# Southern Pawpaw (Asimina pygmea) > A pawpaw only a foot or two tall, of Florida and Georgia flatwoods, with maroon flowers in spring and fruit that gopher tortoises eat. Also called gopher-berry, Asimina pygmaea. Category: Nut & Fruit Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/southern-pawpaw/ ![Southern pawpaw (Asimina pygmea) nodding maroon flowers and green buds beneath leathery leaves](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/southern-pawpaw-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AAsimina_pygmaea_279195059.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 1 to 2 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 8 to 9 - Grows wild in: Sandy barrens - Native range: Florida and Georgia - Sun: Full - Soil moisture: Average, Dry - Growth rate: Slow - Traits: Showy flowers, Edible, Wildlife value - 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 Southern pawpaw is a low shrub, 1 to 2 feet tall, of sandy pine flatwoods, savannas and low sand ridges in central and northern Florida and southeast Georgia. Its flowers are maroon, sometimes mixed with white or green, and have a fetid smell. Gopher tortoises eat the fruit, which gives it the name gopher-berry. Georgia ranks it critically imperiled, though it is frequent in central Florida. Plant it in a sunny, sandy bed or a pine flatwoods garden, where its odd flowers can be seen up close. ## 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 low shrub, usually 1 to 2 feet tall and 1 to 1 1/2 feet wide, with one or a few arching shoots from a long taproot. Maroon flowers, sometimes mixed with white or green, open from March into June. They have a fetid smell. The fruit is a yellow-green berry 1 to 2 inches long, and gopher tortoises, birds and small mammals eat it. It grows on the sandy peat of pine-palmetto flats, in savannas and low sandy fields, and on low sand ridges, in central and northern Florida and southeast Georgia. It is frequent in central Florida. ## How to grow Southern Pawpaw Southern pawpaw needs full sun and a sandy soil, acid to neutral, that stays somewhat moist but never floods. It takes fairly long dry spells once rooted, but not salt water or salt spray. Set plants 2 feet apart, and keep each one 2 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. Young plants need care to settle in. Other pawpaws studied cannot pollinate their own flowers, so plant two or more from different seed for fruit. Flies and beetles pollinate the flowers. It crosses with slimleaf and netted pawpaws where they grow together. Zebra swallowtail and pawpaw sphinx caterpillars feed on the leaves. ## Sources - [Flora of North America, vol. 3: Asimina pygmaea, Kral](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500180) - [NatureServe Explorer: Asimina pygmea](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.158563/Asimina_pygmea) - [Florida Native Plant Society: Asimina pygmea](https://www.fnps.org/plant/asimina-pygmea) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant Database: Asimina pygmea](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ASPY2) - [Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Biodiversity Portal: Asimina pygmea](https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=21988) - [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 Southern Pawpaw, add ?species=southern-pawpaw with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=southern-pawpaw&zone=8&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Southern Pawpaw](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=southern-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=southern-pawpaw - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Southern 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=southern-pawpaw - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Southern 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=southern-pawpaw:2 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Southern Pawpaw flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.