Overleese Pawpaw Asimina triloba 'Overleese'

Pawpaw, is a native, understory deciduous tree in the pawpaw family (Annonaceae). The cultivar 'Overleese' is an older cultivar noted for its large oval fruit, creamy, yellow-orange, flesh, and good seed-to-pulp ratio. It also ripens later than most cultivars.

It typically grows best in well-drained, slightly acidic, fertile soil. The bark is smooth with wart-like lenticels. The leaves are alternate, produce a pungent odor when crushed and display a bright yellow fall color. In spring, 6-petaled, purplish-brown flowers mature. Flowers have both male and female parts but are self-incompatible. A genetically different pollen donor (a pollinizer) is needed for fruit production. Plant at least two cultivars that can act as reciprocal pollinizers. The tree produces a 2.5- to 6-inch fruit that matures in late summer to early fall. Hand pollination can lead to heavy fruit set, but fruit clusters should be thinned to one fruit per cluster to maximize fruit size and flesh-to-seed ratio. Wildlife eagerly seeks out the fruits and often beats humans to the harvest.

‘Overleese’ was selected from a wild tree in Indiana in 1950. It has large fruits and is very productive. Fruits average 6 oz. with as many as 55 fruits per tree.

Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. The pawpaw peduncle borer (Talponia plummeriana) is a small moth whose larvae burrow into flower stalks. They can destroy large numbers of flowers. This pest is in NC. The zebra swallowtail butterfly larvae feed on young leaves, but they seldom do permanent damage, nor do they affect fruit yield.

VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Edibles, Bulbs, and Houseplants" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.

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