Raleigh Pawpaw

03/26/2024

My first 2 pawpaw cultivars to start releasing pollen this year are KSU Chappell and Rappahannock. I only have 1 Chappell tree and only 1 of my Rappahannock are releasing pollen so far. My Chappell didn't bear fruit last year but Rappahannock was the first to ripen in 2023. I only saw flies on the Chappell, so tonight I hand pollinated as many receptive flowers as I could with the first pollen of the season! Crossing my fingers for no late freeze...

03/14/2024

PAWPAW SCION collection is complete! Send a message if you are interested in cultivar scions for grafting. Keep in mind pawpaws have an extremely low rooting success rate (think 0.01% or less). These are only suggested for grafting onto existing trees or rootstock.

09/22/2023

Sweet Alice is a wonderland of flavors, and one that surprised me. I shall elucidate. On paper, I would say a cultivar selected almost 90 years ago from seed gathered in 1934 might not be very impressive, but I rather enjoyed this one. This was a selection from the wild in West Virginia and brought to the Holden Arboretum in Ohio by a Homer Jacobs. I can see why this pawpaw has stuck around and has not been lost over the years...in fact it is one of the oldest cultivars still in existence. It was also interesting to feel how durable the skin was on this fruit, shown in the video at the end. Thicker, tougher skin is a trait that breeders are looking for so superior pawpaws with longer shelf life and durability can be bred. The fruit certainly lives up to its 'sweet' moniker, but it isn't overly indulgent.

Aroma: pineapple, honeybun, some pawpaw "wildness," hints of citrus, strawberry
Texture: uneven, but not bad. Lumpy, smooth, some almost crunchy parts.
Flavor: honey, oatmeal, pineapple, ripe cantaloupe, hints of cinnamon, tapioca and just a little bit of bitterness that lingers but is not unpleasant.

09/13/2023

09/09/2023

Had another great year at the Winston-Salem pawpaw field day! Thanks to the Extension employees, volunteers, and customers who make this happen. This was my 3rd year in a row and I hope to keep coming each year. I finally got to meet some other pawpaw nerds from 3 or more states including .pawpaw and always good to see fellow vendor

Go check out Project Pawpaw, he has some cool ideas and it will be interesting to see what he does in the future!

09/08/2023

I love it when you call me big, pawpaw. This notorious "Rap" is another Neal Peterson pawpaw cultivar called Rappahannock. This variety tends to have small to medium size fruit, but as you can see in the last picture, the tree this cluster came from also has some growing to do, so I expect it will produce larger fruit in the future. Despite its tendency to produce smaller fruit than other Peterson cultivars, it was released as a named cultivar due to its excellent flavor, low seed to flesh ratio, and its unique growth habit. It has a yellow color when ripe and the branches and leaves tend to be upturned, which can make spotting fruit easier during harvest.

When I met Neal last year at his research orchard where he is breeding Asimina species hybrids, among the myriad of questions I had for him, I asked if he thought Rappahannock could have had any of the other Asimina species genes in it already (he bred this one before focusing on interspecific pawpaws), since it has such a unique branch and leaf pattern. He started his first breeding program by gathering from defunct or lost pawpaw orchards, including the Blandy Experimental Farm in Virginia. A pawpaw breeder by the name of George A. Zimmerman had tried improving common pawpaw and crossbreeding Asimina species for 18 years until his death in 1941. His widow donated part of his collection to Blandy at that time, including Asimina hybrids. Despite my conjecture, Neal said he does not believe any of his released selections have any other Asimina species in their genes.

Now on to the review!
Aroma: pineapple, peach, roasted honey, with hints of apple and grape

Flavor: pineapple, honey, crème brûlée, with hints of oatmeal, orange zest, cinnamon

Texture: firm, almost chewy, crème brûlée

08/30/2023

PA Gold, also known as Pennsylvania Golden, is not just one pawpaw cultivar. PA Golden was developed as a series of 4 different cultivars, aptly named PA Golden 1, PA Golden 2, and so on. The problem with this system of naming cultivars is that after the years go by, even the most dutiful orchardist might get them confused with each other in labeling. I bought these from as only "Pennsylvania Golden," so I can't tell you for sure which variety it is. I can, however, tell you that this was a delicious pawpaw.

Before doing the flavor profile, it should also be said that this cultivar has been noted to do well in Pennsylvania (go figure), New York, and into Canada. It's an early-mid season ripening cultivar that will yield mature fruit before cold temperatures hit in the North. A cluster of 3 came off my tree on August 26th.

Aroma: honey, pineapple, oatmeal, with hints of vanilla, pear, cinnamon, and grass.

