Persimmons report. How's your fruit set this season

[bovine421]

Someone asked me how my Persimmons are doing. So far so good with my Fuyu. Last season was the first time it set fruit but it did not hold on to them I'm hoping for a better result this season. After getting it established I've pretty much neglected it. I have never fertilized it. I don't think they require much fertilizer but I'm not quite sure. I am curious if others have had good fruit set this season

[fliptop]

How tall is your tree, bovine421? Where did you get it from? How's its growth habit?

I just got a Fuyu. Not sure it will fruit here, but I like the fruit enough to give it a try. Am also looking for a Suruga and Triumph tree. Definitely keep us posted!

[elouicious]

My fuyu is well set this year after dropping the 1 last year-

I thinned the fruits to 1 every six inches as recommended by university of florida iirc-

Hopefully have some good bearing this year

[skhan]

First year my soflo is holding fruit.
It set a ton. Planted it around 4-5 years ago

[roblack]

Suruga has awakened, but not seeing any flowers yet. Flowered last year, couldn't tell if it set or not, flower cores eventually dried up.

[vnomonee]

Jiro persimmon dropped fruit last two years. Almost all new leaves that are pushing now have a flower bud next to it. Zone 7a. Hoping that it will hold fruit this year, it has never had this many flowers at once

[bovine421]

How tall is your tree, bovine421? Where did you get it from? How's its growth habit?

I just got a Fuyu. Not sure it will fruit here, but I like the fruit enough to give it a try. Am also looking for a Suruga and Triumph tree. Definitely keep us posted!

It's about 6 ft tall bought it as a 7 gallon has been in the ground 3 or four seasons. Fliptop they do not grow as vigorously as a mango so you're going to have to be patient it a long-term project. Mine is a Fuyu but I also have another one that  fruits in December

[Jaboticaba45]

I guess that this crop is the one people up north have an advantage on.
Mine grow fast and fruit fast. I recently picked up several other varieties like saijo, more fuyu, taenanashi, some korean kind, and others.
They are just popping flowers now.

[RS]

Ichi Ki Kei Jiro Persimmon is loaded this year and holding so far. Thinking of adding other varieties since it's done so well with basically no care.

[Nick C]

My fire crystal, coffee cake, and hachiya/hana gosho (lost the tags for both trees and ones dead) all have flower buds right now. Still waiting on all the other varieties.

[Plantinyum]

I have 3 potted ones which are just starting to leaf out/ buds are at the brink of unfolding leaves. As far as i could tell it should be a heavy bloom for 2 of them, the ones that flowered and fruited for the first time last year.
I think so becouse last year they experienced a hard freeze which damaged most of theyr buds, flowering was weakish yet still the fuyu set 3 fruits and the other unknown had like 7.
This year there is no damaje so i am expecting some wild flowering and hopefully much more fruit.  I will do an update, once they leaf out, hopefully i  remember lol 😆

[puglvr1]

Planted a couple of Persimmon trees, one I planted 3 weeks ago but not sure if it is a 'Chocolate' or 'Fuyu' because the nursery I bought it from only had 2 different varieties for sale and the one that looked the healthiest didn't have a label (of course) so I have a 50/50 chance of one or the other? Does anyone know if you can tell by the leaves which variety it might be? The label on the tree now I asked him for just to have it...it came off another tree  The other one I planted just 4 days ago is definitely a Fuyu bought that at a pretty reliable nursery where all of their trees were labeled.

This is the one in question Chocolate or Fuyu? Can you tell or do I have to wait for fruits?




Wrapped the tree in a small fencing due to deer around my yard eating plants 

This is the Fuyu with the label and about a foot taller that the one above...

I've also added mulch around the tree since that picture was taken...the nursery I bought it from said to add some "light" fertilizer 2-3 times/year during Feb-Sept.

Nice to hear they can fruit in Zone 9b, Great pics everyone and thanks for sharing your experience.

Do you guys do some light pruning during dormancy period Dec or January? Do all the leaves drop even here in Florida and go completely dormant. It is my very first time trying to grow Persimmons. Thanks all!!

Bovine, best of luck with your first possible harvest!

[CarolinaZone]

I have persimmon patch I started a few years ago. It has (2 Nikita's Gift, 2 Rossyanka hybrids) Edible Landscaping,  4 Texas persimmon,  (1 very young prairie star, 1 very young prairie gem)One Greenworld, (1 Ruby, 1 Yates, 1 Prok)Edible Landscaping, (1 Suruga and 1 Maekawa-Jiro) Just Fruits and Exotics . So far only the Texas and the Hybrids have flowered, Nothing has set fruit. Both of the Rossyankas seem to have less vigor and have some weird blackening on the leaf tips this year.

[RS]

@puglvr1, sorry I can't help ID. Mine drops leaves in winter. Haven't pruned, but the variety I have is supposed to be dwarf (8' max, currently just under 6') and hasn't needed any pruning. Good luck with your trees!

