# Paw paws



## swampbuck62 (Sep 11, 2006)

Ever try and grow them?.. I picked up several in KY and got the seeds out gonna try and germinate them and plant them on my TN land..


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## swampbuck62 (Sep 11, 2006)

no one


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## jimbo (Dec 29, 2007)

heck, I live in a town named after the thing, but never seen one.
all i know is they look & taste like a small banana & rot quickly.
but I've heard they are making a comeback.
good luck


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## GuppyII (Sep 14, 2008)

I thought paw paws were Osage orange? That's what old farmers west of Lansing always told me...look like a shriveled up green orange, put them in tour house and they scare away spiders! They make good long bows too!


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## eucman (Jan 24, 2009)

My co-worker in Rochester Hills picked some fruit from some trees growing in a nursery in Ohio. He was able to get 3 of them to germinate. They are now planted in a little open area adjacent to a woods in one of our parks. They needed to be protected with fencing since something started browsing on them as soon as they were planted.

I assume you would have better luck growing them in TN than MI.


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

GuppyII said:


> I thought paw paws were Osage orange? That's what old farmers west of Lansing always told me...look like a shriveled up green orange, put them in tour house and they scare away spiders! They make good long bows too!


Nope. They are totally different fruits. Osage orange (AKA hedge apples) are indeed like a shriveled green oranges. They grow all over my stomping grounds in southern Ohio. I tried planting them several times here in MI but they aren't hardy enough to survive wnters here. 
Paw paws are small oval fruits that look like small mangos. If you Google paw paws you'll see what I mean.


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## jimbo (Dec 29, 2007)

DFJISH said:


> Paw paws are small oval fruits that look like small mangos. If you Google paw paws you'll see what I mean.


gues i know less them than i thought


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## swampbuck62 (Sep 11, 2006)

jimbo said:


> guess i know less them than i thought


don't we all...lol

got the seeds in the fridge it says they need 90 days of chill time before you germinate them..


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## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

DFJISH said:


> I tried planting them several times here in MI but they aren't hardy enough to survive wnters here.


I've seen several mature Osage orange trees in SE Michigan.

An interesting tidbit, historically, it is thought that the seed was distributed by mastodons.


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

Radar420 said:


> I've seen several mature Osage orange trees in SE Michigan.
> 
> An interesting tidbit, historically, it is thought that the seed was distributed by mastodons.


My area of the state (north-central MI) has colder winters than the SE part of the state. I have grown dozens of varieties of trees on my property here. The ones I tried to grow that came from my home in southern Ohio were all failures. Those would include osage orange, sycamores, hackberrys, and flowering dogwoods.


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## Trunkslammer (May 22, 2013)

Try planting them in a "micro climate". In other words an area in your yard that is protected from the harsh winter winds and other elements. I know the deer love them.


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

I tried that more than a few years with the kinds I mentioned. I really wanted to have them(especially flowering dogwoods) on my property but...._it is what it is._ 
One "southern" plant that I was successful with growing was multiflora rose (for rabbit cover). However, they have spread so much that they are somewhat of a nuisance. They have "stickers" much larger and sharper than prickly ash or blackberrys, and the only way to get past them without getting RIPPED is to go around them. :sad:


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## Scout 2 (Dec 31, 2004)

They grow wild in the Hamilton area along the river. I use to pick them all the time


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## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

DFJISH said:


> One "southern" plant that I was successful with growing was multiflora rose (for rabbit cover). However, they have spread so much that they are somewhat of a nuisance.


Multiflora rose is considered an invasive species due to it's adaptability and ability to take over an area. It has been found to be susceptible to rose rosette disease which will cause die-back.


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

Radar420 said:


> Multiflora rose is considered an invasive species due to it's adaptability and ability to take over an area. It has been found to be susceptible to rose rosette disease which will cause die-back.


HMmmmm. That sounds just like _autumn olive._ I actually BOUGHT some of that from the SCD years ago. Now they are all over everywhere in my region.


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## Radar420 (Oct 7, 2004)

DFJISH said:


> HMmmmm. That sounds just like _autumn olive._ I actually BOUGHT some of that from the SCD years ago. Now they are all over everywhere in my region.


Yep, very similar. Multiflora rose was also sold through Conservation Districts for many years before anyone knew of their potential problem.


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## GIDEON (Mar 28, 2008)

DFJISH said:


> My area of the state (north-central MI) has colder winters than the SE part of the state. I have grown dozens of varieties of trees on my property here. The ones I tried to grow that came from my home in southern Ohio were all failures. Those would include osage orange, sycamores, hackberrys, and flowering dogwoods.


 Around me Osage trees somewhat plentiful, as well as Flowering Dogwoods, and paw-paws......we were never able to get a paw-paw from a root sprout....two years ago my mother got two started from the dropped fruit.

Lots of flowering dogwoods around here too, mark them now, transplant in early spring while sap is down

Coming From a W.Va, I am always trying to transplant trees we dig up, some that are making it are...Chickapees, Chestnuts are Coming on strong, Butternuts we actually grew from nuts and finally Staeman Winesap apples. There is another I believe that my dad called it a hazel nut, extremely bitter until after the frosts, then very tasty. 

The Osage trees do keep insects away, especially spiders, any body want some just let me know, usually pick about 4 five gallon buckets full for friends. Occasionally get a green trunk limb down for some bow making buddies of mine......

Isnt the Sycamore tree the tree that produces Buckeye nuts?


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## DFJISH (Mar 30, 2009)

GIDEON said:


> Isnt the Sycamore tree the tree that produces Buckeye nuts?


Nope. There is an (OHIO) buckeye tree. It has palmately compound leaves (fan shaped) like a horsechestnut. Buckeyes are round (about the size of a nickle) brown nuts with a large oval light spot on one side. I'd have to Google sycamore to see what kinds of seeds they have, but I know they are not nuts.


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