Given you have no grafting experience, a lot depends on your confidence and desire to learn. The size of the scar deserves some attention other than ignoring and allowing nature to take its course.
If you want to learn grafting and you have access to compatible Asian persimmon wood, green or dormant does not matter, you could perform a square patch by cutting out a piece of the bark down to the cambium layer, then cutting out a new piece of fresh compatible Asian persimmon bark the exact same size, then cover the scar with the bark patch and compress it on with plain old plastic strips about 1ā wide from plastic bags in your grocery store. Or you can still try what Ryan suggested as an alternate if you think you want a new scaffold there. Either would overtime prevent infection and address your concern. Otherwise do as I suggested earlier and sanitize it and cover it but not too tight with the same 1ā wide plastic strip which you need to remove after 1 year of growth to prevent girdling this tree trunk. Do not be concerned about the tressās ability to recover to full strength but do keep it staked for several years as long as it takes for the bark to grow back over that scar.
Take care
Dennis
Kent, wa
Thank you again Dennis and everyone!
I will acess the damage once more, and do something!
I did go on line and watch some videos on grafting. Seems like something I would like to explore more.
One guy did say though that though he is generally 95 % succuessfull with grafting apples, he is only 40% succesfful with persimons.
Keeping that in mind, I think I will try the sanitize and wrap lightly approach, and monitor
John
Iām sorry to have to disagree with kind members eager to help. But this is no place for grafting. Either leave it as is in which case it will be fine. Or cut it back below the damage and let it regrow. The damage seems to bother you, so cut it back. Thereās a branch going left in pics above thatās pretty upright. Cut just above that and train the branch to your stake to hold it fully upright.
Thatās easy and simple. Grafting persimmon is difficult. And trying to repair the damage with a graft would likely just make matters worse even for an experienced grafter.
If it was me I would cut it and just have a lower branch become the new leader as @fruitnut suggested. Losing that top bit of growth above the damage is not going to make much difference down the road, particularly because it is dormant now and it hasnāt used the energy to push new growth.
It may heal fine and probably would if you just left it alone and supported it, but I just think you lose so little by cutting away the top that I would do that vs. have any possible issue down the road.
Thanks for the input everyone. For this little twig I probably spent about 80 dollars with shipping, so really want to do the best thing for my little twig.
I was able to bend up that one side branck no problem to make it the central leader. For the time being I also sanitized the wound and covered it up with plastic.
I guess it would be best then to cut off of the old terminal leader, so all the energy goes to the new one??
If you want much vigor in the side branch, youāll need to cut out the old leader. Doing so wonāt be much of a setback for the tree. Youāll get about the same amount of new growth. It will just be lower.
Thank you Fruitnut!!!
I will remove the leader as soon as we have a few days of dry weather.
Also,
Last fall I wrote asking for some advice on my grape leaves that have been rivitted by machine gun bullets.
Some of the members were able to tell me what they really are, something called phloxerra (sp).
But I am still uncertain as to what I need to do, or what my options are.
I wonder if you or one of the other leaders would be able to advise me on this???
With much appreciation.
John in Kentucky
I think you need plants that have resistant rootstocks. Itās the root damage that really damages the plant. Thatās what Iāve always heard. No firsthand experience.
I just want to thank you all for chiming in when I needed some advice on my persimmon.
I did end up removing the central leader and bending up the top side branch, and the tree is doing great, and has put on a lot of growth this growing season!
John in Kentucky