Pawpaw vs Flowering Raspberry - TreeTime.ca

Pawpaw vs Flowering Raspberry

Asimina triloba

Rubus odoratus

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Pawpaw
Flowering Raspberry

The Pawpaw tree produces delicious, sweet fruit with a unique banana-mango flavor. These oblong fruits start yellowish-green and mature to a dark brown in the fall. It is best to leave them on the tree until ripe, as they do not ripen well once picked. Pawpaws can be enjoyed fresh, in baking, or in ice cream.

Pawpaws produce the largest native fruit in North America. They typically grow as a small understory tree or large shrub on wooded slopes, in ravines, and along stream banks. They often spread through root suckers, forming dense thickets over time.

For fruit production to occur more than one genetically different Pawpaw tree is required. Our Pawpaw seedlings are grown from seed so they are all genetically different.

Note: Avoid eating the seeds and skin of the Pawpaw fruit as they can cause stomach pain for some individuals. Contact with the skin of the fruit can also result in skin irritation, so it is recommended to wear gloves during harvest. Plant this tree once. Due to its large tap root transplanting is not recommended.

The Flowering Raspberry is an ornamental shrubby plant that blooms with fragrant light purple flowers throughout the summer and has a large, decorative foliage of bright green leaves. The flowers resemble that of a wildrose, and the foliage turns a bright yellow in the fall. This cultivar produces small red raspberries, similar to that of a thimbleberry, but the fruit is mostly tasteless.

The Flowering Raspberry, also known as Virginia Raspberry or Purple-Flowered Raspberry, makes a great hedge plant and is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard.

Pawpaw Quick Facts

Flowering Raspberry Quick Facts

Zone: 5a
Zone: 3a
Height: 6 m (20 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 6 m (20 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Light: any
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Suckering: high
Suckering: high


Bark: thornless orange
Flowers: red purple
Flowers: purple
Fruit: large, yellow green to brown
Berries: red to purple, seedy
Firmness: firm
Flavor: similar to mango or banana
Flavor: tasteless
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON
Native to: ON, QC, NS
Other Names: american pawpaw, custard apple, custard apple tree, indian banana, paw paw, paw-paw, wild banana
Other Names: purple-flowered raspberry, virginia raspberry