Tree · Ebenaceae
Persimmon
Diospyros kaki
Give it full sun and patience, and the persimmon hangs the orchard with fall color long after the leaves drop.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 7–10
20–30 ft · 6.1–9.1 m
Overview
The persimmon is a slow, easygoing fruit tree that earns its keep twice a year. It greens up through summer, then turns fiery in autumn and holds its glowing orange fruit on bare branches well into winter. It belongs to the ebony family and reaches a generous 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) at maturity, so it wants real room rather than a corner.
Most home growers reach for the Asian persimmon, which comes in two camps. Astringent types like Hachiya stay harshly tannic until they ripen to jelly soft, while non astringent types like Fuyu turn sweet and crisp and can be eaten firm. Knowing which kind you have decides exactly when you pick.
Once established, the tree is fairly drought tolerant and asks for little feeding or pruning. The patience is up front. A young tree takes its time settling in and coming into bearing, but it rewards the wait with decades of fruit.
Care
The short version: full sun and deep, well drained soil, with steady water while the tree is young and during fruit set. Feed it lightly if at all, prune only to clean up the framework, and let astringent fruit ripen fully before you pick.
Light
Persimmon wants full sun, ideally most of the day. The more direct light it gets, the better the fruit colors and sweetens, and the tighter and stronger the tree grows.
Water
Water it regularly while it's getting established and right through fruit development, letting the top half of the soil dry between drinks. An established tree is fairly drought tolerant and copes with dry spells, but it never wants its feet sitting in waterlogged ground.
Soil
Plant in deep, moist, well drained loam. Persimmon is easygoing about texture and takes clay, loam, or sand, but it does best at a slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 6.5.
Temperature
Asian persimmon handles a wide range, roughly 10°F to 95°F (-12°C to 35°C), which fits hardiness zones 7 to 10. It needs a real winter chill to fruit well, yet a hard late frost can still nip the spring blooms.
Humidity
Ordinary outdoor air suits it, somewhere around 40% to 70% humidity, so there's nothing to manage. Good airflow through the canopy matters more, since it keeps leaf spot from taking hold.
Feeding
Go light on feeding. A balanced fertilizer in early spring is worth it only if growth looks weak, because too much nitrogen drives fruit drop instead of a heavier crop.
Pruning
Pruning is minimal. Take out dead, hurt, or crossing branches in late winter, train a young tree to a strong frame, and pull off root suckers as soon as they appear.
Repotting
Persimmon is an orchard tree, not a container plant, so it's rarely repotted. Plant it once in its permanent spot with room to spread and leave the roots undisturbed.
Size & spacing
Give it space. A mature tree reaches 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m) tall and spreads 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.5 m) wide, so site it well clear of buildings, power lines, and other trees.
When to plant
Persimmon runs on a slow seasonal clock. Plant young trees in early spring once the hard frosts are done, then wait for blooms in mid to late spring and fruit that colors up in fall and hangs on into early winter.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Early spring after the last hard frost, as bare root or container trees.
- Harvest: Blooms mid to late spring; fruit ripens in fall and early winter.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 7–10
Temperature: down to -18°C
Troubleshooting
Persimmon is a healthy tree with few real troubles. Most of what you'll see is cosmetic or a quirk of the fruit rather than a threat. Match the symptom below and you'll usually find the fix is light.
Young fruit yellows and drops before it can ripen
Some fruit drop is normal for persimmon, but a tree under water stress or carrying too heavy a crop will shed far more. Keep the soil evenly moist all through fruit development. Thin a heavy set early so the branches can hold what's left.
Fix:
- Keep soil evenly moist during fruit development and thin heavy crops.
Bumps or cottony masses on twigs, sometimes with black sooty mold
These are sap feeding insects such as scale or mealybugs, and the sticky black film below them is sooty mold growing on the honeydew they leave behind. Light cases do no real harm. For a heavy infestation, spray with horticultural oil and let natural predators clean up the rest.
Fix:
- Usually minor; treat heavy infestations with horticultural oil and encourage natural predators.
