alwazeroom4more, The Pawpaw,Asimina triloba doesn't have a separate male and female plant.It's the way the flowers are timed to be fertile that causes them to need another variety to produce fruit.The Sunflower variety is about the only one I've heard to be self fertile. There are other species related to Asimina triloba (Asimina incarna, A. longifolia, A. obovata, A. parviflora, A. pygmaea, A. reticulata, A. tetramera, A. X nashii)that grow more in the Southeastern US.Asimina Triloba requires about 400 chill hours. I have some seedlings,three varieties of A.triloba,but not sure if they are compatible in your zone. Oregon Grape also grows around here in abundance. Brady

I tried Prok this season from a friends orchard and I wasn't impressed by the flavor as it lacked over all character and sweetness. However the texture was nice compared to some of the other american persimmons i've tried, as well as the size. It was definitely more firm than others. I have heard from some sources that Prok has some asian in it, but I don't know if this is true. Here is a picture of one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25212487@N04/6224647515/in/photostream I also tried a claypool selection from another friends farm and again, compared to some of the other persimmons I've tried(which I'll explain next), it lacked over all flavor complexity. However it was sweeter than Prok. Here is a picture of that...unfortunately I don't remember the cultivar name, probably because it consisted of a few numbers and was easy to forget. Anyways, it was a claypool selection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25212487@N04/6271281968/in/photostream My best american persimmon experiences were all at Oikos Tree Crops in southwest, MI where I spent several months examining the american persimmons trees planted there. All of which are seedlings from good selections, i.e. yates, morris burton, etc. Ken Asmus has wonderful seedling planting with over 500 mature trees. There is incredible variation in fruit size, color, texture, flavor, and ripening time. Some don't even ripen in some years. We are working on developing a selection of cultivars from this planting that will be grafted and hopefully available in the nursery trade. These will be some of the northernmost american perisimmon selections, which is great for folks like me in MI where ripening can be a problem. One tree in particular was a seedling of Morris Burton and had AMAZINGLY delicious fruit with very high sugar content and a delectable flavor with butter scotchy notes..by far the sweetest I have ever tried. The flesh on this variety was a rich reddish color...very beautiful. Here is short video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iofe3u5pruY&list=UUsSu_6ip07ywsY37D35Cm8w&index=10&feature=plcp Out of the seedling population we also found a tree that produces blue skinned fruit. And not just a touch of blue but very blue! Here is a nice picture of it: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/5167939059_56e3a070e3_z.jpg If you're in Michigan or a similar climate where ripening can be an issue I would consider planting some seedlings from Oikos Tree Crops if you have the space. Sorry I don't have more info about specific cultivars, will have more to come. Cheers!

maybe i have something you might like on my list...i would love to get some jujube, and also saw that you have wild ginger....do you have seeds? is this rare for it to seed? i have wanted to get some going here for a long time... Here is a link that might be useful: my trade list

In The Grape Grower Guide by Lon Rombough he talks about someone who is currently developing pure strains of rupestris. He died recently, but his wife might know. Email BunchGrapes.com and ask. Most strains of pure rupestris are not very edible though. But America (Vitis lincecumii X Vitis rupestris) is pretty good. It is resistant to Pierce's Disease. It requires a second variety for pollination. Sources: Double A Vineyards, Bunch Grapes.com Here is a link that might be useful: Garden For Nutrition.org