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Fruit & Orchards

Fruit from seed grown fuyu persimmon

Heruga (7a Northern NJ)

6 years ago

I had the persimmon fruit that came from my grandmas seed grown persimmon for the first time today and it was very very sweet and delicious. I eat persimmons from the store all the time and this one was much better than the store bought ones. She ate a store bought fuyu persimmon about 10 years ago, spit the seed out in her yard and now its a 12 foot tree bearing fruits. It is 9 years old and this is the second year its producing fruit. We are also right on zone 7a and I find it impressive that this persimmon, which is also hardy right at zone 7a, made it through all these winters.

What I'm confused on is how people make the claim of seed grown tree's fruit not being true or not being as tasty. How and why do people make that claim? Or was my grandma just lucky?

Featured Answer

nmfruit

6 years ago

Yes, it does mean you were lucky, but people tend to over-exaggerate the "inferior seedling fruit" thing a bit. If you plant a seed from a select cultivar (like Fuyu) why would you expect something inferior? Yes, it is possible, but only about as likely as two beautiful parents having a not so pretty kid. Again, it happens, but is less likely than from your average parents.

The main thing though, is that the seedling will never be exactly like either of its parents, as it would be if it were just another Fuyu. People want to know the exact traits of the trees they are planting, not just that there is a good chance they will end up liking the fruit. This is the main reason that vegetative propagation (cuttings, grafting, etc.) is the rule for fruit trees. The other reason (for grafting) is the added advantage of being able to choose the traits of your rootstock as well.

So all the power to you for keeping that tree... Enjoy!

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Comments (19)

PRO
The Logician LLC
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
They make the claim for fruit trees in general because seedling fruit has been considered inferior for many years. How many seeds does each of your seedling persimmons contain?
0
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
6 years ago
Inferior as in taste or quantity of fruit production? The fruit I just ate had absolutely no seeds. I don't see anything inferior about this particular persimmon tree and its fruits. Except that it only produced like 10 fruits this year
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Jean
6 years ago
Asian persimmons often fruit without being fertilized/cross-pollinated.

Seed-grown tree fruits may be superior or inferior to the fruit of the parent tree due to the scramble of the genetics.
Heruga (7a Northern NJ)
Original Author
6 years ago
So does that mean we were just lucky with this tree?
0
otcay
6 years ago
like nmfruit said, it's a game of odds. I think part of the fun is the fact that the tree has a unique story linked to the family. That makes it worth the gamble!
otcay
6 years ago
I ate a bunch of hachiyas this fall and got 5 seeds. I have them wrapped under a moistened paper towel in a tupperware box on a heating mat. It's been a month. Thus far not even a peep. Do they take longer? Should I be patient or buy more hachiyas to eat?
0
yovan mcgregor
6 years ago
otcay

aren't persimmon seeds supposed to be stratified? stored in the fridge for at least 30 days?
0
otcay
6 years ago
I thought that applies to American persimmons Diospyros virginiana while the Asian persimmons D. kaki are spared. Am I wrong?
swvirginiadave
6 years ago
You're correct, otcay. I started several kaki without stratifying. It may take a couple months.
otcay
6 years ago
What a relief! But a couple of months? Wow... I'm going to hang on hoping for the best....
0
yovan mcgregor
6 years ago
swvirginiadave(z6 VA)

can fuyu and hachiya grow from seed without stratification?
0
swvirginiadave
6 years ago
Both fuyu and hachiya are kakis; as far as I know all kakis are the same in their germination requirements.
yovan mcgregor
6 years ago
swvirginiadave(z6 VA)

Thank you very much
0
Christine Durant
last year
Bought some fuyu Persimmon and one of them had seeds which I planted ...not sure what to expect from this tree.
0
Christine Durant
last year
otcay
last year
CD, is it and 2nd or 3rd year tree? I see that the trunk is woody so it's certainly not the young seedling.
0
Christine Durant
last year
last modified: last year
Got 2 seeds from a fuyu that came from the grocery last year. Not too sure about the month, but I believe it was around Sept. 2022. The other plant is just beginning to show signs of life, Do you know when you prune these... the angle on the branches are rather tight.
otcay
last year
I'm not an expert but i would assume if you're aiming for a standard tree, you would want a single vertical trunk. Once it gets to about waist height then branching is OK.
0

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