KY Champion Pawpaw Tree
***Out of Stock***
On a quiet summer night in Kentucky you can hear a Champion Pawpaw!
***2012 Announcement***
Grafted seedlings from the Kentucky Champion TM pawpaw tree are available through England's Nursery in Mckee, KY for domestic and international shipment.
We are sorry that grafting scions will not be available anytime in the near future.
What is ?
The Kentucky Champion TM tree is the "Big Daddy" of the Pawpaw Forest.
It either meets or exceeds other pawpaw-cultivars in almost every category:
The fruit-flavor is one of the best and it has been popular with both pawpaw novices and experts. It's a sweet & mellow banana-mango-flavor with a pleasant-lingering-aftertaste. The pulp is firm with an orange-coloration.
It's the earliest-bearing-cultivar of all commercially-available pawpaw-trees. It's a good candidate for challenged-climates like southern England, northern Europe, and southern Australia.
Fruits average 230 grams (1/2 pound) or more which is quite large compared to other cultivars.
The fruit handles better than other cultivars and lasts longer. Fruit-skin is attractive, durable, and thick; it resists dark-spots, surface-bruising and other discoloration. The seed-to-edible-pulp ratio is 8.3% where the seeds provide structural-integrity to the fruit. This nearly eliminates deep-bruises. The seed-to-fruit-ratio is 6.5% which is comparable to some of the best cultivars under evaluation at Kentucky State University.
Statistical-analysis indicates this tree could yield more than 60 pounds-per-year as it continues to recover from extensive ice-storm damage. The tree's yield in good-health remains unknown.
All things considered, we think the champion-tree is the most awesome pawpaw-cultivar on earth and if you like pawpaws you'll probably like this one.
In July of 2012 the Champion Tree's story was featured in the Richmond Register newspaper.
The 2010 Kentucky Champion Pawpaw Tree
2010 KY Champion tree with daughter Marissa Walker in picture
Champion Tree Certificate
Kentucky Champion Tree Fruit Cluster
Picture taken Aug 1, 2010. The fruit is scaled to a 12 oz soda can.
Kentucky Champion Tree Fruit collected Aug 2nd and 3rd, 2010 (shown above)
In 2010 the fruit harvest started in late July and peaked out in the first or second week of August. The blooming period was 2 weeks ahead of the KSU pawpaw farm, and the fruit harvest was 2 weeks ahead of the earliest cultivar at KSU. Kentucky pawpaws tend to ripen from mid-August through mid-September.
In 2010 we invited 9 people to taste the fruit. We asked them to evaluate the flavor and aftertaste. The overall tasting experience was good. One person detected a trace of bitter flavor
from a fruit that was bruised. One waited too long until the fruit was mushy. All the others said the flavor was very good including two people that tasted pawpaw fruit for their first time. Two pawpaw veterans with life-long experience said it was as good as the best ones they've tasted. Several people recognized a hint of mango or pineapple flavor.
Fruit Samples weighing 384 and 398 gram picked on July 28, 2012 in Richmond, KY
A local pawpaw nurseryman said "Those were the best pawpaws I tasted last summer."
The summer of 2012 was hotter than usual and the tree started producing ripe fruit on July 22nd. Apparently this tree is one of the earliest ripening trees. The American Genetic Association concluded the same in a 1916 pawpaw contest. Samples came in from around the known growing range that ripened from before August 1 to late October (reference The Journal of Heredity, Volume VIII, No. 1, January 1917, "The Best Pawpaws", page 21).
1916 Pawpaw Contest Entries
Central Kentucky entries are circled in red.