Pawpaw
Asimina triloba
Also called Paw paw, Indiana banana and Custard apple (hardy)
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitThe largest fruit native to North America, it tastes of banana and custard, and it is hardy to −25°C — the catch is that it needs a hot summer to ripen and two unrelated seedlings to set fruit at all. Young plants must be shaded for their first two years.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Hard
- Water
- Every 5 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun, sheltered from wind
- Feed
- Every 45 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a cold winter RHS H5, to -15°C
- Size
- 5 m tall · 4 m across
- Lifecycle
- Tree
- Origin
- Eastern North America
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Asimina. That is an absence and not a clean bill — and the seeds and skin are not eaten, whatever is said about the flesh.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Flowers every spring on a mature tree and no fruit ever. It will not pollinate itself and the flies that do the job in its own country are not here — plant two unrelated seedlings and hand-pollinate with a brush.Never fruits · disorder
- The leaves of a newly planted tree go brown at the edges and hang limp through its first summer. Seedlings need SHADE for their first two years; the mature tree wants full sun, and planting one straight into it is the commonest way to lose it.Scorched young leaves · disorder