Sounded like you just fathered 18 babies. Congradulations!.

Oh yes, and I plan on planting all 18 of them in my woods. These things are native to my region, but they're next to impossible to find wild anymore due to the fact they will only grow in established forests (they need shade when small, so there has to be a canopy). I've got 20 acres of woods out here, and I intend to plant a couple in/near the yard for fruit picking, and the rest are going to be spread out through the woods to repopulate.

I have never tasted Pawpaw but read discription of tasted like a banana. Is it truly tasted like? How long does it take for your babies to make you a grandpa? On average, how big is the fruit?

Most I've tried are small mango sized (like those champagne mangos you see at stores). I would say it tastes custard-y, maybe a combo of mango-vanilla pudding? Its good. In my opinion way better than a banana :) [esp since bananas are everywhere :) ]

I had a bunch of paw paw seedlings I started from seed...the first winter they all died! I gave up after that... good luck. I'd recommend planting them in the ground asap, since I think keeping mine in pots is what did them in...

Small manago size and mango-vanilla pudding flavor sounds very appetizing. I am wondering which store sales them.

No stores carry pawpaw fruit, unfortunately. The fruit is generally soft like a banana, but thin skinned like an apple. Soft squishy fruit with thin skin means they don't survive being trucked around and jostled in boxes very well. Only way to really get one is to find someone that has them fresh off the tree.

Oh.......pawpaws are awesome! One of my favorite fruits, and you are right, if they ever are available for sale, it's usually at a farmer's market or roadside stand, but even then, it's rare. The only ones I've ever had we harvested wild. I think I need to plant some pawpaws; y'all are makin me hungry!

You guys really got me interested . I am going to google more about it.

I ordered some last fall from http://www.integrationacres.com/
and agree with amy's description except they have an odd bitter smell and after taste which is probably another reason you won't find them in stores.

I have been growing these in heated tubs with the average temperature about 80F.These photos were taken today.The top one are seeds from a tree in Fremont,CA and the second one are from the Kentucky Champion.The Fremont seeds were planted on February 20th and the others on February 25th,so they are quite vigorous.Also only about 1/3 of the Fremont seeds sprouted,whereas all of the Kentucky ones did.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all these plants,as I haven't a lot of room.Maybe I'll be like Johnny Appleseed and plant them wherever.
I have a question.In the top photo,there is shown a shoot with a seed still attached.Can I help it by cracking the seed away? Thanks,Brady

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Hmmm... usually taking the seed coat off damages the leaves inside in the process, but these are fairly large and they aren't really super hard shelled seeds to start with...

Try the toilet paper trick. Get some toilet paper, wet it, and wrap it around the seed coat. Let it stay there all day/overnight, put some extra drops of water on it whenever it starts to dry out, and just let it sit.

Should soften up the coat enough that it can come off easily.