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About now those, little banana looking bunches, that got pollinated and are going to take, should be distending and starting to swell.
I wanted to include some pictures of obvious takes and probable drops, but couldn't negotiate the editing process to get the phone pics/files small enough to be acceptable. The apparent link to free photo editing websites in the forum support is broken.
sweepbjames said
The apparent link to free photo editing websites in the forum support is broken.
Forum support is a very difficult place to explain anyways since we all have our different levels of experience with cameras and technology. So, fortunately for you, I went behind the scenes where you look everybody up, and you (sweepbjames) last pictured a pawpaw tree with yellow leaves in 2017, is 302 wide by 405 pixels.
...and my last image (Rooney, year 2018) upload would be 600 pixels wide, correct??
So once you all get comfortable with that my next question might be what you are doing different this time since you had posted your last picture in as far as you can remember. Sometimes I know I stumble forgetting that these member uploaded pictures only upload when you invoke the "attachment" icon from the HOS editor tool.
Try any picture out now and then refresh the internal link above to see if it loaded as practice. You can always change the image (I think). You would always be capable of re-entering an updated post all night long while we are sleeping too.
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'Boy, I just don't know how I edited that photo to get it to load. Seems a couple times I've been lucky, but mostly not successful in figuring out the interface. At this time it looks completely unfamiliar to me, and not responsive to my stumblings about mucking around in it.
The point being, back to topic - that the little clusters of fruitlets or potentials (looks hopeful) but, unless they start to move out of that mostly downward hanging orientation, spreading outward and upward, pretty rapidly, they're probably going to let loose at the stem/branch junction and drop off.
Fruit set is a little hard to determine right now as the immature 'takes' hide amongst the emerging vegetative push, but I was thinking I was seeing a reversal of the past three years of unassisted pollination trend. I can yet be wrong but my Wilson, that blooms starting a week and a half earlier, and continuing about two weeks after the 'Mango' has finished putting out new flowers, seemed to me to have a larger fruit set than that of the Mango. In the last 3 years, Mango set maybe 8-12X the amount of fruit (berries)that Wilson offered. Maybe the mango has decided high output for three-five years running was due for a rest, I read somewhere that some pawpaws may benefit from some fruit thinning. I think particularly bigger fruited varieties, and to keep brittle limbs from breaking.
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I have two paw paws: One is a Sunflower and the other is a Overleese. Overleese had one blossom last year and none this year. No fruit yet. Sunflower had maybe 10 blossoms last year and one fruit. This year it had maybe 15 blossoms and one fruit is left. Sunflower is maybe 10 feet tall going straight up. Looks healthy. About 6-7 years old. Overleese is about 4-5 years old. I am not concerned about the Overleese, it could still be considered young, but I would have thought that the Sunflower would have produced more fruit by now. The small fruit all seem to look good and then shrivel up and fall off. I have tried artificially pollinating knowing that the flowers start out as female and become male.
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Welcome to the forum Jekahrs. I also have a sunflower. I've been so busy listening to Marvin Gaye and CCR that I let some grape vines grow over it and it didn't make any fruit this year. They do take awhile. Artificially pollinating is a great way to get TONS of fruit. I do think they need water during our dry spells because back East where they're from it rains in the summer, not the winter, and that's what they're used to. I have had fruit fail just from that some years.
John S
PDX OR
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Thanks for the welcome! I know you are one of the big paw paw guys here in Portland. I have two paw paws, a Stella fig, loquat, medlar, Rhubarb, Yuzu, Hardy Kiwi and Arctic Kiwi (Not producing yet). Pinot Noir vines (5 clones but only for show.( I get my grapes for winemaking from valley farmers), eating grapes, currents, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, Liberty and Ashmead Kernel apple and 4 way plum. I try to integrate the several of the plants into my "subtropical garden" in my backyard. Aside from the problem with the paw paws, the Stella fig keeps dropping the first crop. I usually have a good second crop that mostly ripens. Maybe the Mosaic virus or is this a fig characteristic? Apple trees have rust and some tips that turn silver and then brown. Cedar rust maybe? Sprayed with Serenade. I spray the paw paws with water at least once a week and let the water drip down the plants like it is rain. Figure they probably are used to that.
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I like the innovative rain substitute technique on the Paw paws.
Nice diverse yard. Great work.
Different figs have different seasons. Some only have a fall main crop. Others have a summer "breba" crop. I would investigate Stella because I don't grow that one. My Desert King used to only have the summer breba crop but with our bigger heat units we're now getting both.
John S
PDX OR
In summer, 2017, I planted container specimens of Pawpaw "Sunflower", "NC-1", and "Rebecca's Gold". In subsequent years, I also planted "Mango" and "Allegheney". I forget the year for those, possibly 2015 and 2016, respectively. Rebecca's Gold died of something. Mango has not thrived. Allegheney is making good growth but didn't bloom yet this year.
"Sunflower" and "NC-1" have been blooming for 3 or 4 years. Each year, I hand pollinate them. I've had tiny fruits form and fall off. This year, "Sunflower" has about a dozen or more clusters, and "NC-1" has one.
I'm pretty excited. Might get to taste my own pawpaws. I give each tree, 2 5-gal buckets of water each week, using the method of a 5-gallon bucket with two 1/4 holes drilled in the bottom. They are also mulched with a thick tree leaf mulch, and they are in full sun.
I'm not in Portland per se. I'm in Battleground WA, which is almost Portland but fewer cars and more deer.
These are on "Sunflower".
