Growing paw paws

About 15 years ago we bought a small paw paw tree.  Paw paws are edible and grow wild in the southern part of Pennsylvania.  

Our tree did not bear fruit, and we were told we needed at least one more tree to cross-pollinate.  We bought two more, but still no fruit.  Then our friend Tom, an orchardist, told us that bees do not pollinate paw paws, flies do.

We hung bacon on the trees to rot and attract flies.  It worked, and last year we had our first paw paws.  They are a large fruit with giant seeds and kind of mushy.  You also shouldn't eat too much at once, since for some people they act as a natural laxative.

If this sounds like a fruit you could do without, I agree.  Rotten meat, flies, large seeds, and digestive issues.  I wish we had planted peaches.