Q: I have very tall paw paw trees which are loaded with fruit but the fruit is very small in comparison to the trees.
I was a bit slow cutting them back. I have done this before, but they look like they have received too much chook poo fertilizer but they have received no fertiliser at all.
I'd like to have large fruit that I can reach without risking my life! Please advise what I should put on this fruit to enlarge the size. Lorraine - Acacia Ridge
A: The older a paw paw plant gets the smaller their fruit. This is natural, and you have done nothing wrong to bring about the smaller fruit. After about the third or fourth year their production declines and in commercial production orchards tend to start replanting their paw paws after three years.
I cannot assure you that this will work, but it is worth a try if you wish.
Try fertilising your paw paw with triple super phosphate. This has a very high percentage of phosphorous which should stimulate flowering and fruiting in spring. Three months later, follow up with an application of potassium nitrate.
You need to very lightly ‘scratch up’ or fork up the top 50mm of your soil around the trees after laying down your fertilisers and then water it in over a few weeks, but be careful not to over-water paw paws. They do not like wet feet.
Now to the ‘hard’ part…for you. Get into the bunches of fruit straightaway, and remove every second fruit, both large and small. This will give the balance fruit more space to grow, and will mean less energy spent by the plant in carrying too many fruit. Hopefully, those that remain will increase in size.
What I would recommend, though, is that you start afresh with some new plants whilst the old ones are still bearing for you. Remove the old plants altogether once your new trees start fruiting. You will not have long to wait, as paw paws start fruiting within 8 to 9 months of being planted.
Now…there is something you need to know, before you do this.
Paw paws are peculiar, in that some plants bear ‘male flowers’ only, others are confined to ‘female flowers’, still more produce both ‘male’ and ‘female’ flowers, AND some produce ‘bisexual flowers’ with the male and female parts in the same flower.
The male flowered plants will not produce any fruit; the female flowered plants require a male flowered plant in close proximity, for pollination; the other two types have no problem, for they have what is required.
What you need to do, therefore, is start off with some 10 or so new plants. The ‘sex of the plant’ can be identified when they start flowering. At that time, keep the desirable plants and remove the rest – and remove your old plants as well.
I have a well established paw paw tree (about 8 foot high) which has plenty of varied sized green fruit hanging from the trunk. Some are quite large (about 20cms in length) and of a size you would expect to be ready to eat soon. However, none of the fruit seems to be getting ripe and simply stays green. We have had fruit on the tree for more than six months. One fell off a few months ago but it did not ripen while sitting on the kitchen bench. The tree is well nourished through vegie scraps taken from the nearby garden and seems to be thriving. Any ideas on what may be wrong? Cheers Glenn