As are these.
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I lost track of the initial posts.
James, I hope you don't mind the direction it took. If you'd like to email me some pictures, I'd be happy to take a stab and getting them into the thread via a free web hosting site. I do apologize that posting pictures in this forum isn't the easiest with the constraints.
I think HOS will be getting a group page on Facebook to supplement our interest page. I'm hoping that it will be an easier and livelier interface for people to have these exchanges, and pictures can be uploaded directly.
Daniel, I like the look of your NC-1. Those exhibit significantly more growth than mine. I'll have to get my act together. Looks like you have some herbs at the base. I've been contemplating doing that. I'd rather have perennial herbs in my mulch than tansy, trailing blackberries, and thistle which seem to want to grow there - along with cherry seedlings.
Jafar, I cut about 18 inches off of the main lead on that NC-1, to make it branch out better. I can't reach the top branch to pollinate or do other maintenance. It is a vigorous tree.
Also, I planted herbs around most of my fruit trees, thinking that the stringy roots might inhibit mole tunneling and hill making, and for pollinating insects to fest on. I don't know if that actually works, but moles don't seem to dig through them. I have oregano, lemon balm, and various mints. It's also nice mowing when the mint spreads through the lawn, makes a nice smell in the air.
OK guys, thank you! I will do a trial write before offering to write one. That way I don't have to worry about deadline. I'd love to share my learnings and experiences.
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These are photos taken June 3 that, thanks to Rooney, I finally took another jump at uploading.
In the first, the cluster at index finger is to my mind a probable fail, Ring finger a probable take. The round framed pic, upper cluster of the three shown is yet undetermined, i'd not be surprised at a fail. I call all the rest 'takes' except the last pic; I'd say a decided fail.
I note that the distention of the takes begins very early on. You see on some the spent petals haven't even cleared.
Thanks for the encouragement Rooney, and Jafar.
Of course the 'takes' are a bit larger now. Ill try to shoot some pics in the next couple of days to upload.
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Great shots, James. Yeah, James might be #1 Pawpaw man around here. It's definitely not me. It sure is fun to see people's fruit growing and get your mouth watering. DOn't forget that they need extra water this time of year because their native summer is hot and very wet. Humid too.
JohN S
PDX OR
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I took pictures of developing pawpaw berries yesterday to post with the caption to say "it looks like it won't be long now". Usually for me the early side of mid october is when I'll see some drops, than after 3-6 days there will be a few on the ground every morning and evening. a little earlier last couple years. I had two drop a week ago, I thought 'aberration', 'damn squirrel', but one of them was far enough along that in a couple of days I got a first taste of the year.
and then today I see
Pickin' up the pawpaws, putting' 'em in your pocket
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SusanSusan wrote "I have two pawpaw trees. One has green leaves, the others' leaves have turned yellow. Anyone know why?"
This photo of my two pawpaw trees was taken 10/28/17. Wilson on the lefter Mango to the right.
Wilson was a little ahead of Mango at that time.
Below were taken today11/27 Wilson on the left Mango on the right.
I would consider the yellowing probably normal at this time of the year; you've likely got one with an earlier habit, all things being equal. Unless the yellow one is substantially higher up the hill or otherwise didn't get similar water to the greener one, that could also be a consideration.
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I planted 2 potted pawpaws in fall 2013. One flowered 2017. This same one flowered and produced 24 fruit this year 2018. The other did not flower. I live out in the middle of nowhere, so there was no flowering pawpaw close enough to pollinate it. This pawpaw is either self-fertile or parthenocarpic. My research indicates that this is not possible.
I bought them from a small nursery, and I believe they are seedlings, neither special or grafted. The fruit were delicious and fragrant. This tree is self-fertile, early fruiting for a pawpaw, and delicious. I have saved and am chilling seed for planting next spring. It needs pruning, so hopefully I will have scions for the fruit show next Mar. I have been unable to find pruning info. I would like to open it up and limit its height, if possible. What do folks think?
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The Sunflower variety is self-fertile, so it is certainly possible for a seedling to be self-fertile as well. Pawpaw trees don't naturally grow very tall, and they don't need ziplocs/fruit sox, even to grow organically. The fruit will fall when ripe. I don't personally see a need to limit the height. Most people don't really prune them. They tend to be free from diseases and pests here in PNW. Sharing the scions is a nice thing to do. Good fruit karma for you.
John S
PDX OR
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As to pruning, I see that height does not matter provided it does not shade the trees north of it. I can make sure that falling fruit has a soft place to land.
However, I think that the foliage is way too lush, and with any other tree, I would want to do some thinning cuts. It has started to fruit, and the fruit is the best I've eaten, including paw paw's tropical cousins. I would rather err by not cutting than by doing it wrong and reducing fruit yield
@stacysowers, you can check this list.
If it says "selected from the wild", then it is not a hybrid or further developed. Sone of those are available in some catalogs. For example, Sunflower is selected from the wild in Kansas, Mango from Georgia, and Wells from Indiana. You can find those in various catalogs. I have Sunflower, got it at Portland Nursery 6 years ago, and it does great here.
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staceysowers, it sounds like you want something that represents what grows wild, if I understand correctly not being familiar with ethnobotanical gardens.
If that's the case, you might like a seedling offspring of one of the wild selections that Daniel recommends. I'm assuming you don't want a grafted tree which is what you'd get if you buy one of those named selections from a nursery.
Or get some seed from wild collected fruit or a seedling from such.
Idyllwild
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