How to grow pawpaw from seed: clean fresh seed from ripe fruit and never let it dry out. Chill it moist in the fridge at 32–40°F for 70–100 days. Sow it 1 inch deep in a tall pot, keep the soil warm, and shade the seedling through its first summer. Expect fruit in five to eight years.
This is the TN Nursery potting shed. TN Nursery is a third-generation family nursery in Altamont, Tennessee, growing native trees and plants since 1959. Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is one of our favorite native fruit trees, and it grows well from seed at home. It just asks for patience and a few rules you can't skip.
Below you'll find the steps, a month-by-month calendar from fall fruit to a seedling you can plant out, and an honest look at when bare-root pawpaw seedlings get you to fruit sooner.
How to grow pawpaw from seed, step by step
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Pick ripe fruit and pull the seeds
Use fruit that is soft and fragrant. Each one holds a row of large, flat brown seeds.
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Clean off all the pulp
Rinse the seeds in a bowl of water and rub off the pulp and thin skin. Leftover pulp grows mold in the fridge.
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Bag them damp
Put the seeds in a zip bag with a handful of damp peat moss, coco coir or a damp paper towel. Damp, not dripping. Label the bag with the date.
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Chill for 70 to 100 days
This is called cold stratification: a cold, moist rest that copies winter and wakes the seed up. Keep the bag in the fridge at 32–40°F, never in the freezer. Check it once a month and re-wet the mix if it feels dry.
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Sow 1 inch deep in a tall pot
Pawpaw grows a long taproot (one main root that heads straight down) before it shows any leaves. Use pots at least 10 inches deep. Sow each seed 1 inch deep in a light, well-drained potting mix.
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Keep the soil warm and moist
Seed sprouts best in warm soil, around 75–85°F. A heat mat helps indoors. The root starts in two to three weeks, but the shoot takes about two months to break the surface. Don't give up and dump the pot.
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Shade the seedling
Young pawpaws burn in full sun. Grow them in bright shade or under shade cloth for the first year, and often the second.
Why pawpaw seed must never dry out
Pawpaw seed is not like a bean you can keep in a drawer. The baby plant inside dies if the seed dries out or freezes. According to Kentucky State University's pawpaw planting guide, just three days drying at room temperature drops germination below 20%.
Tip: Keep seed damp from the moment it leaves the fruit. If you can't clean it the same day, leave it in the pulp in a sealed bag in the fridge.
Month-by-month timeline from fruit to seedling
Here is a sample calendar for a fall harvest in the Southeast. Shift it a few weeks for your own area.
| When | What you do | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| September–October | Harvest ripe fruit, clean the seed, bag it damp | Clean brown seeds |
| October–January | Chill in the fridge for 70–100 days | No change; that's normal |
| January–February | Sow 1 inch deep in tall pots, keep warm | Nothing above the soil yet |
| February–March | Keep moist and warm | A root grows down out of sight |
| March–April | Move to bright shade once shoots show | First shoot and leaves, about two months after sowing |
| May–September | Water, shade, feed lightly | Slow top growth; most of the work is in the root |
| Next spring | Plant out or pot up while dormant | A small seedling ready for its spot |
First-year shade and care
- Shade: give 50% shade or more for the first summer. Morning sun with afternoon shade works well.
- Water: keep the pot evenly moist. A pawpaw seedling that dries out in a pot can stall for weeks.
- Don't disturb the root: if you must move a seedling to a bigger pot, slide the whole root ball out in one piece.
- Winter: keep potted seedlings sheltered from hard freezes, which can crack pots and damage roots.
Seed or nursery tree: time to a plantable tree compared
Pawpaw trees usually start to bear when they reach about 6 feet tall. Kentucky State University's guide puts that at five to eight years from seed.
| Step | From seed | Nursery-grown tree from TN Nursery |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Fall, with fresh fruit | When the box arrives |
| Chilling and sprouting | About 5 months of fridge time and warm pots | Already done |
| First year in a pot | Yes, in shade | No pot year; light shade after planting |
| Time to a plantable tree | About 18 months from fruit | Ready the day it arrives |
| Cost | Low, if you have fruit | You pay for the head start |
| Best for | Patient growers with fresh fruit | Anyone who wants trees in the ground this season |
So a nursery tree saves you about a year and a half of seed work. Following the calendar above, fall fruit becomes a plantable seedling only in the second spring after harvest. A nursery tree also skips the risky part: the drying, the chilling and the slow sprout. And a taller tree starts closer to that 6-foot mark.
For many trees at once, see our Pawpaw Tree Seedlings. For a few trees in the yard, see the Pawpaw Tree.
Planting bare-root pawpaw seedlings from TN Nursery
Most of our trees ship bare-root and dormant. Here is what to do when the box arrives.
- Open the box the day it comes. Check that the roots are still damp.
- Soak the roots in a bucket of water for a few hours. Never let them dry in the sun or wind.
- Dig a hole deeper than it is wide, so the long taproot can go straight down without bending.
- Set the tree at the same depth it grew, fill with native soil and water well.
- Space trees about 8 feet apart, as Kentucky State University advises.
- Give young trees some shade for the first season, and mulch to keep the soil moist.
Plant in spring, as new growth starts or soon after. That's the timing Kentucky State University recommends for pawpaw.
Other native trees to grow alongside pawpaw
- American persimmon seedlings, or single persimmon trees: another native fruit tree.
- Eastern redbud seedlings: a native flowering tree.
- Witch hazel seedlings, or single witch hazel shrubs: a native shrub.
Pawpaw seed questions
How long does it take for a pawpaw to grow from seed?
Expect about five to six months from a fall harvest to a green shoot. That counts 70–100 days in the fridge, then about two months in a warm pot. Fruit takes much longer. Trees usually bear once they reach about 6 feet tall, which takes five to eight years from seed.
What is the fastest way to germinate pawpaw seeds?
Start with clean seed that has never dried out. Give it the full 70–100 days of moist cold at 32–40°F. Then sow it in warm soil, around 75–85°F, on a heat mat if you're indoors. Cutting the chill short doesn't speed things up; it usually means fewer seeds sprout.
Can I plant pawpaw seeds straight from the fruit?
Yes, if you sow cleaned seed outdoors in fall and let winter do the chilling. Mark the spot and protect it from digging animals. A hard freeze in bare soil can kill the seed, so the fridge method is safer and lets you watch your seed.
How deep to plant pawpaw seeds?
Plant them 1 inch deep in a light, well-drained mix. Use a pot at least 10 inches tall so the taproot has room to grow straight down. If a root has already started in the fridge bag, lay the seed so the root points down.
Do I need two pawpaw trees to get fruit?
Yes. Plant at least two genetically different trees so they can cross-pollinate. Each seedling grows from its own seed, so a group of seedlings does this well. Space them about 8 feet apart so they grow as a small patch.
Why are pawpaws hard to grow?
Three things trip people up. The seed dies if it dries or freezes. The long taproot hates being moved, so a small pot or a rough transplant sets it back. And young seedlings burn in full sun. Handle those three and pawpaw is an easy native tree.
