Lowndes County Master Gardeners collected pawpaw seeds in August, 2024. Seeds were kept moist and refrigerated. On January 31, 2025 the seeds were planted in deep starter pots (to accommodate the growth of long tap roots) at the Extension greenhouse. Germination can be slow. After the Master Gardener plant sale in April the pots were transported to the home of a Master Gardener. Some seeds had germinated and some had not. They were kept watered through the summer in a shaded area. By summer’s end 21 of the 32 sees planted had grown to about 8 inches in height. 

 

What began as an experiment morphed into a project with a plan. The more we learned the more we wanted to share pawpaws with the people of our county. The project was presented at the September monthly meeting and approved as an official LCMG project. 

 

Project mission:

1. To introduce more native fruit trees to Lowndes County, specifically pawpaws. 

2. To educate the public about the native pawpaw.

3. To attract zebra swallowtails. 

 

This will be a three year plan. This first year we will plant 4 pawpaws at Lake Lowndes State Park. Leftover trees will be offered at next spring’s plant sale. 

Seeds have already been collected from this year’s fruit in August-September, 2025. We will repeat the process next year (2026) and choose another public location to plant the pawpaws. We plan to repeat this again in 2027. 

 

Some interesting facts about pawpaws. 

 

Latin name: Asimina triloba.

Seeds must be kept moist to germinate.

Seeds need cold stratification (60-100 days).

May take 7-8 years for tree to produce fruit. 

Pawpaws can reach from 15 to 30 feet at maturity. 

Understory tree native to Eastern U.S.

Clusters can range from 2-9 fruit.

The fruit has a short shelf life. 

The raw fruit contains vitamin C (20%+ DV), magnesium (27% DV), iron (39%DV), manganese (113%DV), vitamin A (10%DV), and potassium (12%DV). 

Can be used in recipes for ice cream, wine, beer, jams, and baked goods.