Plant ID card |
|
|---|---|
Botanical name |
Asimina triloba. |
Common name |
Asiminier, paw-paw, banana tree, northern mango tree. |
Family |
Annonaceae |
Origin |
United States and Canada. |
Dimensions |
Up to 10 m but more generally 2 to 3 m in France. |
Foliage |
Beautiful deciduous hanging green leaves, which turn golden yellow during autumn. |
Bloom |
The beautiful bell-shaped, wine-colored flowers appear from late March to early May. They smell very bad but you have to get very close to notice it. |
Fruiting |
The fruits, called asimines, look like green mangoes and taste somewhere between a banana and a mango. |
Exposure |
Full sun, especially north of the Loire. |
Ground |
Deep, rich, well-drained and fresh. |
Rusticity |
Yes, up to -25°C. |
To one day have the chance to taste the delicious fruits of the paw-paw, you will have to grow this tree at home! Asimines, with their good taste of banana, mango and pineapple, do not in fact last long during their long journey from the countries where they are frequently cultivated. Let yourself be seduced by
this exotic
and rustic fruit tree that we will hear more and more about, gardener's words!
Where to plant the paw-paw?
Asiminiers, which have the particularity of being rustic, can thrive
in all regions of France
. Rigorous winters even favor their spring flowering. Choose a sunny location, particularly if you live north of the Loire.
In other regions, you can consider
a more shaded place
to plant your
Asimina triloba,
which is not a big fan of high heat and drought. Be aware that the growth of the paw-paw is very slow and that it will produce beautiful flowers, then fruits, from the 3rd or 4th year.
How to plant asiminiere?
Prefer spring or autumn to plant your asiminiere in the ground. Copyright (c) 2020 EQRoy/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
So that the asiminiere likes it in your home, prepare a very deep hole in which you will add a mixture of compost and potting soil. Very sandy soil or clay soil will make it more than flourishing. Pay attention to the taproot of the tree, which
must not be broken
during planting. Do not touch the root ball too much so as not to damage the small roots.
Prefer
spring
(especially in regions with harsh winters) or autumn to plant your asiminiere in the ground. It costs between 45 and 70 euros per tree to purchase, at plant fairs or from nurseries.
How to maintain the paw-paw?
Watering:
Asimina
triloba
must be well watered during the summer; this tree does not tolerate drought and extreme heat;
Fertilizer:
an organic fertilizer for fruit trees is recommended between spring and early summer, especially if the original soil was not very rich in compost;
Mulching:
to preserve the freshness that the tree needs, place 1 m of mulch all around.
What are the main varieties of asiminiere?
There are varieties of asiminieres which will need
cross-pollination,
between two trees of different varieties, to offer you beautiful fruits between the month of August and the month of October. Among them :
'Allegheny':
very productive and early;
'Georgia':
whose fruits are large (200 to 400 g) and very fragrant and arrive quite early in the season;
'Ithaka':
which produces numerous fruits weighing around 200 to 300 g;
'Overleese':
to harvest in September and October.
Among the self-fertile varieties of asiminieres, one of the best varieties is the '
Prima
', which offers a lot of good fruits of 200 to 250 g on average. There is also the
Sunflower
variety , also of quality, later.
When does
Asimina triloba
flower ?
The asiminier flowers from the end of spring, from the end of March to the beginning of May. Copyright (c) 2016 EQRoy/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
The asiminier flowers from the end of spring,
from the end of March to the beginning of May
. Although the flowers are beautiful to look at, with their purple-chocolate color, they do, however, smell horribly bad, like the smell of carrion. But you really have to put your nose into the flower to perceive this unpleasant flagrantness, rest assured. This particular smell attracts pollinating insects like flies, butterflies and beetles. One flower can produce up to 5 to 6 grouped fruits, which grow like bananas.
How to obtain a good harvest of asimines?
To guarantee a good harvest, in quality and quantity, it is better to
plant two asiminieres of different varieties,
fairly close to each other (around 10 m). The flowers must in fact be pollinated by insects, some of which do not fly much, notably beetles. Manual fertilization, with a brush, can be useful.
If you don't have enough space, choose to plant a single asiminiere from a self-fertile variety, such as the variety
'
Prima
' or '
Sunflower
' or '
Kentucky Champion
'. The paw-paw fruits, with creamy and tasty flesh, weigh between 50 and 500 g. From the 10th year, your tree can produce
between 10 and 15 kg
of asimines.