Pawpaw in Zone 5a & 5b
Asimina triloba
When to plant pawpaw in zone 5b
Zones 5a and 5b share the same average frost dates in our data, so this page covers both.
Method: Buy as a start: Buy as a nursery start and transplant outside. Pawpaw is slow or unreliable from seed, so most gardeners skip seed-starting it entirely.
| Start indoors | Not started from seed; buy as a nursery start |
|---|---|
| Direct sow / transplant outside | May 10–May 17 |
| Estimated harvest | May 9 '30–May 16 '30 (First real harvest in year 5) |
Spacing: about 50 square feet per plant (square-foot-gardening spacing). Mature height: 15-20 ft.
Pawpaw is a native North American understory tree that produces the largest edible fruit native to the continent, with a custard-like pulp whose flavor is often compared to mango, banana, papaya, and citrus all at once.
How pawpaw fits zone 5's season
Zone 5b's frost-free window runs about 148 days, from May 10 to October 5. Pawpaw takes about 4 growing seasons to reach first worthwhile harvest, so what matters here is how many of these seasons it gets, not whether one is long enough.
Pawpaw is hardy in zones 5-9, so in zone 5b it stays in the ground through winter and comes back rather than being replanted. Allow about 8 ft of spread at maturity.
Good companions
No standout companions recorded yet for Pawpaw.
Where to buy pawpaw starts
Pawpaw is almost always bought as a nursery start rather than seeded. Check a local nursery or garden center; we haven't vetted online start/plant suppliers yet.
See it growing
Search YouTube for "growing pawpaw" videos → (a live search, not a hand-picked video; results vary and aren't vetted by us)
← Back to the full zone 5b calendar · Full companion planting guide · Full plant profile · Plan your beds in the Garden Designer →
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Growing Pawpaw in USDA zone 5b: when to start seeds indoors, when to direct-sow, and when to expect a harvest.
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