Grow and Care for a Persimmon Plant

Grow persimmon in full sun and well-drained soil. Persimmon is the fruit tree in Diospyros — not black sapote, and not rose of sharon.

Give it full sun and soil that drains

Persimmons need a full day of sun and ground that dries between rains. Shade and a wet pocket around the trunk are the first reasons a tree grows wood and little fruit. [1] A Fuyu and a Hachiya want the same sun and drain. Which fruit class you bought is on Types of Persimmon. Graft height and the taproot are on Planting Persimmon.

Water a young tree often, and go easy on nitrogen

A new persimmon needs even moisture the first year. After that, water deeply in a dry spell. Heavy nitrogen pushes soft growth and drops young fruit.

1. Water a newly planted tree two to four times a week at first if the soil is drying, then weekly through the first season. Do not wait for leaves to wilt. [2]
2. Keep a 3 to 4 inch mulch ring, a few inches back from the bark, so rot stays off the trunk.
3. Use a light, balanced feed in spring. Skip a heavy shot of quick nitrogen, which sheds fruit.
4. Once established, American persimmon and Texas persimmon take dry spells better than a young kaki. Still soak them in a long drought. [3]

Not black sapote, ebony, or rose of sharon

Black sapote is a tropical chocolate-pudding fruit in the same genus. It will not take a regular freeze, and it is not in this catalog. Ebony is timber from other Diospyros species, not this orchard tree. True date plum is Diospyros lotus, another species we do not hold. Rose of sharon is Hibiscus syriacus, a summer-blooming shrub — care is on How to Grow Hibiscus. Sharon fruit is a market name for Fuyu-class fruit, not that shrub. American persimmon is sometimes nicknamed date plum — that native is still this fruit, on Types of Persimmon.

Pick non-astringent fruit firm, and wait until astringent fruit is jelly-soft

Color tells you the fruit is mature. Texture tells you whether it is edible. Non-astringent fruit, such as Fuyu, is ready when it is fully orange and still firm. Astringent fruit, such as Hachiya, will dry your mouth until the flesh is jelly-soft. [4] Clip the stem so the calyx stays on the fruit. American fruit follows the astringent rule. Which class you own is on Types of Persimmon.

1. For non-astringent fruit, pick when the skin is fully colored and the flesh is still firm. Eat it like an apple, or hold it a few days if you want it softer.
2. For astringent fruit, pick at full color and ripen at room temperature until it feels like a water balloon. A paper bag with an apple speeds the wait.
3. Do not eat a firm Hachiya. Tannins make it puckery until the flesh is jelly-soft.
4. Handle fruit gently. Bruises do not store.

If the tag says black sapote or rose of sharon, it is not this orchard tree — plant a named kaki or American persimmon in sun instead.