Last Friday, Jackie and I drove to Ohio and attended their Pawpaw festival. It was great! It rained the first part of Saturday morning but the rest of the day was great. We met a lot of folks. We tried lots of pawpaw foods and certainly some Pawpaws! There were trees for sale and yes I did get one seedling. Here are a few pics.

Very nice Dennis! Everyone needs to try a paw paw :) 

I have 3 trees about the size of the one you bought so it will be a few years before I get any from them. I also started some seeds from Cliff England from a couple crosses he's done.

Tyler

Looks like a great festival!  I am jealous.   It would be great to have a pawpaw festival around here.

By the way don't you need 2 pawpaw trees to pollinate and fruit.  You may have to go back next year and get another one..lol
 

It was great!

Pino, that won't be a problem fo me! I currently havee these:

1. PA Golden
2. Mango
3. Taytoo
4. Shenandoah
5. Sunflower
6. NC-1
7. Neal
8. Sweet Alice
9. Wilson
10. Potomac
11. Susqueheana
12. Wabash
13. SESQUAHANA
14. RAPAHONOCK
15. OVERLEESE
16. SUNFLOWER
17. Sue
18. Mitchell
19. and now the Ohio seedling

Congrats on a nice collection of pawpaw and touché.

Oh and I also have these

KSU Atwood
Lehman's Chiffon
Prolific

I plan on hand pollinating these for a few years.

Once you try Pawpaw.....you will be hooked! It truly does taste like a cross between a mango and a banana. I like them when they turn almost black.

I was at a clients house in my area about 5 years ago and he had one in his yard and he was eager to show me. I had never heard of Paw Paws at that point. He gave me a handful to take home and they were very unique tasting. Its hard to believe something that good isn't grown much any more considering its native to the area.

That is quite the list there Dennis!

Wow, I didn't realize there were so many varieties! Wonder if there are any Pawpaws Anonymous groups as well? :D

Happy days are here again,
After waiting all season I found my first ripe pawpaw of this season
lying on the ground. Can't wait to eat it but I promised a good friend that I would let her try eating her first pawpaw ever. Called her today but she could not come over
so it is my refrigerator and I have to wait until she comes over the house tomorrow.
Lou

Darn. I missed it  again! So close, too. Calendared for next year. Maybe I will see you there.

Dennis - would love to see some photos of your pawpaw collection. Do you have them potted, i heard they dont like to be potted. I only heard about them from this forum and they sound so interesting :)

looks like you had a blast!

Ive been wanting to get out there for years and something always comes up, or i forget.
Dennis, have you tasted any of your varieties yet? Id love to hear whats good and whats really good.
im looking into adding one more pawpaw to go along with my 8 inch tall Allegheny. and maybe regraft my moms 8 year old pawpaw seedlings next year as well.

My in laws bought some farm property recently that was in disrepair and as it turns out they have a pawpaw patch down near a creek as well as several pawpaws lining the creek in the other direction.  I knew what they were and harvested the only two fruit I saw.

These were the first pawpaws I have ever eaten (or seen for that matter) so I was wondering if someone could comment on how much 'improved' some of the named varieties are over wild seedlings.  I liked the taste and collected the seeds to try and plant my own however with nothing to compare it to I was wondering if the improved varieties are just miles above a standard seedling.

Bump... I am curious as well to see if anyone who has had both named varieties and wild paw paws can comment if the named varieties ( Peterson, etc) are that much better in flavor ( obviously percent seed would be less) than the wild ones...

I don't know how much the named varieties might be but the wild ones are pretty good.

Bill at the festival, no one that I talked to who had Paw paws, had named varieties. I walked around and asked lots of questions. From what I've seen, 90% of the plants I touched were seedlings. Now, I've been rsearching Paw Paws and in my area noone knows anything about them! One guy told me to just stick with the wild ones growing in my area area. So, that's what I plan on doing. I do have one seedling but plan on getting 2 more tomorrow. I do plan on planting mine in the ground and hope the voles stay away.

When Jon and I were in UCD, he talked about how good cherimoyas are. I've never tasted one but I do know Paw Paws are in the same family. I tasted one a few years ago and now I'm hooked! It has a taste like non other! The Amercian Indians use to pollinate them using a feather. I plan on doing the same next year. Maybe its time to start a PawPaw forum?

Amen to that, Dennis. Thank you for your response. It is paw paw season in PA and I can't get enough of them. They have a flavor that is indescribable and an intoxicating aroma. I gathered about twenty pounds of them earlier this week and am ready to go back to get more.

bump

Dennis, where was the Paw Paw Festival last weekend in Ohio?

This weekend there is a big one in Albany, Ohio.

Thanks

Tad

2017 Ohio Pawpaw Festival

The 19th Annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival will take place Sept. 15-17, 2017. We hope you came to join the crowds of happy folks at scenic Lake Snowden in Albany, Ohio for 3 days of Pawpaw music, food, contests, art, history, education, sustainable living workshops and activities for the kids!

Yes, I know Tad. The 2017 Pawpaw festival IS this weekend in Albany. My post was started in 2015. Look at the dates in the original post. I'm just bumping up my original post.

Dennis,

Sorry about that.  It was getting late last night and I did not pay attention to the date of your post.

I will try making the Ohio Paw Paw festival next year - my sister in law lives in Dayton, Ohio.

I sure wish they did not cancel the Paw Paw festival here in Winston-Salem.

Thanks

Tad

For those who are interested in getting into Annona gardening, I'd suggest Cherimoyas, Atemoyas, or sugar apple instead of Paw Paw if your space is limited.  These varieties can be grown in container and provide you with fruits that are delicious with "topical" aroma.  Please note that these plants are tropical or semitropical plants, so they need to be in the green house or garage with grow light during colder months in marginal climates.  Too far north, I do not think the fruit quality will be good because they do need a lot of sunshine and heat.  Paw Paw is the only one in that species to be cold hardy in the SE U.S.

Hey Tad!  I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the NC Paw Paw Festival was last weekend in Winston-Salem!  You missed it!  LOL!  I was there and picked up a few special pawpaws!  However, you did not miss much.  Last year's festival was 10 time better and flooded with folks.

Below are some special ones I picked up:
Kentucky Champion (2),  
Overleese (2),
Summer's Delight,
Tropicial Treat
Susquehanna

Dennis,

I can't believe it - I got an email about four months ago from the Extension Office saying that the Paw Paw Festival had been cancelled for 2017.

I sure hope they have one in 2018!

Tad