Persimmons

[ameno]

My persimmon crop seems almost ready. I'll pick them in a week or so and report back on how they taste.
https://i.imgur.com/RsjcIC1.jpg

I think they've done pretty well considering I only bought the tree potted last August.

[ameno]

Picked them today. They're not quite fully ripe yet, but it's getting pretty cold here now, so I can't imagine they'll ripen much more on the tree.
Persimmons ripen well off the tree at room temperature, so I expect these will be ready to eat in a week or so.

[Bren In Pots]

You"™ve done the right thing picking them now especially how cold it"™s been. .

[ameno]

Well, I doubt leaving them on the tree would have done any actual harm. Persimmons are very good at retaining their fruit, and the fruit can withstand down to at least -1 without sustaining any damage. It certainly hasn't been that cold yet, nor does the weather suggest it will be in the next week or so.
But it is certainly cold enough now that I doubt any more ripening will occur outside, so there's no real point to me leaving them on the tree any longer. Better to pick them and finish ripening them indoors.

[ameno]

We ate three of my persimmons yesterday, and they were a little disappointing.
They were soft and sweet, but the flavour was somewhat lacking compared to shop bought ones.
I think they either didn't get enough sun as they were ripening or, more likely, I didn't feed them enough (I had heard that excess feeding leads to fruit drop, so I was afraid to feed it, but I think I went too far in the other direction, especially as the tree is still fairly small, so has a limited ability to search for nutrients in the soil itself).

[Right Shed Fred]

Hello persimmon growers - I'm considering getting a persimmon, and was wondering if you find you have to net the fruit to stop birds? I've got a good sunny spot for it, so think that part should be ok.

[ameno]

Hello persimmon growers - I'm considering getting a persimmon, and was wondering if you find you have to net the fruit to stop birds? I've got a good sunny spot for it, so think that part should be ok.

I don't, but then I don't have problems with birds eating anything where I am except cherries and redcurrants. They never touch anything else.
I don't really know how attractive persimmons are to birds in general. Persimmons do have quite thick skin, which may help to protect them. They are also not red, which is the fruit colour which most attracts birds.

What variety are you planning on getting?

[Right Shed Fred]

Thanks for this, that's interesting. I actually have no idea which variety I would get (yet), I'm still at an early stage of deciding what to put in my new garden. I would love a cherry for example, but I really don't want to just feed the birds! It would be a right hassle for me to need to net a tree, and I know I won't manage on time.
I didn't think persimmons would attract birds, but I wasn't sure. Does anybody have any variety suggestions from their experience? I'm in south east england, and the garden is south facing.

[ameno]

I'd recommend a non-astringent variety, so that you don't have to wait until the fruits liquefy before you can eat them. Although if you're more patient an astringent variety could work fine for you.
You also want to be sure it's the oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki), which is the variety you buy in the shops, not the American one or a hybrid, as the oriental one makes a more compact tree around the size of a St Julian A plum, whereas the American one and hybrid ones grow very large. The oriental also bears larger fruits. The vast majority sold here are the oriental one, though, so this shouldn't be too difficult.
Finally, make sure the variety you get is a parthenocarpic one (set fruit without pollination), as non-parthenocarpic varieties need cross-pollination, so you would need to grow two varieties. Most varieties you can buy are parthenocarpic, but be sure to double check (just look up the variety name and it shouldn't be hard to find the information).

Other than that, I don't think you actually have much choice. I bought my Early Fuyu from Lubera, and they have about half a dozen varieties, but they are Swiss and are no longer shipping to the UK (thanks to Brexit). UK-based suppliers only seem to have one variety, and in most vases is either Fuyu or is unnamed (likely to be Fuyu, anyway, as it is apparently a common variety and the plants may well all be from the same supplier in the first place, but it would be best to contact the company to make sure).

Early Fuyu is a sport of Fuyu, by the way. It's exactly the same except for the fact that the fruits apparently ripen 3-4 weeks earlier.

[Right Shed Fred]

Thanks for sharing your encyclopedic persimmon knowledge! I'd got as far as knowing I wanted a self pollinating asian/oriental persimmon, but was confused by the uk sellers not really mentioning what it is. Now I have new knowledge and will check with the suppliers - thanks so much!

[DannyK]

Got my persimmon from here.
Looks like out of stock now but they did have a very long list. https://www.agroforestry.co.uk/agrof...t/#tpersimmons
They have some quite interesting fruits. I also got a cornelian cherry.
I'm ashamed to say they are still heeled in from last year!

[Right Shed Fred]

Thanks for that website link - quite a lot of good other ideas there, and hopefully they might get the persimmons back in stock.