I have attached a picture of the trees I received, and in the foreground I put the pots that contained the Allegheny and Shenandoah pawpaw I received last spring from Forrest Keeling.

The trees I received from Forrest Keeling were $20.00 each and did not survive the winter (not their fault). The sticks in the pots are after a growing season. The trees from England's were 35.00 each. Wish I had know at the time that Keeling's trees would only be 6" tall.

He does a stellar job for me as well. His plants have always grown well and the packing methods cut no corners.

I wish he'd hold some for another year in pots and sell these larger trees at a premium price.

Sorry to hear about your older pawpaws getting froze to death. I had a pair of cultivar transplants that met the same fate this past winter too. The winter was harsh-- burrrr!

I think the transplanted ones are less cold hardy early on. The plant's taproot is delicate and does not like to be moved at all.

I have had better success with direct seeding in March (after stratifying wild fruit seeds in the refrigerator all winter). Three out of nine seeds have grown for a few years now. They need the shade, and grow SLOWLY. They can be grafted over with fancy varieties after they get big. Pawpaws grow wild by the hundreds all along the Potomac River where fruit seeds can be readily obtained in Aug/Sept.

By the way-- One of the best pawpaws I've ever tasted was Allegheny. There's a very nice gentleman who grows it at his orchard in Carroll County, Md, which is where I sampled the fruit. Allegheny can obtain more of a rich orange color (rather than a yellow or cream color) and can achieve great sweetness and flavor with less of the cloying funkiness other varieties sometimes exhibit. Allegheny is my new favorite and one I definitely plan on growing.

Best of luck with your plants :)

-Matt

There is a difference between a nursery that only mass-propagates what someone else has developed and one that is involved with new cultivar development and run by a single family (or person).

The truth is that England sells out of most things even before it hits the catalog. Ordering a year in advanced is the only way to guarantee you'll get what you want.

When I placed my recent order I also requested a Winter Delight jujube, and he told me I may get it next year depending on whether or not he has enough scion.

England's is not in the same niche as Stark Bros.

I was interested in some of its jujube trees. But I was told he planted (or going to plant) all the small trees in the field. He only has large trees for sale. This is puzzling.

I do not know if he grows the small trees for fruits to sell. Or he wants the small trees to grow large and he would sell the large trees for more $$.

Fruit trees take some time to grow and develop. We do not have one or two years to wait. If he does not have it, folks just move on to the next one who has it. To me, as long the trees are in good quality, I do not care if this is a one-person shop, or a large farm who hire 20 workers.

Having said that, for the guy specifically interested Jujube, you might check out Roger Meyer. There is good information on the site, but no on-line ordering. One needs to be patient with the old fashion operation, but I haven't talked to anyone who knows more about Jujube.

I plan to garage them over the first winter at least.

I lost several trees that were shipped in the fall because they were shipped when my trees were almost dormant and the new ones were behind. These arrived in time to go dormant along with mine but I'm not going to risk it.

Pretty much everything I do is experimental. I would have failed long ago if it weren't for the GW members.

I understand that you are concerned with losing trees over the winter. But why do't you wait until the new trees go dormant. You still have all the time if you do not plant them right away.....

It is my understanding that these were pot-grown. I have lost at least 5 jujube so far. I know they can survive here because I have seen a mature tree in an old gentleman's BYO. I posted a picture because I had never seen one before and was told it was a jujube. (My first ones were bought from Roger Meyer and were shipped in the middle of March. I had forgotten this until now).

I have also lost 4 pawpaw even though they were garaged. I now have a heater in my garage on a thermostat that turns it on at 35F and off at 38F. This, along with more thorough winter watering, will hopefully get them through.

I really never understood the climate difference of the East and the West until I traveled to Florida during the summer. The rain, humidity, and low altitude combine to make a far different climate than I have here. You can actually feel the air! Being in New Jersey you will most likely have much more success than I have had.

You need to understand why your 5 jujube and 4 pawpaw trees died. If they were housed in an attached garage, then the garage temperature should be find. But if the garage is detached, then it would be too cold for the dormant trees in pots.

foot

Update:

I forgot but last year the guy offered me a seedling, but I didn't take it. Apparently some of the fallen fruits grew. The guy has cancer and I won't see him till April or May, if he is still with us? (stage 4 lung cancer). Crap I should get one before I cannot! Maybe I can even send a seedling. I will look into it next spring, I will not forget. I for sure can steal a fruit at least for seeds, but that would be next fall.

I think one reason I haven't had luck with getting some things through the winter is the absolutely desiccating air we have in Colorado. I am not sure it's so much the temperature as the humidity, or lack thereof. Anyway, they seem to fair better garaged.