“For me, the very best moments of an English summer are sitting on a bench next to my pawpaw trees with a cup of tea; I am at peace with no worries in the world!” – Kaz
I’m Kaz (short for Karsan) and live in North London. I am a keen gardener who took an early interest in all things green, helping out my Mum in the garden tending to tomatoes as a young kid. My family are from the state of Gujarat in Northwest India and come from a line of farmers, so this really is in our genes!
As a teenager, I took an interest in growing unusual plants such as cacti, ajwain plant, curry tree, tamarind (to name a few) in the UK, and at one point had beautiful flowers on a six inch tall bonsai pomegranate tree. I currently grow persimmon, goji berries, pomegranates, jujube, red fleshed apples and mulberry trees – not common trees you would find in the average UK garden.
Perseverance pays off
About eight years ago, we redeveloped our property here in North London. As part of the garden design and replanting I purchased five American pawpaw trees (Asimina triloba) from a nursery in Switzerland (this was pre-Brexit). At that time, I thought ‘job done’ and dusted my hands off. What a fool! After seven years there was still no fruit on the pawpaw trees. A couple of the trees – KSU Atwood and PA Golden varieties* – were not growing well at all, and the remaining trees were struggling.
Having seen little growth and no fruit whatsoever in all those years, my interest and curiosity grew, and I did a deep dive into research on the internet. I have since taken much better care of the trees, with a regular watering and feeding regime. I now have two trees (Sunflower and Jay’s Best Boy) that are flowering and fruiting in abundance, and the other two trees (NC1-Campbell and Unnamed Seedling #1) have a good number of flowers and fruit set.
A mind-blowing taste sensation
My first fruit was borne on the Sunflower tree in 2023, the size of a ping pong ball. After picking, we left it overnight in the kitchen/diner (60 sqm) and in the morning the space was filled with heady scent I had never experienced before. Eating the fruit (which I shared with my late Mum) sent my senses haywire; I was blown out of the universe! Although I regularly eat custard apple, to which the pawpaw is related, the taste was extraordinary, with multi-dimensional notes of mango, banana, pineapple and custard. I was hooked!
Last year (2025), we had about 100 fruits from the Sunflower and Jay’s Best Boy trees combined. We made jam from the surplus fruit which we are still enjoying today. This year, we have 115 fruits on the Sunflower tree and 50 fruits on the Jay’s Best Boy tree, and an unexpected bonus is that the grafts I did last year have borne fruit, which is amazing!
I can now truly say that I am in love with pawpaw trees and their growing needs, leaves, flowering habit, fruit quality, and the amazing community of growers around the world, particularly in the United States and Europe. I have also learnt that if you love and look after your pawpaws with careful feeding and watering, then they will love you back!
I’m now looking to raise awareness and love of American pawpaw trees in the UK and encourage as many people as I can to own and nurture pawpaw trees in their own gardens.
Where can you buy American pawpaw trees?
The UK has a few online retailers, but their pawpaw trees are generally of poor quality, with impaired root systems, making them immediately unviable for long term growth and maturity. It’s not possible to purchase pawpaw trees (named or unnamed varieties) from Europe post-Brexit as most, if not all, nurseries are unwilling to go through the red tape required to ship to the UK.
If you are interested in growing your own pawpaws in the UK, I am looking to provide strong varieties selected for early fruit bearing for sale locally in the near future – please do get in touch.
The seeds I sowed last year are coming along nicely and now between 20cm to 90cm in size. I did an experiment to graft on one-year-old seedlings (you’re supposed to wait until they are at least two years old) this year with mixed results, which I can talk about at a later date. For now, I have some pictures of these beautiful fellas below for you to see (Potomac and Shenandoah cultivars):
Lessons learned
Three things I wish I had known before I started growing American pawpaws (Asimina triloba):
- To discover pawpaw trees four decades earlier. Then I could have had 40 more wonderful years of growing, nurturing and eating these delicious fruits!
- You need patience, patience and more patience. Growing pawpaws is blend of waiting for the trees to establish themselves, getting ready to flower and set fruit, and then slowly savouring the delicious fruits.
- Soil is the most important factor. Getting seedlings established prior to planting up in the ground requires a good soil mix. I now largely use a mix of inorganic substrates to start off the trees ,which helps to eliminate root rot and compaction.
- And one more tip for good luck: don’t believe all the things I or anyone tells you about pawpaw trees – just go out and try new things and have fun!
What is a pawpaw?
American pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a species of small deciduous trees with large, tropical looking leaves and a member of a large, mainly-tropical plant family (Annonaceae) that produces the largest edible fruit native to North America. The large yellowish-green fruit have a custard like texture with a sweet flavour resembling a cross of mangoes, bananas, pineapples and strawberry.
Contact Kaz via:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@londonpawpaws
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AmZ3os1rC/
Email: KasHalai65@gmail.com
All photos credited to Kaz Halai