Overleese Pawpaw Description

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Overleese pawpaw is a quality heirloom pawpaw! Selected in 1950 from the wild by W.B. Ward in Indiana. Produces large fruits of excellent flavour and texture with few seeds. An older variety and still considered one of the best pawpaws for both commercial and backyard growers. 

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Pollination: A seedling pawpaw or any other grafted or seedling pawpaw tree will pollinate. For good pollination, plant trees 8-15 ft away from each other only. Pawpaws are not male and female, but rather have “male and female” flower parts on each flower. Every tree is capable of bearing fruit if pollinated well with pollen from another genetically different pawpaw tree. Hand pollination results in heaviest fruit set.

Resistant to: Pawpaws are generally remarkably disease and insect resistant. 

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Ripening: Late​

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Site requirements: Full sun location for best fruit production. Pawpaws will grow in shade but produce much less fruit. Pawpaws tolerate a range of soil types provided the planting location is well drained and there is heavy mulch and plenty of fertilizer and water. Protected locations, such as on the South, East or West side of a building is ideal on very windy sites.

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Size at maturity: 15-20′ tall and wide, depending on location, care and pruning to reduce height. We recommend heading them at about 10″ and removing suckers, both of which keep the trees very manageable and small.

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Pawpaws (Asimina Triloba) are related to custard apples and cherimoya, in the sugar apple family, and yet they grow in the temperate zone, having moved north as Ice Age glaciers receded. Flavours of mango, melon, banana, raspberry and pineapple come from this creamy fruit. Like many fruits, if you don’t know what you’re doing and you let them get bruised, or you pick them under-ripe they won't taste very good!