My Paw Paw patch

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by soccerdad, Apr 1, 2012.

  1. soccerdad

    soccerdad Active Member 10 Years

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    I need to transplant a Paw Paw (Asamina triloba). I read everywhere that they have a virtual tap root and so are hard to transplant but that in any event they must, unlike most plants, be transplanted in the spring after their dormant period has come to an end.

    Mine has buds about .5' long. The temperature here in Vancouver is now reaching about 5 c at night; although it can fall lower it is very unlikely to freeze again. Is there anyone who can say if this is or is not the right time to transplant it?
     
  2. Tree Nut

    Tree Nut Active Member

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    I can't really comment for sure on whether this is the best time to transplant or not, but can't think of a better time than spring to transplant. The size of the tree matters as well, as smaller always transplant better. How are you going to transplant, hand dig or tree spade? The less trauma to the tree (less damage to the roots) the better. If it is reasonably small I don't think you will have problems.

    What I'd really like to know is how old your trees are, how big they are, and whether they have borne fruit yet or not. I have 6 year old paw paws that are chest high, but haven't borne fruit yet. Any luck with yours?
     
  3. soccerdad

    soccerdad Active Member 10 Years

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    I will dig by hand. The tree is only chest height.

    It is about 4 years old. Last year it had blossoms but no fruit. I need another in the vicinity for pollination and although I have two others neither is big enough yet to blossom.
     
  4. Poetry to Burn

    Poetry to Burn Active Member

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    I don't have any transplanting experience. I have the cult 'Sunflower' which is supposedly self fertile. It is to a degree. But when another flowering plant is nearby the fruiting increases exponentially.

    So...when those younguns are mature enough to flower there will be fruit!

    I had a another cult growing near the 'Sunflower'. It flowered for 2 seasons and for 2 seasons I had amazing fruit. Then it died back to rootstock. So now, like you, I'm waiting for the species plant to flower. Without cross pollination the cultivar only hatches about 4-5 fruit from a 15-20 foot tree.
     

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