Dark, angular spots scattered across the leaves
This is fungal leaf spot, a cosmetic problem that rarely sets the tree back. Rake up and bin the fallen leaves so the spores have nowhere to overwinter, and open the canopy for better air movement. Treatment is almost never needed.
Fix:
- Rake and remove fallen leaves and provide good air circulation; rarely needs treatment.
A harsh, mouth puckering bite when the fruit is still firm
That dry, puckering grip comes from soluble tannins in unripe astringent cultivars like Hachiya, and it has nothing to do with how the tree is grown. Let astringent types soften all the way to jelly ripe before you eat them. Non astringent types such as Fuyu stay sweet and can be eaten while firm.
Fix:
- Let astringent types soften fully before eating; non astringent types such as Fuyu can be eaten firm.
Toxicity
The ripe flesh is a safe, sweet treat for people, and the tree carries no chemical poison. The catch is mechanical: the hard seeds and large amounts of fruit can knot up into indigestible masses, a real risk for horses and livestock grazing windfalls and for dogs that gorge on dropped fruit. Pick up fallen persimmons and fence stock away from the tree in fruiting season.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
The flesh holds no chemical toxin, so a curious nibble is harmless. The risk is mechanical, since swallowed seeds or a belly full of fruit can bring on mild stomach upset.
Dogs Mild
Dogs that raid fallen fruit may end up with vomiting or loose stool from the seeds and the sheer quantity. A small dog that gulps several whole fruit, seeds and all, can rarely pack them into a blockage.
Horses Moderate
Horses are the real concern. Grazing on dropped persimmons through fall and winter can knot the seeds and pulp into a gastric phytobezoar, and that leads to colic, impaction, lethargy, and weight loss.
Rabbits Mild
A little ripe flesh now and then won't poison a rabbit, but the seeds and the sugar load aren't suited to their gut. Keep persimmon to a rare treat and skip it altogether for young rabbits.
Livestock Mild
Cattle, sheep, and goats can browse fallen fruit without chemical harm, yet a steady gorge on seedy persimmons risks the same impactions seen in horses. Fence them off the windfalls in fruiting season.
Birds Mild
Wild birds feast on ripe persimmon and do well on it, since they take the soft flesh and pass small seeds easily. Pet birds should get only seedless bites of ripe fruit, never the hard pits.
People Ripe fruit safe
Ripe persimmon is a delicious, safe fruit to eat fresh or dried. Wait for astringent types to soften, don't swallow the seeds, and go easy on quantity, since eating a great many on an empty stomach has been tied to bezoars.
Foliage and ripe flesh are not chemically toxic; the hazard comes from swallowed seeds and large amounts of fruit, especially unripe astringent fruit.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Persimmons split first into astringent and non astringent camps, and that one trait shapes how you eat them. These are the names you'll meet most often.
Fuyu
A non astringent Asian type with sweet, crisp flesh you can eat while the fruit is still firm.
Hachiya
An astringent Asian type that has to ripen all the way to soft and jelly textured before it loses its pucker.
Jiro
A non astringent Asian type much like Fuyu, eaten firm and sweet straight off the tree.
American (Diospyros virginiana)
The native American persimmon shrugs off cold down to about minus 20°F to minus 25°F (-29°C to -32°C) and is often dioecious, so you usually need both a male and a female tree to get fruit.
How to propagate
Persimmon is propagated to keep a known fruit, not for ease. Grafting holds the cultivar true, while seed is a slower, more unpredictable route used mainly to raise rootstock.
GraftingDemanding
Named cultivars almost always come from grafting or budding onto seedling rootstock, which is how a grower keeps the exact fruit of a Fuyu or Hachiya. It takes a steady hand and good timing, so it sits at the demanding end of propagation.
SeedModerate
Persimmon does sprout readily from seed, but the seedlings come up variable and slow to bear, so you rarely know what fruit you'll get. For that reason seed grown trees are mostly raised as rootstock for grafting rather than for their own crop.
Myths
Every persimmon is mouth puckeringly astringent.
Only the astringent cultivars like Hachiya need to soften before they turn sweet. Non astringent types such as Fuyu and Jiro are crisp and sweet eaten firm, with none of the dry, puckering bite.