Mine usually bloom in February but not this year. The buds are swelling but its going to be a few weeks before I see open flowers. Flower buds are dark and round and evident now, leaf buds are lighter, usually green and emerge a little later.

Thanks John. I'm almost certain now these are flower buds. You ever have trouble with pests like raccoons or squirrels eating the fruits?

Here in NC my trees have never made fruit. It may be because they are young or because they are all related. I bought them as crossed seedlings of named cultivars so they are mixed. I also have a native tree up near the house but it has never bloomed. Back in OK where I am from originally I had a native one that bloomed and fruited and wildlife always got to the fruit before it was even ripe. They would eat a chunk out of each one, usually on the backside so you wouldn't see it while searching the tree. The wild fruit I've tasted were never very good but I may have been eating them under ripe. I find them every once in a while at the farmers market here and they taste very good. They taste like their tropical cousins - Cherimoya or Atemoya. If you want to taste them you can buy Guanabana juice in the Hispanic section of most grocery stores and it is also a relative and has a similar flavor (a bit sweeter).

I forget when mine actually bloom, but I think it's late March. I have 4 trees, one is a named variety that is 15 years old and has never bloomed. It is stunted for some reason and is only 3' tall. The other 3 are unnamed, they came from a local nursery and were started from cuttings. They are 8 years old and 15' tall. The older one is in full sun, the others are shaded by larger trees. I read that they need shade when they are young, so I planted them in a different spot.

I haven't checked mine for buds yet, but as John said "Flower buds are dark and round".

I have read that you need to hang some rotting meat near them to attract some sort of fly to pollinate them, I forget the name of the fly. I plan to try that this year.

I have only had one fruit, I picked in on 07/22/2010. I remember because it was the day after my Dad died. We all sampled it and everyone liked it.

There are a lot of posts for paw paw on the Fruit & Orchards forum here. I think that is where I read about the meat.