American Persimmon Tree – Diospyros Virginiana – 3 Gallon Pot

The American persimmon was relished by Native Americans, but has never been embraced as a commercial fruit crop because some cultivars are too soft for commercial shipping. The American Persimmon is similar in many ways to the Asian Persimmon, but the American Persimmon is more cold-hardy, with some cultivars hardy to Zone 4. It is also softer than the many Asian cultivars but has a richer flavor. A perfectly ripe Persimmmon can have a taste like caramel with hints of tangerine and heavy cream with a texture like a dense, rich custard. American persimmon is also higher in nutrients like vitamin C and calcium than its Asian counterparts. Persimmons can be eaten fresh, dried or cooked into pies, cookies and cakes and also used to make delicious persimmon jellies and jams. Native Americans used them in gruel, cornbread and pudding.

Persimmon trees remain dormant longer than most fruit trees, and blossoming is relatively late in the season and rarely damaged by late-spring frosts. The American Persimmon is a wonderful addition to the home landscape. The showy orange fruits and leathery green leaves that turn to showy shades of purple in fall are the most notable ornamental attributes. If one of your goals is to attract and feed wildlife, there are many bird species and animals, such as squirrels, raccoons and possums, that will thank you for planting a persimmon tree.

American Persimmon fruits are high in soluble tannins until they are thoroughly ripe. Unripe fruit is astringent, but ripened fruit is sweet and delicious. Ripe American persimmon fruit typically falls to the ground around the tree when it is time to harvest, usually in September.

Sometimes persimmon trees are self-pollinating, but if you surely want fruit you’ll need to have a female tree and a male tree either on your property or nearby. Unfortunately, you can’t tell a male or female tree just by looking at the seedlings. You have to wait 5 to 10 years to see what kind of flowers it produces and/or if it produces fruit. That means you either have to plant a bunch of seedlings and hope that some of them are females, or you need to find a grafted tree, which would ensure that you get a female tree.

Note: As with all of our other plants and trees, all of our fruit plants are grown in containers outdoors so they are fully rooted and landscape-ready upon arrival.

 

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