Dwarf Pawpaw

Size, growth and what to expect

Dwarf pawpaw grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It usually stands 6 to 8 feet tall and 2 to 6 feet wide, within a range of 3 to 12 feet. It reaches tree size only in the limestone country of Florida. Seedlings bear their first fruit at about 4 years in the open, or about 7 years under trees.

Brownish-purple flowers about three quarters of an inch across sit singly along last year's shoots in April and May, before the leaves. They have a faintly fetid scent. The fruit is a greenish-yellow berry 1 to 3 inches long that ripens from July to September. Its flesh is sweet, and songbirds, wild turkeys, squirrels, raccoons, opossums, black bears and foxes eat it.

It grows wild from southeast Virginia to Florida and west to Arkansas and east Texas. Its home is sands and sandy loams in dry pine and oak woods, and sandy alluvium on river terraces.

How to grow Dwarf Pawpaw

Dwarf pawpaw prefers part shade and takes full sun once it is established. It wants loose, well-drained soil, acid to neutral and moist to dry. It fails in dry, compacted ground. Set plants 6 feet apart, and keep them 3 feet from a wall. It stays small enough to grow within 15 feet of overhead wires.

Saplings ship potted. The long taproot makes moving it difficult, so plant from the pot with the root ball whole, in a hole wider than the pot and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Sow fresh seed outdoors in fall, three quarters of an inch deep. For spring, hold it damp in the refrigerator for 60 to 90 days first. Germination is slow and uneven.

Water weekly through the first two summers, since young plants need some care to settle in. Give them light shade at first, because only established plants take full sun. Keep a mulch over the roots, and prune only to remove dead wood.

One plant will not set fruit alone, so plant two or more from different seed. Flies and beetles pollinate the flowers. Wild stands of pawpaws set little fruit, because pollination is poor. The fruit often drops while still hard, green and sour, and it softens if laid out on a tray.