As I do not get a lot of time to read all I would Like when I do I find some very interesting commits and I am thankful We do have many persimmons available this year and others we are sold out of but this coming season we will have a large selection to choose from as we will have some many root stock that it will take the majority of the farm trees scion wood to graft all the root stock we will have . Many new and exciting cultivars will be introduced and some for the first time cultivars such as Kasandra , Sistroyonka = big sister and a few that are so large and hardy that you would swear they are Kaki Last winter was a very hard one for us as the winter temps reach minus 23.4 Celsius or -11 degrees F and we lost 268 grafted Kaki trees there are some survivors like Korea Kaki, Inchon, Vaniglia, , CHinibel, Miss Kim, Shan Xi, Orest, and Chibacha that had not winter injury at all look forward to talking with all of you Cliff England

First, esablish that the tree is really not fruiting and not just prematurely losing its fruit. If it really is not fruiting, you would need to establish just what type of tree that you have - whether male or female and then perhaps also whether of the 60 or 90 chromosome race. Sounds tough to figure, but a few clues can lead you to what's likely its identity. If you know that the tree was grafted or you can see signs on the tree that suggest this, then it is most likely a 90 chromosome female. If the blossoms grow in sets of three then it's male; if they are not in groups then it's female. If the leaves are rather large, say greater than 9 inches, then it's more likely 90 chromosome. There are a number of other clues to look for as well. Once you've figured what you have, this is what I'd propose you do: 90 c female - If this tree is not fruiting it probably needs pollination. The best way to provide this is to plant a grafted 90 chromosome male which is available at some nurseries. Cliff England has them. You can also consider grafting a male scion to the tree but the tree may self-prune it off. Varieties like Szukis which sometimes can have male flowers may not be reliable sources of pollen. 90 c male - This tree will not fruit. It can be useful as a source of pollen for most of the named American persimmons that are available at nurseries. So you would need to plant another persimmon tree, preferably a grafted one. Your fruit will have seeds. 60 c female - Again, if not fruiting, probably needs pollination. I don't think you'll find a grafted male, so you would need either to graft a 60c male scion to your tree or buy and plant a few seedlings from a southern nursery (which would most likely be 60c) and in a few years when they bloom pare down to one that is male, having triplet blossoms. 60 c male - I would topwork this tree with one of the 90 c females varieties that doesn't need pollination to fruit.

Which cultivars would be best to be able to take the hot (100ð+ F), dry August heat in Dallas, TX (8a) or just south of that (8b)? http://www.exotickerostliny.cz/en/katalog-rostlin-othermenu-95/tomely-othermenu-85/68-diospyros-virginiana.html "ThereâÂÂs only one condition persimmon ideal to our climate must fulfill - it has to have 90 chromosomes and originate in northern persimmon cultivation areas that have climate similar to Central European climate and microclimates. The second variant with 60 chromosomes is completely useless here, because it lacks the frost hardiness necessary to survive in our region and has too long vegetation period which would only mean that the fruit would never be able to ripen here and the persimmon tree will only hardly survive each winter." Does this perhaps imply that 90 chromosome varieties are cold-hardier and 60 chromosome varieties can take more heat? Because I need the type that can take more heat & drought... http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu/pdf/articles/1982-42-4-two-promising-fruit-plants-for-northern-landscapes.pdf "The second race (hexaploid with 90 chromosomes) is thought to represent a more recent evolutionary change. It predomi- nates in areas north and west of the southern Appalachians. This race, which may deserve a separate subspecies rank, is more vigorous, cold hardy, and drought tolerant than the first. D. kaki also has 90 chromosomes, and efforts have been made to obtain an interspecific hybrid." Or are the 90 chromosome type (or Oriental varieties) actually more drought and/or heat-tolerant? Also, a self-fertile type with a taller (vs low & spreading) habit would be nicer.. Here is a link that might be useful: Diospyros virginiana cultivars This post was edited by blakrab on Tue, Mar 25, 14 at 13:23

It seems like the experiences of persimmon growers are not consistent, and mine will add more inconsistencies to the information. I live in East Tn., the native persimmon trees appear to be 60C. I have gotten fruit from at least 8 90C trees, and all are seedless. There have been a few exceptions, because I have a male hybrid at another location, and I have hand pollinated certain flowers to get hybrid seeds. The flowers that I do not pollinate all make seedless fruit. As for taste and size, mine are all seedless so I have no fruit on the same tree to compare either. I did get a few Yates that had one seed, from my hand pollination, but when I ate them I was not paying attention to the size or flavor. I also have a different view on the belief that a 60C male is required to produce a seedless 90C fruit. I have gotten seedless 90C fruit in the swampy areas of South Louisiana, where there are no wild persimmon growing. And the same for the Chestnut belief, there are no Chestnuts growing in the swamps. Kentucky State says that sometimes a 60 can produce a seeded 90, I have never had that happen, and Clifford England has never seen it either. About rootstocks, I have both 60 and 90, and am not sure if a 60 will add dwarfing characteristics. Male trees are more vigorous, so maybe a female as a rootstock would induce some dwarfing. I believe I was told by Jerry Lehman that if flowers are bagged, there will be no fruit to form. So it seems that in order to have a seedless fruit, a bee or some insect must visit the flower, and going by my experience, if 60C male pollen is not deposited by the bee, then what is happening? Benny I