Intro
They are not as widely known here on the West Coast and if you haven’t had a chance to try one you are really missing out!! When fully ripe they have a honeyed and spiced apricot flavour. Persimmons can be used fresh or in salads or in pies, jams, puddings and dried. The tree itself is quite beautiful with long glossy green almost tropical looking leaves. Asian or Kaki Persimmons have bright orange fall colour and the overall shape is a pendulous, almost weeping especially when loaded with fruit.
History
Persimmons are as familiar as apples in most of Asia, and in fact predate the apple by Centuries!! They were first cultivated in China and there are now more than 2000 different cultivars. They became very popular in Japan and Korea where they continued to breed and produced many excellent cold hardy varieties some of which we carry today!
The American persimmon is native to the east coast of North America and is relatively new on the breeding and improvement scene with a few introductions available beginning in the late 1800’s.
Planting
Persimmon trees can get to be 25 feet tall and 25 feet wide but can be easily maintained as a small tree or multi-stemmed shrub. Most of the varieties we carry are hardy to Zone 7. They will be happiest in full sun (at least 6 hours) in a somewhat sheltered area that does not get high winter winds. Persimmons have a long tap root and do not appreciate being transplanted so choose a well draining site and let them be. For that reason, having a low water table is great or even mounding up the planting bed. It takes them a long time to regrow their roots and to produce their fibrous side roots so a bit of coddling to make sure they have available water and plenty of composted mulch (approximately 2 inches added each year around the dripline but not touching the trunk) and a good fruit tree fertilizer in spring will help them get off to a great start after planting.
Grafting
Many Kaki cultivars are grafted onto American Persimmon rootstock which is much more cold tolerant.
Pollination
Most Asian varieties are self fruitful. American varieties will need a Male and a Female tree. There are some hybrids between the two so check the variety you have and the pollinator requirements. Many different bees enjoy the simple flower on Persimmon trees and they are a good pollen and nectar source as well. Their long bloom time and flower shape make them a great tree addition to a pollinator garden!
Pruning
Persimmon fruit is produced on 1 year old wood so you can winter prune to both thin and allow air flow and to encourage some new growth which will produce the following years fruit. Remember the 1/3 rule and that is to not remove any more than 1/3 of the tree at any one time…in small trees sometimes that is just one cut. Remember too the fruit is very heavy and plentiful so ensure you have a good branching structure to support all of that fruit!! Persimmons can be espaliered to aid with fruit support!
Container
Persimmons can be grown in a container for a few years, provided your container is deep enough to satisfy the longer tap root. A container approximately 2 ½ feet wind and about 2 ½ feet deep will work. Ensure you are watering your persimmon well, especially when in fruit and make sure the drainage is good.
Astringent vs. Non-Astringent
When picking persimmons from the tree, bring your pruners and rather than tugging and breaking the branches cut right at the stem. You will want to know which category your fruit falls into first, in order to save you having all of the saliva sucked away from your mouth if you take a bite at the wrong time! Persimmons ripen late and you will be picking well into October. Like European pears, depending on our summer you may need to pick and ripen inside. You can ripen on the counter or you can place in a paper bag with a ripe apple to speed up the process or wrap individually in newspaper in a single layer in a shallow box or tray like unripe tomatoes. With astringent varieties you will want to make sure your fruit is very soft almost soft enough to eat with a spoon and the stem end or calyx separates easily from the fruit. With the non-astringent varieties, you can eat when the fruit is fully coloured up and is firm but not hard like a rock.