Pawpaw/Papaya trees

[attie]

For those who are lucky enough to be able to grow these fruit, one problem seems to be that the tree becomes to tall, so the step ladder has to come out.
Here's a way to alleviate this problem
[1] Cut the parent tree off at say 4' from the ground, put a tin over the stump to keep the water out. Throw the head away.
[2] The trunk will then start sending out branches and when these branches get about a foot long cut them from the tree and strike them in a good potting mix. Take care, it's pretty tricky, don't forget to dip the cutting into a hormone starter.
[3] Once the new tree has established, plant out and this is what you should get after only 4 months -- boy, he's a better gardener than I

and if you're real good

 

[silentmeow]

That looks beautiful. I'd love to try that but these Michigan winters are hard. Perhaps I could try one inside with a grow light and mistings?

 

[bethzaring]

In the United States, pawpaw trees and papaya trees are distinctly different trees and fruits. The fruits are not similar at all. Pawpaws are native to my area and have never gained any following here. There is a somewhat local pawpaw festival to promote the pawpaw....but they have along way to go....

 

[loghouse1]

Yes, the Pawpaw trees that we have here in Ohio are very different. A much smaller fruit, and hard to find even in my country setting.

 

[larry_stewart]

I bought a few paw paw trees, planted them in my yard. They havnt grown much, but also havnt died either. Im curious to taste the fruit, but it seems it will be years away.

 

[Jeff G.]

Paw Paw's are very tasty. On my last canoe trip they were ripe and all around the campground we were in down in Missouri. We ate them raw, along with the wonderfully sweet persimmons that were falling off the trees. Personally, I prefer the persimmons, but the Paw Paws would make a great cream pie!!!

 

[quicksilver]

Beautiful, healthy specimen, attie. Thanks for the pics. I've never tasted one. What/how do you present them for consumption?
Raw? Cooked? How?

 

[Claire]

I consider them to be definitely different. Because I lived above the freeze line in Florida, I took my papayas in for the winter and still didn't have a lot of success. I don't think I ever paid for an avocado, papaya, mango, or lime when I lived in Hawaii. If I wasn't growing them (I had a lime tree, which for some reason my neighbors called lemons, and a papaya tree), someone I knew was. To this day I cannot figure out why mangoes are so expensive, given that if you go south of Daytona (that's pretty much where the freeze line is most years), people have more mangoes than they could possibly eat.

 

[attie]

Beautiful, healthy specimen, attie. Thanks for the pics. I've never tasted one. What/how do you present them for consumption?
Raw? Cooked? How?

Sorry for the delay quicksilver, once they have turned yellow and a little soft around the top of the fruit they are ready to eat. They are extremely sweet as a rule so just scrape the seeds out and away you go

For us the pink flesh one we call Papaya and the yellow flesh one we call Pawpaw. I do know what you are saying about the US Pawpaw and yes, it is a totally different fruit. I am not sure, but I think we might call it a sweet apple, perhaps

 

[quicksilver]

Thanks, Attie. So you eat them raw, or juiced? Are they grilled or anyother way cooked?

 

[attie]

Thanks, Attie. So you eat them raw, or juiced? Are they grilled or anyother way cooked?

They are used green in Thai cooking quicksilver, here's a link for Thai salad. I think a few Asian countries use them in cooking. No good for juicing but good for tenderising tough steak, marinate the steak in slices of green pawpaw for 10/15 minutes.
YouTube - How to make Thai Green Papaya Salad
It seems they are used mostly to make salads,

 

[quicksilver]

Thanks for all the info, and the link.

 

[Porthand]

Papaya is also called mountain pawpaw so that may be the source of confusion in the common names. Paw paw native to the US <Asimina triloba> is the temperate cousin of a group of mostly tropical plants native to the Americas. Its other common name is custard apple.