The pawpaw tree
The pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a small deciduous tree that carries the largest edible fruit native to North America. It grows wild in the understory of eastern hardwood forests and takes to a backyard readily, with two quirks worth knowing up front: it is slow to start, and it needs a partner tree to fruit.
What a pawpaw tree is
Botanically the pawpaw is the northern outlier of the custard-apple family, the same tropical family as cherimoya and soursop, but hardy enough to shrug off a cold-country winter. In the wild it lives as an understory tree, shaded by taller oaks and maples, and spreads by root suckers into dense patches, the pawpaw patches of the old folk song. Its broad, drooping leaves turn clear yellow in fall, and in spring it opens maroon, six-petaled flowers before the leaves fully expand.
That forest heritage explains most of how it behaves in a yard. A pawpaw wants rich, moist, well-drained soil, tolerates shade better than almost any other fruit tree, and produces best in full sun once established.
How big do pawpaw trees get?
A mature pawpaw is a small tree, not a shade tree. Most settle between 15 and 25 feet tall, with the occasional specimen reaching 30 feet or a little more. The shape depends heavily on light: a tree in full sun stays shorter, denser, and roughly pyramidal, while a tree in shade grows taller and more open as it reaches upward. Expect a spread of about 15 to 20 feet on an open-grown tree.
One thing to plan for is suckering. A pawpaw sends up shoots from its roots, and over years an unpruned tree becomes a thicket of clones. That is fine for a wild hedge and a problem in a tidy bed, so decide early whether you want a single trunk or a patch, and remove suckers accordingly.
How fast do pawpaw trees grow?
Slowly at first, then steadily. In its first year or two a young pawpaw spends almost all of its energy underground, building a deep, brittle taproot, and the top can look like it is doing nothing. This is normal. New plantings also resent full sun in their first summer or two and do better with light shade while they establish. Once the root is set, growth picks up to roughly a foot or more of new height a year in good soil.
For fruit, patience is the rule. A tree grown from seed generally takes about 5 to 8 years to bear, while a grafted named variety, being mature wood already, often fruits in 3 to 4 years. If you want fruit sooner, start with grafted trees of two different named varieties.
How to grow a pawpaw tree
- Plant two. Pawpaws will not set fruit from a single tree or from suckers off one root. You need two genetically different trees close enough to cross-pollinate, so plan for a pair from the start.
- Give young trees light shade. Seedlings and first-year transplants can scorch in full sun. Shade them for the first summer or two, then let them into full sun for the best fruiting.
- Keep the taproot intact. The deep, fragile root makes pawpaws hard to transplant from the wild and best planted young from a deep container. Disturb the root as little as possible when planting.
- Rich, moist, well-drained soil. Match its forest home: fertile, consistently moist but never waterlogged, slightly acidic ground.
- Expect light natural fruit set. Flies and beetles, not bees, do the pollinating, so many growers hand-pollinate with a small brush to improve the crop.
Starting from seed instead? That is its own process, because the seed must never dry out and needs a long cold spell before it will sprout. See how to grow a pawpaw from seed.
Where pawpaw trees grow
The native range runs across much of the eastern United States, from the Gulf Coast up through the Ohio and Mississippi valleys into the Great Lakes and southern Ontario, and east to the Atlantic, broadly USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8. Gardeners grow them well outside that range too, as far as the Pacific Northwest, wherever the summer is long and warm enough to ripen the fruit before frost. Cold-hardiness is rarely the limit; a short or cool season is.
Not sure about your spot? Our can I grow a pawpaw grow checker gives a zone-based verdict for any US ZIP code, and the state pages point you to nurseries and orchards near you.
Buying a pawpaw tree
You have two choices. A grafted named variety, such as a Peterson selection or a KSU release, gives you known fruit quality and earlier bearing, at a higher price. Seedlings are cheaper and more variable, which is fine if you have the patience and the room to grow several and keep the best. Whichever you pick, buy two different genotypes. Our directory lists nurseries that carry pawpaws by state.
Common questions
How big do pawpaw trees get?
Most mature pawpaws reach 15 to 25 feet tall, occasionally to 30 or 35 feet. In full sun a tree stays shorter and denser, almost pyramidal; in shade it grows taller and more open as it reaches for light. Left alone, root suckers turn a single tree into a small clonal patch over the years.
How fast do pawpaw trees grow?
Slowly at first. For the first year or two the tree pours its energy into a deep taproot and the top barely moves, which is normal and not a sign of a problem. After it establishes, growth picks up to roughly a foot or more a year in good conditions.
How long until a pawpaw tree fruits?
A seedling usually takes about 5 to 8 years to fruit. A grafted named variety fruits sooner, often in 3 to 4 years, because it is already mature wood. Either way you need two genetically different trees for fruit.
Do you need two pawpaw trees to get fruit?
Yes in almost every case. Pawpaws are self-incompatible, so a flower needs pollen from a genetically different tree, not another sucker off the same root. Two named varieties, or two unrelated seedlings, will cross-pollinate. Their flowers are pollinated by flies and beetles rather than bees, so fruit set is often light without help.
Where do pawpaw trees grow?
They are native across much of the eastern United States and into southern Ontario, roughly USDA zones 5 through 8, and grow well beyond that native range where summers are warm enough to ripen fruit. Use our grow checker to see the verdict for your ZIP code.
Keep going
- What is a pawpaw, and what does it taste like?
- How to grow a pawpaw from seed
- How to graft a pawpaw
- Pawpaw pollination: why a flowering tree may not fruit
- Harvesting pawpaws and common pests and problems
- Named pawpaw varieties and when they ripen
Grounded in the Kentucky State University Pawpaw Program, the USDA-recognized repository for Asimina, and grower guidance from Peterson Pawpaws. Form and timing vary with site and season; treat the ranges here as guidance.
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