The American Persimmon - Diospyros Virginiana

You've probably seen the big Oriental Persimmons (aka. Sharon fruit, kaki, Diospyros kaki) in the supermarket - they need a lot of sun and warmth to ripen well and are normally shipped in from the Mediterranean or parts of Asia. But not many are aware that we can grow a similar fruit successfully in Britain.

The American persimmon is very closely related to the kaki but doesn't need the same kind of long hot summers to ripen the fruit. The fruits are much smaller - about the size of a cherry tomato but can be born in profusion. It's still early days trialling this fruit in the UK, but they should do well in the southern half of England, since they ripen well in London and the Westcountry - sometimes needing a frost to bring out their full sweetness.

When they're ready though - they are said to be rich and delicious - Ken Fern raves about them in his book Plants for a Future.

Quite an easily grown tree - it will grow well in most well drained soils (it dislikes waterlogging). It grows moderately fast, up to 15metres in the UK and bears fruit at just a few years old. For the best fruit production, give them a warm, sheltered site. Once mature it is a very hardy tree (down to -35C) but it can be a little tender in its first couple of winters, so best to give it some protection/grow inside during this time.

  The species is dioecious - the trees are either male or female - though some say thatthe female tree can produce seedless fruits in the absence of a pollinator. Probably best to plant both male and female trees for good crops though. 

I was lucky enough to find a huge and beautiful female American Persimmon (20metres tall) growing in the botanical gardens of Paris in September - in full fruit.

Though the summers are hotter in Paris, the fruits were almost ripe in September (so I'd guess would be ready by November in the UK)

I collected masses of fruits, and germinated about 30 seeds. This is far more than I intend to plant so have many spare. I've grown them in root trainers and they look very healthy at about 20cm tall, despite little feeding.

If you're interested, I can post out the seedlings in February in return for a plant swap or for a small price that you feel is suitable.

A commercial crop in America:
 



Check out plants for a future for more details on this tree:

http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Diospyros+virginiana