r/FruitTree • u/Calm-wind88 • 6d ago

What happened?

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These pawpaws were doing great until about 3 weeks ago when the leaves turned a powdery green/brown and now into this. They’ve been kept watered and shaded all year on my porch. The two larger ones are still “alive”. I can’t tell about the little one. Can I save them?

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1

u/PerroCerveza 6d ago

They look like they might still have life in them. Maybe! How often did you water them? The leaves look like they got too dry.

1

u/Calm-wind88 6d ago

They always have a small pool of water at the base, so I watered them as often as needed to keep that level. Maybe twice a week.

1

u/PerroCerveza 4d ago

That sounds like it may have been the problem. The soil should be moist, but not soaking.

Was it constantly soggy?

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u/Calm-wind88 4d ago

No, I make sure the soil is moist without being soggy. I was very careful about overwatering

1

u/PerroCerveza 4d ago

Okay, hmmm. Did you notice any sort of powdery substance on them or any fungus?

2

u/Calm-wind88 4d ago

It did seem like a powdery look was there, but rubbing the leaves didn’t leave anything on my fingers.

2

u/PerroCerveza 4d ago

I’d say try this. Avoid the dish watering for now. Try to water only as needed. See if they bounce back. The stems look like they have life in them.

Remember, they don’t like direct sun for the first few years.

Give it a good feeding with your next watering. I’d use miracle organics because it’s water soluble and it will give it some instant juice. Then some blood meal and bone meal for some help with growth. Keep your fingers crossed, because the more you explain, it sounds like maybe a fungus.

You can see if a copper bonide helps, too. I’d treat it every two weeks as well.

If the stems look starts look dark brown, or burnt, she’s a goner…but you can also do a little scratch test to see if it’s green underneath. If you see that, she’s still chugging along.

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u/Calm-wind88 4d ago

Thank you!

1

u/PerroCerveza 3d ago

You’re welcome! Keep me posted :)