Paw Paw
Asimina triloba
North America's largest native fruit: custardy, tropical-tasting paw paws in August after maroon spring flowers. Deer won't touch it.
Typically 1 quart–3 gal · $17–$85 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Aug 138 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Aug 148 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Aug 158 AM – 2 PM
The only native fruit tree that tastes tropical and deer won't eat.
The paw paw is North America's largest native fruit tree, and it earns its place in any landscape twice over. In April, maroon-purple flowers emerge on bare branches, unusual, slightly eerie, and beloved by flies and native bees that emerge early in the season when little else is open. Come August, the fruit appears: soft, custardy, tropical-tasting. People who taste one for the first time can't believe it grew here. The foliage is bold and tropical-looking, up to twelve inches long, turning clear yellow in fall before dropping. Paw paw spreads by root suckers over time, forming dense colonies in the wild. Plant in a naturalized area and let it do what it wants. Deer won't touch it. The leaves and stems contain acetogenins that deter most mammals, which is exactly why you want it in a yard where deer pressure is real.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown paw paw propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part sun
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 8–20 ft · 8–15 ft wide
- Bloom time
- Mar, early spring
- Bloom color
- Maroon
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- Family
- Annonaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from New York to Florida, west to Nebraska and Kansas
Care notes for paw paw.
Paw paw prefers partial shade when young, especially in hotter zones, and moist, well-drained soil with good organic matter. Plant at least two seedlings for cross-pollination to get reliable fruit set. Hand-pollinating with a small brush improves yields dramatically. Established trees are largely self-sufficient; water during drought the first two years.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside paw paw.
Or skip the guesswork.
Curated packages bundle complementary species for an instant habitat. One reservation, one pickup day, a printed layout map.
Short on Space Package
For gardeners who have an abundance of passion but are short on space, this package features tidy, upright, clump-forming natives that behave and function well in small spaces.
Shade Bed Package
Ferns, sedges, and woodland natives that thrive under existing trees.
Birder’s Paradise Package
For the avid bird watchers and budding ornithologists in our community, the Birder’s Paradise Package consists of species that Hill House Nursery staff and longtime native plant advocates such as Doug Tallamy consider ‘premier bird garden plants’.