pawpaw trees

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Food source variety would be my answer.Many people want deer food abundant all over their property regardless of when it drops. I know deer have 4 legs but Id like to think their ranges can be somewhat decreased by quality food sources all year long,and that is regardless of when it comes available. Personally,I think fertilizing fence rows and field edges is one of the best warm season things we can do as deer enthusiasts.
 
I planted several PawPAws a couple of years ago but let them become overwhelmed with grass and weeds. My fault of course.

Regarding when they drop, I'm trying to get a variety of deer feed growing on my property that will attract/feed deer year round rather than just stuff that drops fruit in hunting season to hunt over.

Keeping year round food available has to improve hunting because it allows more deer to use your land as their core area or at least part of their core area. That has to help when hunting season rolls around even if you never hunt directly over the food source - which I rarely do.
 
diamond hunter said:
Food source variety would be my answer.Many people want deer food abundant all over their property regardless of when it drops. I know deer have 4 legs but Id like to think their ranges can be somewhat decreased by quality food sources all year long,and that is regardless of when it comes available. Personally,I think fertilizing fence rows and field edges is one of the best warm season things we can do as deer enthusiasts.
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This is what I'm wanting to do have food year round and not just during deer season.. Was curious as to wether the deer would eat these or not. I'll add I to my list of things to plant.
 
Football Hunter said:
yeah they do,but with so many options that drop during deer season,why plant something that for the most part,does not?
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isn't year round nutrition part of QDM?
 
TNDeerGuy said:
Deer will eat the heck out of them, but so will coons, squirrels, my kids and everything else. They usually drop around the 2nd to 3rd week in August.
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I've seen the early ones drop in August but most in early September. Wonder if it varies by region or year?
 
I have four stands of pawpaw trees scattered around my 130 acre farm. Each stand is located along water drainage areas with decent soils. Unfortunately, I've never found a single piece of fruit. A forester friend told me I may female trees. IS this possible? Could 50+ trees all be female?
 
TNlandowner said:
I have four stands of pawpaw trees scattered around my 130 acre farm. Each stand is located along water drainage areas with decent soils. Unfortunately, I've never found a single piece of fruit. A forester friend told me I may female trees. IS this possible? Could 50+ trees all be female?
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I have 50 plus persimmons on my place,most big enough to climb,none of them fruit,so I guess so.
 
catman529 said:
Football Hunter said:
yeah they do,but with so many options that drop during deer season,why plant something that for the most part,does not?
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isn't year round nutrition part of QDM?
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Yeah,but Ive got that covered with year round food plots of clover,on my place,I wanna plant trees that drop during the season.Main reason I bought my place,so I can do what I wanna do.
 
Football Hunter said:
TNlandowner said:
I have four stands of pawpaw trees scattered around my 130 acre farm. Each stand is located along water drainage areas with decent soils. Unfortunately, I've never found a single piece of fruit. A forester friend told me I may female trees. IS this possible? Could 50+ trees all be female?
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I have 50 plus persimmons on my place,most big enough to climb,none of them fruit,so I guess so.
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pawpaws don't have male and female trees. A stand of pawpaws may be only one tree with many "suckers" connected by the roots, like aspens or sassafras. Pawpaws need two different producing trees to pollinate. Also, they flower very early in the spring and pollination is low because they do not attract bees. Some flies and small insects like that will pollinate because the blooms don't have a fragrance that attracts usual (and more efficient) pollinators. Then when a flower is finally pollinated, it can have one or several fruit to a cluster and sometimes a fruit will drop early because they aren't attached very securely. I've seen plenty of fruits on hillside stands but most fruit production that I've seen comes from right next to the river. Usually a big patch of pawpaw will have multiple unique trees allowing for pollination, it's strange to me that you don't have any fruit with that many trees. I bet they do produce, but you gotta look hard, they blend in and there are never many fruit on a tree they are just low producers by nature.
 
catman529 said:
TNDeerGuy said:
Deer will eat the heck out of them, but so will coons, squirrels, my kids and everything else. They usually drop around the 2nd to 3rd week in August.
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I've seen the early ones drop in August but most in early September. Wonder if it varies by region or year?
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I would bet it is region specific. On our archery club and one place I hunt on the lake they always drop mid-August, but if your seeing them drop in September then that would kind of confirm the region/area specific�Mother Nature is a finicky old bird ain't she?
 
TNDeerGuy said:
catman529 said:
TNDeerGuy said:
Deer will eat the heck out of them, but so will coons, squirrels, my kids and everything else. They usually drop around the 2nd to 3rd week in August.
Click to expand...
I've seen the early ones drop in August but most in early September. Wonder if it varies by region or year?
Click to expand...

I would bet it is region specific. On our archery club and one place I hunt on the lake they always drop mid-August, but if your seeing them drop in September then that would kind of confirm the region/area specific�Mother Nature is a finicky old bird ain't she?
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yep. I also noticed this year was a bumper crop in my area. tons of blooms in march and then tons of fruit in the summer. Did you notice the same thing up your way? you aren't that far off from me.
 
The reason PawPaws attract flies instead of bees (yellow jackets are attacted to them tho)is because the scent of a PawPaw bloom is that of rotting meat. They STINK.

Where I hunt there are TONS of PawPaw trees and only a select few produce regularly. The hogs will suck up every single one of them if a bear doesn't find them first. Bears and hogs don't particularly like one another. I've never (not saying that they won't or don't eat them)saw any sign or evidence that deer are eating them where these are at but, then again the deer density is EXTREMELY low in this area.
 
blountcountyboy said:
The reason PawPaws attract flies instead of bees (yellow jackets are attacted to them tho)is because the scent of a PawPaw bloom is that of rotting meat. They STINK.
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That is what I have read online, but I have smelled many pawpaw flowers and they don't smell that bad to me.

A good way to ID a pawpaw tree, if you already know of one, crush the leaf and smell, has a very distinct odor.
 
Doskil said:
So paw paws grow the best on creeks?
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I have seen big stands of them in creek bottoms alongside creeks, but also up on hillsides just as much. I just have noticed more fruit production from the creek side stands than the hillside ones, but that could just be my experience and might say nothing about pawpaws in general.
 
It was a great year for Paw paw production here in east TN this year as well. A buddy picked up three 5 gal buckets full the fist week of Sep. on his farm. Most grow down low near water sources here as well.
 

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