How to grow pawpaw from seed: clean seeds from ripe fruit and never let them dry or freeze. Chill them moist in a sealed bag in the refrigerator at 32 to 40°F for 70 to 100 days, sow 1 inch deep in tall pots, and shade seedlings their first year. Expect fruit in five to eight years.
This is TN Nursery's order and shipping help site, run by TN Nursery, the third-generation family nursery in Altamont, Tennessee, growing native trees and plants since 1959. Below are the seed steps, with figures from Kentucky State University's pawpaw planting guide, and an honest look at when a bare-root seedling gets you to fruit sooner.
How to grow pawpaw from seed, step by step
-
Collect seeds from ripe fruit
Pick seeds from soft, fully ripe pawpaws. Rinse off all the pulp so the seeds are clean before you store them.
-
Keep the seeds moist from the start
Pawpaw seeds die if they dry out or freeze. Kentucky State University reports that three days of drying at room temperature cuts germination to under 20 percent, so move cleaned seeds straight into storage.
-
Cold-stratify for 70 to 100 days
Seal the seeds in a zip-top bag with a little moist sphagnum moss and keep them in the refrigerator at 32 to 40°F. The moss holds moisture and helps keep mold down. Most growers start this in fall, right after harvest.
-
Sow 1 inch deep in tall pots
After chilling, sow each seed 1 inch deep in a loose, well-drained mix with a pH of 5.5 to 7. Use tall containers, such as 14 to 18 inch tree pots, because the seedling sends down a long taproot first. Warmth of 75 to 85°F speeds things up.
-
Wait for the shoot
Seeds usually germinate in two to three weeks, but the shoot takes about two months to appear above the soil. Keep the mix evenly moist and be patient.
-
Shade the young seedlings
Pawpaw seedlings are very sensitive to full sun, which can kill them. Give them shade for the first year, and sometimes the second.
-
Transplant in spring, roots intact
Pawpaw roots are fleshy and brittle, with few fine hairs. Move seedlings in spring as new growth begins, and slide the whole root ball out of the pot without breaking the taproot.
Seed or seedling: the time to your first pawpaws
A pawpaw usually starts bearing once it reaches about 6 feet tall, which takes five to eight years from seed, according to Kentucky State University. Growth is slow in the first two years while the roots establish. Starting with a tree that is already a few years along takes those first slow seasons off the clock.
| Starting point | Head start toward fruit | What you do first | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed from fruit | None: five to eight years from seed to fruit | Clean, keep moist, chill 70 to 100 days, sow in tall pots | Seeds that dried out, or seedlings scorched by sun |
| Bare-root seedlings, 6 to 24 inches | Skips chilling, germination and the first months in a pot | Soak, plant with the taproot straight, shade | Roots drying out before planting |
| Bare-root pawpaw tree, 1 to 5 feet | Closest to the 6-foot height where pawpaws usually start bearing | Soak, plant at nursery depth, mulch, shade | Bending or breaking the taproot |
TN Nursery offers both routes past the seed stage. Pawpaw Tree Seedlings (Asimina triloba) come in bundles of 100 at 6 to 12, 12 to 18 or 18 to 24 inches, which suits a large planting. For a home garden, the Pawpaw Tree comes in heights from 1 to 2 feet up to 4 to 5 feet, plus a 1-gallon container option.
Planting two pawpaw trees for fruit
Pawpaw flowers cannot pollinate themselves, so plant at least two genetically different trees. Kentucky State University suggests spacing them about 8 feet apart. Trees grown from different seeds are genetically different, so a bundle of seedlings already holds many pollination partners. In a home garden, order and plant two trees together so they can cross-pollinate once they reach fruiting size.
Where pawpaws grow
Pawpaws grow wild from the Gulf Coast to southern Michigan and do well in USDA hardiness zones 5 to 8. TN Nursery's Pawpaw Tree page lists the same zones and a mature size of 15 to 30 feet tall. Young trees want partial shade; established trees take full sun or partial shade in rich, moist, well-drained, slightly acidic soil.
Planting a bare-root pawpaw when the box arrives
TN Nursery ships its pawpaws by height bare-root and dormant, so they arrive leafless with bare roots. That is normal for the season. The Pawpaw Tree also comes as a 1-gallon container tree; plant that one at the depth it sits in its pot. The product page lists the shipping window, and TN Nursery's shipping page covers how orders ship.
- Open the box on arrival and keep the roots moist until they go in the ground.
- Soak the roots in water for about an hour before planting.
- Dig a hole deep enough to take the taproot straight down, without bending or coiling it.
- Set the tree at the same depth it grew at the nursery, then water well.
- Spread 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the base, keeping it off the trunk.
- Give the young tree shade cloth for its first year or two, just as you would a seedling grown from seed.
Other native fruit trees from TN Nursery
If you are planting pawpaws for fruit or wildlife, TN Nursery grows other fruit trees to plant beside them. The Persimmon Tree is another native fruit tree, and Diospyros Virginiana - American Persimmon Seedlings come in bundles of 100 or 500 for larger plantings. The Elderberry Tree and Mulberry Tree round out a backyard planting of fruit and berry trees.
Pawpaw seed questions
How to prepare pawpaw seeds?
Rinse every bit of pulp off seeds taken from ripe fruit. Then seal them in a zip-top bag with a little moist sphagnum moss and refrigerate them at 32 to 40°F for 70 to 100 days. Never let them dry out or freeze, since either kills the seed.
Do you need two paw paw trees to get fruit?
Yes. Pawpaw flowers cannot pollinate themselves, so plant at least two genetically different trees, about 8 feet apart. Trees grown from different seeds count as different, so a pair of seedlings works. Ordering two trees together is the simplest way to be sure.
What states can grow pawpaw trees?
Pawpaws grow wild from the Gulf Coast to southern Michigan and suit USDA hardiness zones 5 to 8, which covers much of the eastern United States. Check your zone before you order, and plant where young trees get some shade.
How fast do pawpaw trees grow from seed?
Slowly at first. Growth stays slow for the first two years while the roots establish, then picks up. Trees usually begin to fruit once they reach about 6 feet tall, which takes five to eight years from seed. A bare-root tree skips part of that wait.