Flavor: light in flavor, well balanced. One that is best described as "pawpaw," but has notes of oatmeal, honey, and hints of honeydew, cantaloupe, sweet cinnamon, and a tiny bit of bitterness but only along the skin.

Texture: firm but melts away. Has some pawpaw "powdery" texture.

This was an 11 ounce fruit, the first year this tree had fruit in the orchard. If I had to guess, it sounds like it may be PA Golden 3, since that variety is reported to have larger fruit than the others. The single cluster on this young tree had two 11 ounce fruits and another that was about 5 ounces.

07/23/2023

It has been one full year since was first confirmed in Forsyth Co. Luckily, there are no other established populations in the state, and we'd like to keep it that way! Keep your eyes peeled! This time of year, the pest is in its showier life stages. If you see it, report it!
https://forestry.ces.ncsu.edu/2023/07/one-year-of-spotted-lanternfly-in-nc

07/17/2023

05/27/2023

MEMORIAL DAY SALE! 20% off most plants with coupon code "memorial" or click the link in my story or highlight. Valid now through Monday 5/29/23! Reminder that I am still pickup only, located in NW Raleigh.

Also, new stock (these 2 are the only items NOT on sale)!:
Elderberry
Buckeye

04/22/2023

Raulston Blooms! I'm attending the event again this year and will be bringing most of what I have listed on the 2nd picture.

Have you been to Raulston Blooms before? Go check it out!

Saturday, April 29th, 10am at the JC Raulston arboretum.

04/09/2023

Stats on the orchard. For some reason this won't cross-post to Facebook.

03/31/2023

Sarah is right down the street from me and has a large selection of plants that I don't. Check them out if you haven't heard of them yet!

The online store is now open!

Please note a couple of important changes this year:

1) We are requiring pre-payment via credit card for Roadside Stand pickups only. To keep from having to raise prices, we ask that everyone else pay with cash or a check as per usual.

2) There is now an option under "pickup locations" for folks who have already made an order and scheduled a pickup, and want to pick up all their orders at one time. (Please only use this option if you are at least 4 days out from picking up your stuff!)

Thanks for being such supportive and kind people! We have the best customers and y'all are very much appreciated. Looking forward to seeing folks this spring! 🐝🐛🦋🐌🐞🌼

03/29/2023

Pawpaw number 100 in the ground! My 100th planted tree was a KSU Chappell scion that I cut and grafted onto seedling rootstock, grown from local wild seed from Swift Creek Bluffs Nature Preserve in Holly Springs, NC. I finally got around to planting 98 and 99 today before the Chappell, and the rootstock was appalling on those two. I purchased Maria's Joy, Tallahatchie, and Allegheny cultivars from One Green World in the Fall, and you can see in pictures 5 and 7 how pitiful the rootstock was compared to picture number 3. I certainly hope they will do well, but I have higher hopes for the one I did on my own.

#100

03/26/2023

03/23/2023

If you hike along a river bottom this time of year, you might see Zebra Swallowtails (Eurytides marcellus) flying up and down the trail. The males have a low (< 10 feet up), rapid flight as they patrol their territory for rival males and search for mates. Zebra Swallowtails are common across the eastern US where they lay eggs on the leaves of paw paw trees. There are three or more generations each year in the South, with pupae overwintering in leaf litter.

As you might guess, the name ‘Zebra’ Swallowtail comes from the black stripes on the wings. Have you seen one this year? Photo by Bob Peterson, CC BY-SA 2.0

03/21/2023

The native plants bill is BACK at the NC General Assembly!

Thanks to Senator Bill Rabon for continuing to lead on this issue. Landscaping state property with native plants is a simple, commonsense way we can help birds and be better stewards of nature. https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2023/S318

03/20/2023

Spring plant sales now open on the website! All these and more available.

Local pickup orders only.

www.raleighpawpaw.com

03/10/2023

These special little beauties have germinated! These are seeds from Asimina parviflora, the other NC native pawpaw, but with a twist. Back on August 3rd I made a post about using common pawpaw pollen from the orchard to pollinate some smallflower pawpaw in a park near me. I pollinated in mid April and came and got the fruit before it was ripe...before animals could steal them.

Hybrids of Asimina triloba and Asimina parviflora have been found in nature where their ranges overlap and recently described by Dr. Charles Horn. These would be called Asimina x piedmontana, or Piedmont Hybrid Pawpaw. What am I going to do with them? Haven't figured that out yet. I will say they germinated faster than common pawpaw and hopefully they might impart some different flavor/aroma characteristics one day.

