep pot. Pawpaws send down a long taproot early, so depth matters more than width.
  4. Keep warm and wait. Give them warmth and consistent moisture. The root emerges first and the shoot can take until midsummer to appear, so do not give up on a pot that looks empty.
  5. Shade the seedlings the first year. Young pawpaws are shade plants at first and can scorch in full sun. Grow them in part shade for the first summer or two before moving them to a sunnier spot.
  6. Plant two for fruit. Seedlings take roughly 5 to 8 years to fruit and each is genetically unique, which is good: you need two different trees to cross-pollinate and set fruit.
The shortcut. If you have fresh seed in fall, you can skip the refrigerator entirely: sow it outdoors in a protected bed or deep pot and let winter do the stratifying. Protect it from rodents, keep it from drying, and watch for shoots the following summer.

What to expect

Pawpaws are slow and back-to-front compared with most seedlings. The taproot emerges first and grows down well before any shoot appears, so a pot that looks empty in late spring may still be very much alive. Give it warmth, steady moisture, and time into midsummer before writing it off. Once the shoot is up, shade it for the first season or two, then move it toward full sun.

From there it is the long game covered in the pawpaw tree guide: roughly 5 to 8 years to fruit, and always two different trees for pollination. If that wait sounds long, grafted named varieties shorten it considerably.

Common questions

Where can I buy pawpaw seeds?

From seed houses, pawpaw nurseries, and small farm shops that ship. The 14 seed sources listed on this page all come from our verified directory, and most of them ship. The other route is a ripe pawpaw itself: every fruit carries a row of big seeds that grow readily if you keep them moist. See where to buy pawpaw fruit.

Can you plant a pawpaw seed straight from the fruit?

You can plant it, but it will not sprout until it has been through a long cold, moist period. Fresh seed planted outdoors in fall will stratify naturally over winter and come up the next summer. Seed kept indoors needs about 90 to 120 days in the refrigerator first.

Why is my pawpaw seed not germinating?

Two common reasons: the seed dried out at some point, which is usually fatal, or it has not had a long enough cold-moist stratification. Pawpaw seed is slow even when everything is right, sending down a root before any shoot appears, so an empty-looking pot in spring may still sprout by midsummer.

How long does a pawpaw take to fruit from seed?

About 5 to 8 years. If you want fruit sooner, start with a grafted named variety, which can bear in 3 to 4 years. Either way you need two genetically different trees.

Should I grow from seed or buy a grafted tree?

Seed is cheap and the seedlings are all unique, which is fine if you have patience and room to grow several and keep the best. A grafted named variety costs more but gives known fruit quality and earlier bearing. Many growers do both.

Seed-starting supplies

The taproot decides everything about starting pawpaws in containers: a deep air-pruning pot, a pinch of mycorrhizal inoculant at planting, and 50 percent shade for the first summers.

Links below are affiliate links: as an Amazon Associate this site earns a small commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. PawpawMap is a hobby project, and those commissions are what keep it free.

Tall tree pots

Tall air-pruning tree pots (1 gallon, deep)Pawpaws grow a deep, fragile taproot, so a tall air-pruning pot beats a shallow nursery tray: it grows a straighter root system and transplants with far less shock.Shop on Amazon →Root-pruning propagation band pots (deep, square)Square deep band pots pack tightly and air-prune the taproot tip, a common choice for raising pawpaw seedlings and rootstock to graft.Shop on Amazon →

Mycorrhizal inoculant

Mycorrhizal inoculantPawpaws partner heavily with soil fungi. A pinch of mycorrhizal inoculant in the planting hole helps a new tree establish, especially in yard soil.Shop on Amazon →

Shade cloth

Garden shade cloth, 30 to 40 percent, with grommetsA light knitted shade cloth (roughly 30 to 40 percent) keeps first-year pawpaw seedlings from sunburn while still letting them grow. Grommeted edges make it easy to rig over a nursery bed.Shop on Amazon →

Keep going

Grounded in seed-handling and propagation guidance from the Kentucky State University Pawpaw Program. Stratification times are typical ranges; local conditions vary.

The Pawpaw Report

Season-opening alerts by region and nursery restock notes from the map, grafted trees sell out in days. Monthly to quarterly most of the year, more often in pawpaw season; unsubscribe anytime.

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