No Guy, it's in S.W. lower Michigan. There's also a PawPaw Lake in Coloma, Mi. where our family would spend our summer vacations when I was growing up.
It sounds like it may have been an Osage Orange. https://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-12-15/why-osage-orange-trees-why-here-why-now/
Have some with fruit like you describe. Sweet Gum, but there may be others. As for Paw Paw, lifelong MD resident and have never seen one. Am familiar with Paw Paw Tunnel, a 3000 ft tunnel for C&O canal. You can bet I'll be looking for them from now on...
Dave, after reading that story you linked, what we called a paw paw had to be an Osage Orange. As kids we used to throw them and smash them, hit them with baseball bats, run over them with mowers and tractors, all in an effort to propagate the species, of course!! Lol Well, still learning something new, just about every day!! Thanks for paw-paw-posting.
Here is the native wild pawpaw range. https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...6I0mO6jDw0pVPBFuGQ&vet=1&docid=jj3LQeIYzpJo9M
Dave, I have two paw paws in my back yard - got them last year. One tried to fruit this yard, but they are still small. I am in Texas, so my growing season is obviously longer. I have heard some people call paw paws "cold weather mangos", but the fruit is obviously different. Paw Paws are excellent for adding to ice cream for flavor or eat like custard from fruit halves. If you have a large market near you (paw paws don't transport particularly well over long distances), you'll be in business because these native No. American fruit are becoming en vogue now in culinary circles. Early Settlers used to rely on these fruit in the forests up until the late 1800's as far west as Missouri and Nebraska where the forests give way to the great plains. Have you had any of the yellow or orange-colored fruit yet?
Hi Hawken, great to find someone else here growing these. My plan for mine is a retirement hobby at least for a few years before my wife retires later and we move South. Maybe I will keep the house here as well. I am going to maybe sell at local farmers market. The way these are taking off I may have buyers lining up so maybe I can name my price. I planted 16 trees of 7 varieties. Believe it or not the ones I just bought are the first I ever tried. The only type they had ready was Shenandoah. They are late I guess they said because of all the rain we have had. This type is pretty whitish inside and is very good. Each one I try is a little different tasting to me? Last night the one I ate tasted a bit banana with also melon flavor. Pretty weird. Very enjoyable. What types are you growing? Have you tried different types?
Guy, I don’t remember seeing them. Do they look like Pawpaws? That area should be full of them. The area at the track near the river is perfect habitat. I know the National Park forest at Mammoth caves is full of them. September is the time to find them.
I have one generic which is supposed to have the softer white flesh like in your pictures and one Sunflower pawpaw which is supposed to have firmer yellow/orange flesh with subtle flavors of mango and orange (pic below). Well, it didn't seem to post, but here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d23roctSz0I
Dave, here's some RI Paw Paw stuff for you. Wow...it looks like they bring pretty good $. https://www.rockypointblueberries.com/styled-6/page6.html There was more stuff about their trees, I think it's on a different page of their site.
That’s cool. Past ripe for this years Nationals. If anyone sees any left snap and post a picture if you can.
Nice, I am growing two sunflowers in my collection. I have one generic that grew like crazy out of the root stock when the graft died off. You never know what you will get with those.
Thanks Frank. More New Englanders are catching on. Sad that a superior native fruit is mostly forgotten. Apparently there is a revival. Nice thing about them is you don’t have to spray them. No real insect pests on fruit. I can say that in at least wet years like this one the earwigs and slugs will eat the leaves however. I had a good fight with them. I guess deer, raccoons and possums as well as squirrels will eat the fruit. I will deal with them when the time comes. Too close to the house for firearms. Maybe a pellet gun to the ass might set them straight.
That is what we generally called a hedge apple. I think they are edible but not that good. Never considered trying one myself.