Diospyrus kaki

Dwarf compact tree, fruits top-shaped. Early ripening. Found growing at J. Russell Smith's homestead in Front Royal, VA. Space 10' circle Zone 6-8

Due to import restrictions we are unable to ship Smith's Best Asian Persimmon to CA...

Temperature Ranges
We strive to have the hardiest oriental persimmons. Because of their beauty, ease of care, and delicious fruits it has been our desire to promote the best varieties for the eastern and southern United States.

We have had reports of some varieties of oriental persimmons surviving -16*F for short durations. Our trees have survived -9*F in 1993. This was a one night low. American persimmons can survive extended cold as low as -20*F. they are a better choice for northern gardeners and landscapers.

We graft our oriental persimmons on to native American rootstock. We feel this gives more hardiness to our varieties and makes them more adaptable to our region. D lotus as a plant grows here and up to Brooklyn NY. It should be a descent rootstock too.

In our area it's still a good idea to choose a protected sunny place for placement of the tree. Situating an oriental persimmon south of a home or wall will produce a wind break, and the fruit ripening time will be earlier because of the warmer micro climate.

Fruits ripen in the fall. There ate two types of oriental persimmons: astringent till ripe and never astringent. Never astringent persimmons are usually eaten when still hard like an apple. They are sweet and crisp and very pleasant. Astringent till ripe have disagreeable tannins when unripe. When ripe they are very soft and smooth with a melting sweet flavor, a true treat. The first few years, Oriental persimmons are beautiful trees. Their leaves are dark green, large and reminiscent of magnolia leaves. They have excellent ornamental value. They're not fussy about soil types and can be planted readily from our pot to your soil. Water well the first season but do not water log soil. Keep grass away for competition for nutrients and moisture may result in poor performance. Sometimes newly set persimmons will not grow a lot the first year, it this happens it usually "takes off" the next season. If some roots are visible after the pot is removed be sure to gingerly plant them in your soil. Oriental persimmons generally come into fruiting early, 2-3 years after planting. Our larger 3 gallon plants can fruit the following year. A small plant may not hold all the fruit it has set, so some fruit drop is normal. If fruit drop seems to be a problem be sure there is enough potassium in your soil. Usually a fertilizer of 5-10-10 is sufficient.

Insects
In midsummer there is a small insect that looks like a large gnat (psyllid) at 1/8" long, that will suck on newly emerging leaves. Their cycle is approximately 1 month. I've never seen them set back an outdoor tree and in the fall their damage is not really noticeable. If they are alarming they can be controlled with sprays. Since they are soft bodied a soap spray can be effective.

There is a dogwood borer that will damage the lower (near the ground line) trunk of a tree. It is a clear winged moth that can lay eggs in late June. It is not a sure thing that the female moth will lay eggs on every persimmon tree, but it is good information to remember if you see borer damage. The damage would show near the grass line where the larvae chews into and under the bark. A sawdust like "frass" is visible. The trunk can be sprayed as a preventive measure in June, or a collar of tobacco can be placed around the tree. With a wire one can follow the borer damage and "do in" the rascal at the end of the tunnel. WE have seen no damage in our orchard.
Stink bugs will suck on hard when ripe varieties and cause grit cells @ an 8th to quarter inch in diameter. This "hard spot" is not pleasant to eat and is cut away when preparing the fruit for fresh consumption. The soft when ripe varieties do not seem to be bothered. Probably the tannins in the fruit's non-mature state deter the insect.

Spacing
Since persimmons are such pretty yard trees a few placement ideas may be helpful. Dwarf varieties such as Smith's Best, Sheng, Ichi Ki Kei' Jiro, can be planted 10 - 12' away from each other. Others about 15'. Plant at least 12' away from the house too. Unless your planting an espalier or you need warmth from the house for far north planting.


Asian persimmon sudden death or dieback is usually associated with Botryosphaeria canker. The damage from dead limbs and twigs can be extensive, especially trunks of persimmon can be injured by sunscald in winter where the disease enters the wound. The disease is most severe in trees weakened by drought, winter injury, sunscald, poor pruning, bark damage by nicks from a mower or weed whacker, low or unbalanced nutrition, etc.. 

The Botryosphaeria fungus attacks a wide range of woody plants, including blackberry, blueberry, currant, gooseberry, grape, pear, quince, all stone fruit trees, catalpa, dogwood, elm, flowering currant, flowering quince, forsythia, hickory, horse chestnut, linden, London plane tree, maple, mountain ash, pecan, persimmon, pyracantha, redbud, rhododendron, rose, sumac, sweetgum, tree of heaven, tulip tree, tupelo, willow, and yellowwood.

