Persimmons...how do I love thee...let me count the ways.....

Got a Question for ya,

My Lease Property is Full of Wild Persimmon Trees. But this weekend I spent two days walking it and only saw 1 Tree with Fruit.

Is there something I can do to get the others to start producing Fruit as well?

Or is this a Male-Female type of thing.

I have considered putting some Fertilizer around the Drip Line, is there one you would suggest or should I try something else?
 
Got a Question for ya,

My Lease Property is Full of Wild Persimmon Trees. But this weekend I spent two days walking it and only saw 1 Tree with Fruit.

Is there something I can do to get the others to start producing Fruit as well?

Or is this a Male-Female type of thing.

I have considered putting some Fertilizer around the Drip Line, is there one you would suggest or should I try something else?

It's likely a Male-Female type of thing. However, it could also be a late spring freeze keeping female trees from fruiting. That doesn't happen often because of how late persimmons flower, but it did happen in my area last year. We had almost no persimmon fruit, because of a freeze that came in early to mid May.

Wild persimmon trees don't need fertilizer in order to produce. Look at the flowers next spring and see if they are male or female. That will tell you what you need to know. However, if you do want to fertilize a persimmon tree, it won't hurt it as long as you don't overdo it. I might add about 2 lbs of 13-13-13 per 1,000 square foot of crown. That would be okay if you can't stop yourself.
 
I found my first ripe persimmon for 2021 on the ground today. This is a tree I topworked to the cultivar "Miller," and it is making its first crop. Note how that even though ripe fruit is beginning to fall, there are many on the tree that are still very green. This is an indication of a persimmon tree with a very stretched out drop time, which is a good thing. You keep them coming for months.

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I went back and read every post. I see now that I need to be there in Spring to check for Flower or not. Also probably open up some around a few of these trees.
 
Love this thread cause I love native persimmons. Checked my pear trees this past weekend and couldn't find but a handful of pears. Always hit n miss on my place. However, year after year after year...the good ol' native persimmons always seem to be loaded with fruit and require absolutely zero maintenance other thank keeping them daylighted.
 
Love this thread cause I love native persimmons. Checked my pear trees this past weekend and couldn't find but a handful of pears. Always hit n miss on my place. However, year after year after year...the good ol' native persimmons always seem to be loaded with fruit and require absolutely zero maintenance other thank keeping them daylighted.

I agree TC. It's so easy, it's almost unfair.....:D
 
Another Note of Interest. A very small percentage of persimmons will have blue fruit rather than orange fruit. A neighbor of mine has a tree that makes blue persimmons, and I'm going over to look at it and take some pictures in a few days. I did note (as shown in the picture below) that a native tree on my farm bearing its first crop this year is currently showing fruit with a blue cast early on. I have no idea if these will be blue or orange once they ripen, but I will be watching it.

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Several of the Miller Persimmons are dropping now with several still very green. Persimmons bigger than most crabapples - no disease worries - starting a slow, early drop and going for weeks upon weeks.... Yes, the love is real.

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Native, I recently came across this female in my neighborhood. Do you think seeds would be worth harvesting for planting out at my place? I'm not sure if the seeds from a known female would be more likely to produce female trees, or is it just luck of the draw?
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Native, I recently came across this female in my neighborhood. Do you think seeds would be worth harvesting for planting out at my place? I'm not sure if the seeds from a known female would be more likely to produce female trees, or is it just luck of the draw?
1f7cb78a2869dcedae7f5a49e8d6dd1b.jpg


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It’s really just the luck of the draw on male or female. But remember that you can topwork persimmons at a young age to any female variety that you want. Another option instead of seed is to buy some small seedling trees from one of the state nurseries that sells them in large quantities. I’ve seen them before for not that much cash. You could probably buy 100 for a reasonable price and if 25% lived, you would still have more persimmons than you ever needed.
 
The is my first crop of the real (not fake) Deer Magnet (100-29) three days ago. It's going to be a late baby in my neck of the woods, which will be fine. It should be kicking in hard and drawing a lot of late season attention.

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I love my persimmons but all mine are pretty much wiped out already. Between the coons and the hogs the deer don’t have much of a chance.


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I love my persimmons but all mine are pretty much wiped out already. Between the coons and the hogs the deer don’t have much of a chance.


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I would recommend the following:

  • add more persimmon trees in order to increase the amount of available fruit.

  • add later dropping varieties so you will have persimmons dropping from September through February, rather than being “wiped out” in September.

  • trap and/or hunt non desirable species like coons and hogs with the goal of reducing their numbers significantly.

I think all of these things will help you. Good luck.
 
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I would recommend the following:

  • add more persimmon trees in order to increase the amount of available fruit.

  • add later dropping varieties so you will have persimmons dropping from September through February, rather than being “wiped out” in September.

  • trap and/or hunt non desirable species like coons and hogs with the goal of reducing their numbers significantly.

I think all of these things will help you. Good luck.

Boy if I had the answer to that last one….

But you are right I do need to find some later dropping varieties to graft onto my native stock.

Problem #3 is helping with problem #1 Persimmon trees pop up everywhere


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New to the forum, but loved reading this whole thread. I purchased about 35 acres last year and have been adding many varieties of trees such as chestnuts, sawtooths, pear, crabapples and persimmons. So far I have planted 8 persimmons from nativ nurseries and 4 from the va Dept of forestry. Working up one of my freshly cleared areas the other day I came across several of these which picture this identified as persimmon but to be honest I’m a little skeptical of that. Any of you persimmon experts have an opinion. Keep in mind I have seen zero persimmon trees anywhere near this farm much less on it. If they are indeed persimmons I need to protect them at all costs!
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New to the forum, but loved reading this whole thread. I purchased about 35 acres last year and have been adding many varieties of trees such as chestnuts, sawtooths, pear, crabapples and persimmons. So far I have planted 8 persimmons from nativ nurseries and 4 from the va Dept of forestry. Working up one of my freshly cleared areas the other day I came across several of these which picture this identified as persimmon but to be honest I’m a little skeptical of that. Any of you persimmon experts have an opinion. Keep in mind I have seen zero persimmon trees anywhere near this farm much less on it. If they are indeed persimmons I need to protect them at all costs!
d302a9a5c04bdf13df3e2f6ed2d41ca3.jpg

f3c92008874b35fb0a2cf1241f015a6f.jpg



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Welcome to the forum. It's hard to tell from those pictures and with the sprouts being so small. My first thought when I looked at them is that they could be Black Gum, but Persimmon and Black Gum are hard to tell apart at that age. Try comparing them to some of your local Black Gum trees and let me know what you think.
 
That’s exactly what I was thinking was black gum, but I guess we will see.


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