Pawpaw is a tree, a long-term addition to the landscape. It's hardy across USDA zones 5 through 9 and stands up to deer. Its mid spring flowers are a modest draw for native bees, even though the fruit is the prize. It roots deep, which helps it reach moisture in a dry spell and open up tight soil as it establishes.
Pawpaw — the short answer
Pawpaw: grown in zones 5–9, part sun, pH 5.2–7.5.
- USDA zones
- 5–9
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5.2–7.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temperature
- 32°F
- FAO ECOCROP
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Pawpaw on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether pawpaw actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score pawpaw against your land's real conditions.
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What Pawpaw is
Pawpaw grows as a perennial and reaches around 25 feet at maturity. It blooms purple in mid spring. It's also deer-resistant.
How to grow Pawpaw
Pawpaw grows in USDA zones 5 through 9. Pawpaw does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.2 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 2,400 growing degree days to mature, a growing season of at least 130 frost-free days, and about 400 hours of winter chill to set fruit, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
5-9
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5.2 - 7.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
32°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
FAO ECOCROP
Minimum Growing Temperature
46.4°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
GDD Required
2400+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
25 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Chill Hours
400+
Winter hours below ~45°F it needs to fruit — too-mild winters can leave it bloom-shy.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
130+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Plant it right
Set pawpaw in part sun with well-drained soil. Many fruit trees need a second variety nearby to pollinate — check before you plant just one.
Match the soil
Pawpaw prefers pH 5.2 to 7.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Be patient, then harvest
Prune annually while the tree establishes; fruit trees reward patience with years of harvest. Local Extension guides publish per-cultivar bearing-age tables.
Where Pawpaw thrives
Pawpaw is hardy across USDA zones 5 through 9. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 5–9 spans average winter lows from -20°F to 30°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 25 outright and splits 25 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 5–9·Where Pawpaw growsOpen map →
Where Pawpaw stands, state by state
Pawpaw is rated for zones 5–9 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 25 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 25 more, and 1 sits outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 5–9
25 states
3 of 25 shown
The line runs through
25 states
3 of 25 shown
Pawpaw’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
Outside zones 5–9
1 state
- North Dakota · zones 3b-4b
Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant often works in a container that comes under cover. Each link is that state’s own growing hub.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Pawpaw
Growing guides for pawpaw
In rotation planning, pawpaw counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in fruit
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — pawpaw isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Pawpaw offers low value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Before you harvest pawpaw, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant pawpaw for food. Our free screen reads 9 federal source types across roughly 1.8M indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Pawpaw's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Pawpaw will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether pawpaw actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Pawpaw
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Pawpaw in my zone?
Pawpaw grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Pawpaw?
Set pawpaw out in early spring or fall while it's dormant, so the roots establish before the heat of summer. Your local last-frost date — which a Growable Ground report pulls for your exact address — sets the precise window.
How much sun does Pawpaw need?
Pawpaw does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Pawpaw need?
Pawpaw prefers soil pH 5.2 to 7.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Pawpaw attract pollinators?
Yes — pawpaw's flowers are a modest nectar source for native bees. (Source: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.)
Is Pawpaw safe for pets?
Pawpaw is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)