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Growing Paw Paw Trees

Making It Grow! Minute logo

  Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Although in nature paw paws grow in filtered light, you’ll get more fruit if they grow in full sun. Young plants, however, can’t survive that harsh environment and you’ll have to put shade cloth over them for the first few years. But other than that they are relatively easy. The few pests they have are moths and butterflies. Webworms and the pawpaw peduncle borer can be controlled with the organic pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis. Paw paw is the only host plant for the larva of the zebra swallowtail butterfly - surely you can sacrifice a few leaves so this beautiful creature can reproduce. The leaves contain bitter compounds and deer and other animals don’t browse on them – however, lots of animals enjoy the fruits and spread the seeds. It’s believed that Native Americans carried seed with them and are partially responsible for paw paw’s extensive range.

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Amanda McNulty is a Clemson University Extension Horticulture agent and the host of South Carolina ETV’s Making It Grow! gardening program. She studied horticulture at Clemson University as a non-traditional student. “I’m so fortunate that my early attempts at getting a degree got side tracked as I’m a lot better at getting dirty in the garden than practicing diplomacy!” McNulty also studied at South Carolina State University and earned a graduate degree in teaching there.