American Persimmon

The persimmon's scientific name translates to "fruit of the gods" and if you've ever tasted a completely ripe persimmon you'll know why.

Not only is the ooey-gooey ripe fruit one of the sweetest natural treats of the American continent, but the tree itself is a lovely slow growing yard tree, averaging a foot a year of growth, eventually becoming a tall columnar tree. The foliage is shiny and tropical looking and the orange fruit, hanging on long after the leaves have fallen is very ornamental. 

Why then, does the persimmon have a bad reputation? Well, notice I kept saying "ripe" and "ooey-gooey"? That's because a firm persimmon is one of the most astringent torments your taste buds will ever have the misfortune to encounter.

Now, some Asian persimmons have been selected to be sweet while firm, but that's because every backyard in Asia had a persimmon tree for a very long time. Naturally people kept and spread the trees with large non-astringent fruits.

The same could be done with American persimmons. We just need a persimmon in every backyard and astute persimmon tasters in every home. That's my dream and one of the reasons I sell seedling persimmons.

But there's a catch. Persimmons are naturally male or female. Female persimmons have fruit; males only have flowers and pollen (although some trees will have a branch of one gender and the rest of the tree another. And some trees have been known to switch genders. I know, craziness!) At any rate, seedling trees have a 50/50 chance of being male and having no fruit, so you'll want to buy at least two to have a better chance of getting a female. 

Ready to embark on the adventure of finding a new variety of American persimmon?

Order some now!

1 year-old seedling bare root plants approx. 6-12" tall

*Ship in spring and fall

Hardiness zone: 4+

Mature height: 30-80 ft.

Begin bearing in 5-10 years.