Just a suggestion and you have to do some initial pruning but years ago on our PBS station was mentioned mini-dwarfs that only reached 5-8 feet. While there probably are other nurseries that sell them this was the only nursery that I was able to locate back then. I have never seen any nursery sell a dwarf peach.

https://raintreenursery.com/

Last fall I noticed a small tree with numerous large orange persimmons in a neighbor's yard -- it was very striking. Kept an eye on it and the tree has been beautiful in all seasons -- good branch structure in winter, clean green leaves in spring and summer, the fruit in fall. I've never eaten an asian persimmon -- I assume you recommend them? Are they best fresh, or dried?

You can buy dwarf peach trees here. I looked for one this summer, but they were out so I got a dwarf nectarine instead. We'll see how it produces over time. My neighbor has one and it has never produced for her. I also bought an apple tree. I've kept it in a bucket all summer, but need to replant. I think I'm just going to top out the tree to keep it low.

We had persimmons in our yard when I was growing up. Not sure if they taste similar to the Asian variety. They were a nuisance tree for us. The deer loved them.

I have a friend of a friend from Alabama who has several trees all of which have a slightly different taste and texture. Some are very sweet while others have very little sweetness. Some the fruit can become almost liquid but others are described as bread like. These are his descriptions.

I had raspberry bushes. They just didn't produce enough berries to bake with....and the deer ate them. Also to propagate more, just put a stem in water to root it.

I planted crab apple trees, ornamental plum & cherry, that are hardy to zone 3. At a rental, I have a sweet plum & green apple tree. I do grow roses. Rose hips make good tea. Catmint, catnip, Monarda & walking onions are ALL perennial.

Nickel, I've never had them dried, only fresh. I really like them.

"There are two distinctly different types of persimmon and many varieties of each type. Astringent varieties, like the acorn-shaped Hachiya, must ripen fully before they are eaten; their unripe flesh is tannic and causes an extremely unpleasant sensation in the mouth. Non-astringent varieties of persimmon, like the squat Fuyu, can be eaten when they are still hard. The fruit’s flavor is sweet and mild, and its texture is smooth. "

Hachiva is the type I have and are mainly used for baking. I make a persimmon bread pudding for the holidays and persimmon quick bread. We don't really like them to eat fresh. We must get over 4 dozen and that is after knocking off unripe ones at the beginning. We pick them and put them in a big box at the end of our driveway with a free sign.

I'm not sure about growing a persimmon tree in a barrel unless you are trying to stunt the tree. You did say yours was a dwarf variety, but did not say what its adult size would be. I am familiar with regular persimmon trees. When I was a kid, I ate persimmons from our neighbor's trees. They did not harvest any and invited friends to take the fruit. They had a grove of 5 trees.

A natural persimmon is a tree and has a growth habit similar to a smaller maple. The trunk is usually straight. The tree will attain a height of 40 ft. I don't know if there are male and female trees, but likely you'll have more success of setting fruit if you have 2 or more trees for cross-pollination. The fruit does not ripen until fall as its leaves begins to shed. Its a surprise if you try to munch on an unripened persimmon for it is loaded with 'pucker juice'. I believe its is alum. After biting into an unripened persimmon, your lips will pucker and you can whistle for a several minutes. As a prank, farm kids would try to get an unsuspecting person to eat a green persimmon.

I have a small orchard at the weekend country place. The previous owners planted apples, pears and peaches, grapes I added pear, apple jujubes, cherry, apricot, harthaws over there in zone 5b. And I bought 4 Asian persimmon trees last year for my suburb home in NY, zone 6a. Two are still in pots, two are in the ground. The ones in the ground I wrapped them around with burlap for winter protection. I will dig them up and move them to the new house next spring. Persimmon is not that hardy in zone 6a, I lost one already. it’s better to plant yours in a protected area, and provide some winter protection.

Kathsgrdn & others, thanks for the recommendation -- next time I see asian persimmons in the stores, I'll buy one.

The only fruit I've ever grown for myself are figs and pawpaws -- they need no attention to grow well, and are rarely available for purchase. We also had a few native (american) persimmon trees in our woods. I never cared for its fruit; too many seeds for the little bit of flesh. I've always heard opossums love persimmons, but the only possum I saw was in the fig tree, calmly ignoring our dog barking at it.

Jemdandy, the trees only get 8 to 10 feet tall and I will try and prune them to keep them smaller than that. They are an Asian variety that is non astringent. You can eat them when the fruit is hard still.

Summersrhythm, according the Stark bros. this tree is their hardiest and should be okay here. They will be planted close to the side of my house.

Marilyn Sue, yes they will eventually rot but I don't have a problem with repotting. I am not expecting the trees to be so big that I can't do that. As for wasps, I get them anyway. There's part of a nest that the roofers knocked off laying in my front garden now.

I have a couple of citrus....satsuma and lime, and a lot of pecan trees. They are ancient, but produce....and the squirrels get the pecans, and then I buy pecans.