I am in DFW and have a saijo also (I actually planted another one this past spring).
It has fruited well for me also (I’m part of the “my plants need to thrive on loving neglect” group of gardeners). I agree that it doesn’t drop any fruit. And, the flavor is great. It is a nice looking tree – I actually have it in the front yard and my picky husband hasn’t complained about the shape ever!
I just wish the fruit were larger – mine are also smallish. Also, if you have too many to eat, they freeze so well. You can eat it almost frozen and it tastes a bit like a sorbet. I haven’t tried drying them yet, but I have dehydrated other persimmons and they dry like a champ. Its a popular snack in other countries.
Well, like most orchards from here all the way down into Georgia, that last late frost we got this past spring almost completely wiped out my peaches and plums. One of the only peach trees that produced for me year was one early peach that I talk about a lot but don’t know what it is because it was here when I moved in. Then I had a Reliance tree which did pretty well but its a small 3 year old tree so it didn’t help much. The same freeze knocked out all my hybrid plums (apriums, etc) and most regular plums. I had just a few Bruce Plums make it but I’m just so-so on them anyway.
My cherries I just can’t explain, but they had a terrible year also. It wouldn’t have been the late frost (I don’t think) because they don’t bloom until much later. But for some reason my sour cherries were much smaller this year and most of my sweet cherries dropped. So in short, this wasn’t a great year for most of my fruits for whatever reason. Oh well…my orchard is still so young that most of my trees are 3 years and under so the fact that they got a growing season devoted to tree building instead of fruit was probably a good thing.
Oh…you asked what tied with my Saijo Persimmons as my favorite fruit. Very tough question but I’d have to say my Spring Satin plumcot is my very favorite fruit I grow. But keep in mind many of the trees you see on my list, especially the plum hybrids, haven’t yet fruited so I may change. It’s also very hard for me not to say a ripe, homegrown peach (could be several varieties) aren’t my favorite. WHen I think about standing in my orchard and picking a perfectly ripe (ie soft) peach and biting into it with juice running down my chin and on my clothes-its hard to say anything is better than that. So if really pressed I might say that. Chicago Hardy figs would also be VERY close to the top. DANG!!! Like people often say, this really is like picking a favorite child!!! Its almost impossible.
Yes Giombo is a winner in Dallas. Was an alternate bearer for 5 years but at age 7 is consistently productive. Saijo, Giombo, & Eureka are my favorite astringents; Hachiya tastes great but only produces a few fruits
If you’ve read my review then you know I’ve fallen in love with Saijo. I’m debating planting more of them, but there is something I need to know first…
Can anyone tell me how large a typical saijo persimmon tree will get? Mine is in its 4th year (3rd leaf) and is about 9 feet tall. Unfortunately, the fruit are fairly small compared to my fuyu and chocolate and the tree isn’t nearly as productive as fuyu. So this year I only got about 20 fruit total, and with them being small, they just didn’t go far.
What can I expect from this tree in the future? Thanks!
My Saijo keeps dying back to barely above the graft every year. I grafted it on to Virginia and it’s is fine now. I think it has something to do with the rootstock. I am growing all my persimmons on Virginia root stock now. They are much bigger and has a lot more suckers but the trade off is very healthy trees. My Giombo finally have fruits this year. It is very good. Hopefully my Saijo will have some next year.
Could be, Sunny. Could also be that you’ve had some milder winters, which has allowed your Saijo to grow and become more resistant with age. I’ve seen it before through experience that tree maturity helps with cold hardiness. I understand that virginiana is a better rootstock than lotus, but I can’t tell which rootstock was used for my Saijo… I bought my tree at a local nursery. I ordered some virginiana rootstock, and will be grafting for the first time this spring.
I had them growing side by side for a year afterward. The newly grafted on Virginia rootstock made it through the winter with no die back. My original tree from Starkbros nursery died again after the winter of 2015. I dug it up and threw it out. I am a little mad that I paid $40 for a graft but I am happy that I still have a tree. Hopefully it’s Saijo like it is advertised. Their Asian pears are amazing though.
NJ has a program as well to obtain diaspyros virginiana, but for reforestation purposes. The application makes it pretty difficult to lie!
So, I bought mine from Lawyers Nursery. They have a website- search them in your browser. It’s the first time I’ll be ordering from them. Price seemed OK.
I’ve ordered 10 D. virginiana seedlings (for use as rootstocks) from the Missouri Department of Conservation, using @SMC_zone6’s link above. They do sell to individuals and out of state (including to California). Price is $0.80 per seedling for small orders (cheaper for larger orders) and the minimum order is 10. The total (with delivery and everything) for 10 seedlings is about $27.
Minimum order for Lawyers Nursery was 50 seedlings, which came out to a little over $2.70 per seedling including shipping, handling, etc. Missouri Dept of Conservation is the better deal.
