# Flag Pawpaw (Asimina obovata) > A Florida pawpaw of sand ridges and scrub, with large lemon-scented white flowers from late winter and green fruit that people and wildlife eat. Also called bigflower pawpaw, scrub pawpaw, Asimina grandiflora. Category: Nut & Fruit Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/flag-pawpaw/ ![Flag pawpaw (Asimina obovata) large white flower with three spreading outer petals among leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/flag-pawpaw-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAsimina_obovata_126967112.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 6 to 15 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 8 to 10 - Grows wild in: Sandy barrens, dry uplands and the coast - Native range: Florida - Sun: Full, Part - Soil moisture: Dry, Average - Growth rate: Slow - Traits: Showy flowers, Edible, Wildlife value, Drought tolerant, Rare - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Flag pawpaw is a shrub or small tree of dry sand ridges, scrub, coastal dunes and hammock edges, found only in peninsular Florida. Its large white flowers are lemon-scented and up to 4 inches across, and they open from late winter. The fruit is edible, and zebra swallowtail caterpillars feed on the leaves. NatureServe ranks it vulnerable. Give it deep, dry sand in full sun, where it can bloom early and feed birds and small mammals. ## Size, growth and what to expect No source rates its growth, so our growth estimator treats it as a slow grower, like our dwarf pawpaw, about a foot a year. It is a much-branched shrub or small tree, usually 6 to 12 feet tall and taller than wide, and it can reach 15 feet. New shoots and young leaves carry bright red hairs. Large white flowers with a lemony scent, up to 4 inches across, open from late winter into early summer. The inner petals have a purple zone and are rarely pink or red. The fruit is a green berry 2 to 3 1/2 inches long, and birds and small mammals eat it. It grows on white and yellow sand ridges in oak and pine woods, in scrub, on coastal dunes and at hammock edges, from Glades County north to Clay County. It is found only in Florida. ## How to grow Flag Pawpaw Flag pawpaw needs full sun or part sun and deep, dry, acid sand that drains fast. It takes long dry spells once rooted, but not flooding by salt water. Set plants 8 feet apart, and keep each one 4 feet from a wall. It is small enough to grow within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship potted. The long taproot makes moving it hard, 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 in fall, three quarters of an inch deep, before it dries. For spring, hold it damp in the refrigerator for 60 to 100 days first. Germination is slow, and these are the figures for pawpaws in general. Water weekly through the first two summers, since young plants need care to settle in. Prune only to remove dead wood. Other pawpaws studied cannot pollinate their own flowers, so plant two or more from different seed for fruit. Flies and beetles pollinate the flowers. Zebra swallowtail and pawpaw sphinx caterpillars feed on the leaves. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Asimina obovata, Kral](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500178) - [NatureServe Explorer: Asimina obovata](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.146730/Asimina_obovata) - [Florida Native Plant Society: Asimina obovata](https://www.fnps.org/plant/asimina-obovata) - [Institute for Regional Conservation, Natives for Your Neighborhood: Asimina obovata](https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Asimobov) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant Database: Asimina obovata](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ASOB6) - [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Four-petal pawpaw 5-Year Review, 2022](https://ecosphere-documents-production-public.s3.amazonaws.com/sams/public_docs/species_nonpublish/3628.pdf) - [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Asimina chapter, Bonner](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Asimina.pdf) - [Cox, A. C. 1998, Florida International University thesis](https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/2656) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) - [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Flag Pawpaw, add ?species=flag-pawpaw with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=flag-pawpaw&zone=8&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Flag Pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=flag-pawpaw): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=flag-pawpaw - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Flag Pawpaw is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=flag-pawpaw - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Flag Pawpaw needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=flag-pawpaw:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Flag Pawpaw flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.