Potomac Pawpaw grows hefty fruits weighing three-quarters of a pound or more, each one a meal in itself. This hardy cultivar, developed through deliberate breeding by the legendary pawpaw breeder Neal Peterson, thrives in zones 5-9 and produces remarkably sweet, creamy flesh with an impressive fruit-to-seed ratio of 96%. The fruits ripen in mid-season, arriving in fall after a spring bloom, and the tree adapts well to full sun or partial shade in soil ranging from slightly acidic to neutral.
Full Sun
Moderate
5-8
?in H x ?in W
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Moderate
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Each Potomac fruit carries barely a trace of seed, meaning nearly all of what you harvest is edible flesh. Breeder Neal Peterson cultivated this variety specifically for its rich, melting texture and smooth consistency, qualities you'll taste immediately when the fruit ripens. At three-quarters pound per fruit, these are genuinely substantial harvests, not the thumbnail-sized pawpaws of wild trees. Growing this cultivar requires about 400 chill hours, making it practical for gardeners in cooler climates who thought pawpaws were out of reach.
Potomac Pawpaw fruits are eaten fresh, out of hand. The custard-like flesh is the main attraction; you simply scoop it from the skin with a spoon. The substantial size of each fruit makes it genuinely practical for sharing or meal-scale consumption, unlike smaller pawpaw varieties that barely serve one person.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors in a warm environment between 60-75°F. This temperature range supports consistent, reliable germination.
Transplant outdoors after frost danger has passed and soil has warmed, ensuring the young tree establishes before summer stress.
Harvest Potomac Pawpaw fruits in fall when they yield slightly to hand pressure and have reached full size, typically 3-4 inches long and weighing around three-quarters pound. The fruits will naturally drop when ripe, so monitor trees regularly and pick them before they fall to bruised ground, or collect them shortly after they drop. Pawpaw ripens over several weeks in the fall season, so multiple harvests are typical.
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“Potomac Pawpaw emerges from Neal Peterson's dedicated decades of pawpaw improvement and selection. Peterson, one of the most significant contributors to modern pawpaw cultivation, worked methodically to breed out the wild pawpaw's limitations, developing varieties that produce larger fruits with higher seed-to-flesh ratios and more refined flavors. Potomac Pawpaw is a sister variety to the popular Susquehanna, both products of Peterson's breeding vision to transform pawpaws from a foraged curiosity into a reliable home-garden crop. These cultivars represent a milestone in making this native American fruit accessible to contemporary gardeners.”