Pawpaw, Asimina triloba, loved by Zebra Swallowtail Butterflies
The flowers of Pawpaw, Asimina triloba, are downward facing so you have to keep an eye out for them or you will miss their sweet beauty in the spring. Ours is blooming now and has been for the past 2 weeks.
In order to get fruit, you have to have 2 cultivars. We don't care about fruit since we planted the tree solely for the zebra swallowtail butterfly's visits. For our purpose a seed started tree was just fine. For fruit, look for grafted cultivars.
Some protection from the worst of summer's sun and excellent drainage are critical to their success. Since it is a small tree, ours is in the herb bed with a bird bath and a few native plants.
KY State University Pawpaw Planting Guide is at this link
Excerpts-
"The pawpaw is a tree of temperate humid growing zones, requiring warm to
hot summers, mild to cold winters, and a minimum of 32 inches (81 cm) of
rainfall spread rather evenly throughout the year, with the majority falling in
spring and summer. It can be grown successfully in USDA plant hardiness zones 5
(-15o F/-26o C) through 8 (15o F/-9o
C). Pawpaws grow wild over a wide range of latitude, from the Gulf Coastal plain
to southern Michigan. However, the trees may not receive adequate chilling hours
if planted too close to the Gulf Coast. Most named cultivars originated in the
Midwest, which is the northern portion of the pawpaw's range."
and
"Another pest is Eurytides marcellus, the zebra
swallowtail butterfly, whose larvae feed exclusively on young pawpaw
foliage, but never in great numbers. The adult butterfly is of such great beauty
that this should be thought more a blessing than a curse. pawpaw is sometimes reported to be plagued by
pests, but this may be because of poor tree health resulting from the stress of
improper soils and an unsuitable climate."
 |
| Blue Ridge Discovery Project I dream of having caterpillar eggs and larvae eating my tree! |
Comments
We planted spicebushes to attract the parents and every year we have caterpillars.
Spicebush caterpillars roll up in a leaf and you can only see them if you look at the leaves very closely and find the ones that are rolled in half.
Then, We carefully open the leaf and peek at them.
They start out as just a piece of leaf torn and folded over - about 1/4 inch. Then, as they grow they move and take over entire leaves.
They are wonderful and worth hunting for.