Climate Data

Summary

Pawpaw trees (asimina triloba) can grow naturally in areas of North America, Europe, Australia, the Balkans, the Black Sea, southern Ukraine, Japan, Korea, China, Chile, and Argentina, and they can potentially grow in additional locations. Generally speaking, they do well wherever apples do well. *Note: see world apple-growing map at bottom of page for reference.

Purpose of Climate Data

The purpose of the climate-data is to help identify areas of the world that have the potential to grow the North American pawpaw (asimina triloba). The primary level of sub-pages (listed at the bottom of the page) use key weather-metrics to profile the native-growing-range. The secondary levels of sub-pages go on to compare other areas of the world using the same metrics.

Key Weather Metrics

Pawpaw trees thrive in a continental climate where summers are relatively hot and humid with 90F/32C summer high temperatures, and 800 hours or more below 40F/4.5C in the cold season. Rainfall typically should exceed 30 inch/yr or 76 cm/yr.

In addition pawpaw trees need more than 2,200 Growing Degree Days (baseline 50F) in order to ripen the fruit in our continental North America climate, but they can ripen differently in other parts of the world that have maritime temperature-moderation.

*footnote (apples and pawpaws grow in similar climates):

Length of Growing Season

Pawpaw fruits need a minimum of 150 frost free days to ripen.