This past year squirrels plundered my American persimmon crop with unusual greediness, and my response of early harvesting of the fruit was only marginally successful as the fruit did not ripen so well off the trees. I am hoping this squirrel activity was an aberration rather than a trend. I would have to agree with your thumbs down assessment of Evelyn. Each year I expect a better fruit from this tree, but to be honest, as you mention, it falls short of a number of other varieties. It's late, it loses its astringency slowly, the pulp is somewhat mealy and its sweetness and flavor are mediocre. The squirrels seem to leave it alone, which of course is a good thing, though I can't help interpreting that as just another confirmatory nay. I will be topworking it this year probably with a kaki. I really like Yates - among the best for flavor with bright orange speckled pulp and reasonable productivity, but a squirrel magnet. Not so early for me with NC10 and Osage a full month earlier. Ruby has been about the same size as Yates but ripening later and not as tasty. My largest American persimmon overall this year came in at 2 3/8 inch diameter, roughly the size of a Great Wall kaki.

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!

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

If I could have only one (no!), it would be San Pedro. A drawback for some people might be that, here at least, as a practical matter it needs to be cured. It will eventually lose astringency just sitting but it takes a long long time. For Fall color, fruit quality, earliness, and productivity it is in the top echelon. The color varies all over the tree. Every branch is a little different. There is no fruit in the pics because I harvest San Pedro as soon as it gets color (it's sweet and full flavored as soon as it colors up.) and ship it hard to friends and family around the country.