[puglvr1]

@puglvr1, sorry I can't help ID. Mine drops leaves in winter. Haven't pruned, but the variety I have is supposed to be dwarf (8' max, currently just under 6') and hasn't needed any pruning. Good luck with your trees!

Thanks RS! Good luck with your trees also!

[puglvr1]

Well my mystery variety was solved, upon very careful inspection of my tree I noticed a tiny fruit on the one that didn't have a label, and once I saw the shape of the fruit I knew immediately it could not be a Fuyu and had to be the 'chocolate' variety due to the acorn shape. The tiny fruit has since fallen off on its own but was so glad I found out the variety sooner rather than later...

Here's the picture of the fruit before it fell off    Definitely not a Fuyu



Also my Fuyu had one tiny fruit on it and this one definitely looks like the Fuyu variety due to the shape of the fruit...



RS, its great to see your tree bloomed and set fruits considering you are in Zone 9b/10a. Hopefully that means I should get enough chilling hours to for mine to set fruit hoping next season 

Please update when yours starts to ripen...

[Empoweredandfree]

So what is the best Persimmon to plant? I remember Saijo was the considered the best but am curious what else is out there. I like both astringent and non astringent!

[Oolie]

Saijo will probably be just fine, but I would hesitate to plant more than a few trees for personal consumption unless preserving them. Some people love them so much though that multiple trees makes sense, but for most, they are so sweet, after a few fruits, the rest end up getting preserved.

That said, for flavor, the pollination variant types like chocolate, coffecake, maru and ilk have excellent flavor profiles when pollinated, which is a good reason to have chocolate, as it produces large bunches of smaller, male flowers, which pollinate the female flowers causing seeds, brown flesh, and improved flavor.

I had a branch of hyakume, which had superior texture, especially when seared with a torch, but it broke off when I failed to thin it one year.

[Empoweredandfree]

Any extra the deer and foxes will eat, nothing will be wasted. Might also invest in a freeze dryer. Chocolate or coffecake sound good. Any good sources online for persimmons?

[Oolie]

It's difficult to graft persimmons, but certainly cheaper than buying an entire tree, I believe fruitwood nursery sells scions of multiple varieties of persimmon. That said I enjoy california maru a bit more than the coffeecake most times I've been able to do a side by side sampling which isn't often due to poor seasonal overlap between the two. It might also be worth trying other Pollination variant varieties which are not in widespread distribution if you can get your hands on them like zenji maru, or kurokume.

My favorite thus far was from a taste testing at the Irvine orchard, and it's still not available for distribution to the public, but fingers crossed for next year.

[Flgarden]

I always buy persimmon scions from fruitwood nursery. This year i added maru zengi and giant fuyu. They graft much more successful than figs or mulberries for me.
Ana

[Empoweredandfree]

I’m not opposed to trying grafting but I’d rather buy trees already ready. 

[Flgarden]

Where in Florida are you? I saw persimmon trees in Orlando area nurseries. Online, all sold out.

[Plantinyum]

Here are my plants, the bloom will be heavy on the unknown  astringent type, judjing by the last season/ first fruiting , it will shed like 90 percent of the fruit set if not more.

The other one is fuyu, it doesnt have as much flower buds but it also had like 4 flowers last year of which all set fruit, so hopefully it does the same thing this year.

[Oolie]

If you're in the panhandle, JFE has them, or they did a few months ago, probably best to call ahead.

[sc4001992]

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[fliptop]

I ordered a Suruga from Lemon Citrus Tree and the tree arrived with a fruit on it!



Unfortunately, the branch the fruit was on was broken. I wrapped the branch in grafting tape and hope it heals or helps long enough to have the fruit ripen . . .

[sc4001992]

That tree is not big enough to let the fruit go to full size and ripeness. I would just cut off the fruit and save the broken branch. You should have no problem saving the branch if you cut off the fruit, remove most of the small branches and leaves on that broken branch and wrap it up immediately with parafilm, then use the green stretch tape and wrap it tightly at the broken section. I saved many fruit tree branches that break similarly. Don't remove the tape until you see that the crack has fully mended. You may need to add additional support to keep the branch in the correct position until it is healed.

[Empoweredandfree]

Thanks for the replies! I’ll take a look around and see what I can find.

[vnomonee]

Should I thin the fruit or will the tree self thin? Looks to be a big crop but I'm afraid the tree might snap from the weight? Already swapped those skinny bamboo sticks with some pvc pipe lol

[Plantinyum]

Should I thin the fruit or will the tree self thin? Looks to be a big crop but I'm afraid the tree might snap from the weight? Already swapped those skinny bamboo sticks with some pvc pipe lol

you're  still at the flowering stage, many of those flowers will probably fall after flowering. Thats what mine do .....