03/03/2023

"PAWPAW PLANTING PARTY
Sat, March 25, 2023, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
5393 Ham Horton Lane, Bethania, NC 27010

It's a party! Join us and plant your own pawpaw seeds, sample some pawpaw treats, and take a hike alongside a riparian streamside buffer.

Registration is required at
https://go.ncsu.edu/pawpaw_planting_party

The pawpaw tree grows wild in North Carolina. As a component of streamside habitats, it helps maintain healthy riparian (streamside) buffers by filtering pollutants and providing shade. The tropical-like fruit provides food for wildlife, and the leaves are the sole host plant for the beautiful zebra swallowtail butterfly. Under the right conditions, it can be grown in the home landscape where the fruit can be eaten raw, or processed into a pulp for breads and desserts. Join Natural Resources Agent Phyllis B. Smith and sample some pawpaw recipes, plant some seeds to take home, and walk the Black Walnut Bottoms Trail (optional) to see an example of a riparian stream buffer as the trail winds alongside Muddy Creek.

This is a FREE Forsyth Creek Week event. Learn more at http://www.forsythcreekweek.org/ "

It's a party! Join us and plant your own pawpaw seeds, sample some pawpaw treats, and take a hike alongside a riparian streamside buffer.

02/10/2023

(WGHP) — A program in North Carolina is placing a “bounty” on invasive Bradford pear trees as they spread through forests in the state. North Carolinians can remove an invasive Bradford pear …

02/08/2023

Pawpaw flower and leaf buds start forming in Spring for the following year. The first 3 pictures from May 2022 show a round flower bud forming on new growth (pic 1) and a leaf bud forming on a Susquehanna cultivar (pics 2+3). The last picture is of an Asimina parviflora, aka small flower pawpaw, and was taken in August. It has fruit, a brown flower bud, and a brown terminal leaf bud.

02/07/2023

Did you know? The flower buds for the next year start forming in Spring!

12/15/2022

I just reached 1,000 Instagram followers, so you get to enjoy this sorry picture I took just before I ran out the door for the Ohio Pawpaw Festival, thinking I might hit that mark sooner. But really, thank you to customers, peers, mentors, and people interested in what I'm doing!

I changed from just wanting to start a traditional pawpaw orchard and personal permaculture-y yard to including an ever expanding (but small) native plant nursery. I'm at about 100 pawpaw trees in the ground and plan on selling 25-30 native species next year.

Number 1,000 just so happened to be another person starting a pawpaw orchard in Kentucky, so good luck to them as well!

10/20/2022

More birds and butterflies, minimal watering, no fertilizer, healthier soil: There are so many benefits to planting native plants! If you're ready to add some native beauty to your garden, this bundle is the perfect starting point. Includes:

-5 first-year pawpaw seedlings (generously donated by Raleigh Pawpaw)
-$25 gift card for buying native plants from Haw Honey
-1 lb. of local honey (generously donated by Haw Honey)
-Beeswax snail candle (generously donated by Haw Honey)
-3 packets of milkweed seeds for attracting monarch butterflies

RESTRICTIONS: Local pickup only, please. Pawpaw seedlings must be picked up in person from Raleigh Pawpaw in Spring 2023.

VALUE: $110

10/13/2022

Leaves are changing, the weather's getting cooler... and adventure is calling! 🍂

Introducing Autumn Adventures, a NEW virtual auction from Piedmont Wildlife Center. We've curated a truly "wild" selection of items designed to ignite your curiosity, creativity, and wanderlust, including:

🌳 Guided kayak, fishing, & backpacking/camping excursions
🪴 Beautiful garden pottery from Piedmont Feed & Garden Center
🐝 A native plant basket feat. items from Raleigh Pawpaw and Haw Honey
🦉 Private raptor tour and Owl Prowl
🐾 An opossum-themed gift basket for Pickles' and Pepper's biggest fan
☀️ Priority registration for Summer Camp 2023

And so much more! Bidding will take place entirely online and run from October 17th at 9 AM EST through October 31st at 11:59 PM EST. All items also have a "Buy It Now" option. Proceeds from this online auction will directly support PWC's award-winning conservation and outdoor education programs.

Follow the link below to take a sneak peek at all 26 items that will be up for auction... then mark your calendars for 9 AM EST this Monday, October 17th!

--> https://go.rallyup.com/pwc-autumn-adventures-auction-2022

10/07/2022

With a bit of science, maybe someday we will all eat pawpaws.

10/01/2022

October 15, 2022 in Matthews, NC October 22, 2022 in Monroe, NC

09/13/2022

This Thursday, you can watch live on YouTube or watch the video any time after the event.

09/12/2022