Hi all,

This is my first post on this board. Please forgive my basic questions, but I am new to this whole home orchard thing. I managed to germinate a few fuyu persimmon seeds that I harvested from a friend's tree. I kept them in the fridge in zip loc bags with moist potting soil for about three months. About 2 weeks ago, I took them out and put them in my cupboard to see if any would germinate. So far, I see three out of about a dozen seeds beginning to sprout. What do I do now? Do I just plant the sprouting seeds in a deep pot and just hope for the best? Do I keep them in full sun, or do they need more dark, humid conditions? I'm in Fresno CA (zone 9 I believe).

Any advice you give would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks!

Ken;

Few of us have the patients to start trees from seed. Another problem is, the fruit, if they eventually fruit, will rarely match that of the original tree. Persimmons have both male and female trees, if you're 'unlucky' enough to end up with three male trees... you'd have no fruit.

What I'd consider those trees to be is rootstock, the non-fruiting portion of every fruit tree that dose the job of anchoring it within the soil, gathering nutrients, and limiting the eventual size of the fruiting portion above. Though seedlings of Fuyu 'are' closely related to the 'fruiting tree,' I suspect they could also be used successfully as rootstock.

As far as growing these 'seeds,' I think you're on the right track with a deep pot (bigger's always better), or just set them into the ground. I'd bury them just below the soil line and expect them to send down a tap root, and up with a sprout! If you've got 3 pots, you might vary their exposure to 'your' sun, but around 'here' persimmons love full sun and heat.

I have 4 persimmon trees, but with no males, never get seeds. I have ordered native persimmon seedlings and used them as rootstock to graft fruiting varieties to. I'd assumed my grafts had failed as they went most of the summer showing no growth, until very near Fall - then they took off! Now they reside with family and friends, each fruiting like the 'real thing!'

If I were you... I'd plant those seeds in the deep pots, let them grow this season, and either bud (graft) a known variety {you've got Fuyu handy} this fall, or, 'splice' graft when they're dormant. Persimmons make beautiful specimen trees because of their size, shape, and foliage, but if you're missing eatable fruit - you're missing eatable fruit!

Let us know how they fare; they're my favorite yard tree, and one of my favorite fruits

Thank you very much for your excellent advice. I germinated several but decided to keep only 1 since, like you say, it's probably only going to be good for rootstock. Here is a picture of my first ever home germinated persimmon tree. I think I will try and grow it and graft fuyu onto it. About how long do you think I should wait before I graft onto it? Also, right now it is growing in a 1 gallon pot sitting on the floor by a south facing glass door. When do you think I should transplant it and into what? When should I start to fertilize? Any other advice you could give would be much appreciated.

Thanks again,
Ken

Ken; you're welcome. ...I can't promote Persimmons enough. And beautiful photo! --- It's so young and tender --- just baby it like any seedling.

Fuyu is probably the best variety for 'around here.' The hard part's gonna be slicing off about 80% of it to splice on that Fuyu... Depending on how much it grows this season, if it reaches the diameter of a pencil, I'd say it would be good to graft next Spring. If it really takes off, you may try Budding it this fall?

Persimmons are known for their Tap Roots, and like all taproot dependent plants, the deeper it can go, the better. I'd give it at least 5 gallons, and presume in this case - bigger would be better. They do like sun, and if you have an eventual location picked out, after it acclimates you may want to plant it there? Just fence / protect it good...

As far as fertilizer, I use less and less, but then my trees are all pretty well established. And, I don't know if there's any fertilizer specific to Persimmons...? Maybe someone else can advise us there? But you definitely don't want to burn those tender roots --- I'd just play-it-by-sight.

Keep us posted, and again - great photo - and project

Well, the persimmon seedling is looking good so far, but I think I have decided that one persimmon tree in my back yard will probably produce more than enough fruit for me. I want to save room for an orange and maybe a peach or pear tree. I would like to grow this seedling, graft fuyu onto it, then give it to a friend. I know it must be getting pretty crowded in that 1 gallon pot, so now what do I do? If I plant it in my back yard will I be able to dig it up in a year or so to give to my friend? Will it last for a year or so in a 5 gallon container, or will the tap root need to go deeper? I hope I can finish this project, but two persimmon trees is just too much for my little back yard, and I don't want to plant it in my yard if it will be too much trouble to safely dig out to give away.

Thanks again for your advice,
Ken