[vnomonee]

ah yes that's true, this tree has dropped it's fruit for the last two years. Never had this many flowers so hoping it keeps some fruit

[elouicious]

something hit our fuyu and now we only have 1 left-

a lot of the flowers seemed to dry up after the thinning and then drop

[CarolinaZone]

I'm still in the may "they might maybe they might not stage". Looks like lots of potentials on the 2 Nikita's gifts. Not much on the Rossyankas and most of them have dropped. Are the buds only supposed to be on the new growth?

[RS]

Sorry I don't know about those varieties CarolinaZone or if it varies for grafted/nongrafted. Mine is grafted, and I just leave it alone and it fruits fine.

Glad you figured out the variety puglvr1. Fruit usually ripens here in fall, last year it started early October, will see how things go this year with hurricane season.

Thinking of ordering trees from Ison's next season, https://www.isons.com/product-category/fruit-trees/persimmons/. They don't have a huge selection but seem reasonably priced (the local nurseries mostly start at $50+ anymore). Thinking of just 2 varieties spaced far apart so that seeds won't be an issue.

If anyone else has good online tree sources, would be interested to know.

[bovine421]

2nd year having fruit set. All of them aborted except one. Was hoping it would at least carry one this year. The last one fell off today hopefully as the tree gets mature it will carry some fruit

[puglvr1]

Sorry I don't know about those varieties CarolinaZone or if it varies for grafted/nongrafted. Mine is grafted, and I just leave it alone and it fruits fine.

Glad you figured out the variety puglvr1. Fruit usually ripens here in fall, last year it started early October, will see how things go this year with hurricane season.

Thinking of ordering trees from Ison's next season, https://www.isons.com/product-category/fruit-trees/persimmons/. They don't have a huge selection but seem reasonably priced (the local nurseries mostly start at $50+ anymore). Thinking of just 2 varieties spaced far apart so that seeds won't be an issue.

If anyone else has good online tree sources, would be interested to know.

Hi RS, yeah me too  ...I'm glad I know the variety now than having to wait till next year or more to find out what I have. I purchased my Fuyu from a nursery that is located in north central FL but their prices for Persimmon trees start at $55 but his trees are very healthy and good size. They just happen to come to the MRFC Rare Fruit Tree Sale that was held in Lakewood Ranch back in early May and I was glad because it was closer for me to drive there than their nursery north of Orlando.

Bovine, I'm sorry to hear that your last fruit dropped, it was good size too. I wouldn't have guessed that once they get that size they can still drop? Best of luck that next year will be better.

"Are the buds only supposed to be on the new growth?"
CarolinaZone, I found this link that does say "Persimmon forms only on new growths"
https://rickshory.wordpress.com/2018/12/16/little-persimmon-tree/#:~:text=Where%20do%20the%20persimmons%20come,petaled%20flowers%2C%20typically%20creamy%20white. 

[vnomonee]

Fruit dropping 😭

[Plantinyum]

How's  that for a potted plant, a real heavy bloom










 First time seeing bees on the flowers...

[RS]

Fruit dropping 😭

That's too bad. Is your tree getting enough sunlight? It sounds like insufficient sunlight, crowded branches and excessive shoot growth can cause fruit drop.


Found another pruning resource that recommends thinning branches in young trees to about one foot of space between them to increase the amount of sunlight that reaches the fruit: https://www.wilsonbrosgardens.com/how-to-prune-a-persimmon-tree.html

My tree has only needed the sucker root pruning, which is consistent with it's age (over 5 years).

[vnomonee]

thanks for that bit of info! it's in full sun but the tree is only in its 3rd season. fruit is parthenocarpic "jiro" & there aren't any other persimmons to pollinate it so they will be seedless. i do get root suckers from the rootstock which i am assuming is american persimmon. there are still a lot of fruit hanging but last two years they held only until August so i am not counting them yet lol

edit: this right is here is probably the cause "In certain persimmon varieties, parthenocarpically produced fruit is highly susceptible to dropping from the tree before it matures."


Since I had so many blooms, hoping I have a higher chance of holding some fruit to maturity this year.

[RS]

Update: tree is looking very sad post-hurricane but most of the fruit managed to hold on and is ripening. There's a lot of black (fungus?) on the skin that I peel off since it doesn't readily wash away, but the fruit otherwise seems fine.

[Plantinyum]

I also had severe fruit drop on all of my plants, two potted ones and one inground that was planted in the spring.
I had fruit drop on like 2 or 3 waves.
The inground fuyu had 3 fruit up until 2 weeks ago, 2 of them fell..
Potted fuyu also dropped around 5-10 fruits at a verry late stage, its doing the best thought and now has nice regular to big sized 12 or so fruits, of course both of the potted ones also had a strong fruit drop around end of june i think.
 
Potted astringent persi which i would assume is hachia variety had an ennormous fruit drop , probably 80-100 fruitlets fell at the start, slowly progressing until i was left with 5 fruits that gained in size, up to 2 weeks ago when 2 of them also fell, nice big fruits...
The 3 plants have been quite synchronized in the way they drop their fruits. I still think that i overfed them in spring so i aided for the fruit drop probably , no fertilizing for them next year!