Ripening times
American Persimmons;
September: Yates, Weber and Meader
October: Yates Weber, Meader Rosseyanka, Ruby
November: Ruby, Rosseyanka, Meader

Oriental Persimmons;
September: Izu, Miss Kim, Sheng, Wase Fuyu
October: Gwang Yang, Hana Fuyu, TamKam, Wase Fuyu, Ichi Ki Kei Jiro, Izu, Maekawa Jiro, Sheng, Miss Kim, Smith's Best, Sung Hui
November: Great Wall, Hachiya, Hira Tanenashi, Kungsun Bansi, Miss Kim, Saijo, San Pedro, Smiths Best, Sun Hui, TamKam, Gwang Yang, Hana Fuyu, Maekawa Jiro, Ichi Ki Kei Jiro
December: Hana Gosho, Tecumseh

Michael's Breakfast Smoothie
One of my best breakfast smoothies I know. Thick, orange, and smooth. Delicious chilled.
2 persimmons about 3" diameter (should be Asian persimmons, but can be Native that are completely soft ripe) use 6 native persimmons since size matters. The Asian persimmons can be hard when ripe like the Fuyu's or soft when ripe. Remove calyx (leafy bloom end) and check for seeds by halving the fruit. Probably they are seedless. Cut up in pieces to blend and put in blender. Add about 1 cup of fresh or store bought orange juice. Add honey to taste, usually about 1 tablespoon for me. Blend till smooth and serve in a clear glass since it's so orange and pretty. Delicious too!
Jeannie served this at our most recent Persimmon Festival.... it was loved by all that tasted!


Grandma Chisloms Persimmon Pudding
3 cups persimmon pulp (best strained through a mill)
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
3 T melted butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 cup flour
1/4 t. baking soda
1 T salt
Combine wet ingredients. Beat well Combine dry ingredients. Add them to
pulp mixture. Beat well. Bake in a 9x13 oiled (buttered) pan @ 300
degrees for 1 hour.


Ginger Persimmon Cheesecake
Serves 8-10
Crust: 1 cup graham crackers crushed
1/4 cup sugar or honey
5 T melted butter
1-2 t cinnamon
Filling: 3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup strained persimmon pulp
3 T flour
1 t. ground ginger
1 1/2 package cream cheese (soft)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
Topping
1 cup sour cream
5 T sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 T persimmon pulp
Carefully pour over cheesecake Return to oven 10 min.
Whirl eggs, sugar, flour, ginger, cream cheese, and persimmon pulp un food
processor till smooth. Pour into prepared crust. Bake @ 350 for 40 minutes
or till firm. Remove from oven. Cool 10 minutes. ( Mix Topping then return
for 10 minutes as above.
NOTE
Instead of the sour cream topping, we blended persimmon pulp, honey and
orange juice and poured a little over the finished cheesecake.


Ozark Persimmon Pudding from "Persimmons for Everyone" by E N M Griffith.
2 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
.5 teaspoon soda
.5 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
.5 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
2 cups persimmon pulp
3 eggs, beaten
1.75 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Sift dry ingredients together. Mix persimmon pulp, eggs, milk and butter. Combine the two mixtures, stirring well. Pour into a shallow, greased dish to the depth of about two inches. Bake at 300*F. for about one hour. When cold cut in squares and serve plain or with whipped cream. Margarine may be substituted for the butter and one of the prepared whips may be substituted for the whipped cream.
We had these at the Persimmon Festival in October 2010, and everyone love both.

LITERATURE CITED.
1. Crandall, B. S. 1945. A new species of Cephalosporium causing persimmon wilt. Mycologia 37:495-498.
2. ______, and W. L. Baker. 1950. The wilt disease of American persimmon, caused by Cephalosporium diospyri. Phytopathology 40:307-325.
3. ______, and R. W. Davidson. 1937. Cephalosporium wilt of persimmon. Plant Dis. Reptr. 21:251-252.
4. Creager, D. B. 1937. The Cephalosporium disease of elms. Contrib. Arnold Arboretum, No. 10. 85p.
5. Hepting, G. H. 1971. Diseases of forest and shade trees of the United States. USDA Forest Serv. Agric. Handbook No. 386. 658p.
6. Van Arsdel, E. P. 1972. Some cankers on oaks in Texas. Plant Dis. Reptr. 56:300-304.
7. ____, and R. S. Halliwell. 1970. Progress in research on live oak decline. Plant Dis. Reptr. 54:669-672.
8. Wilson, C. L. 1963. Wilting of persimmon caused by Cephalosporium diospyri. Phytopathology 53:1402-1406.
9. ___. 1965. Consideration of the use of persimmon wilt as a silvicide for weed persimmons. Plant Dis. Reptr. 49:789-791.