When do you spray for Coddling moth?
I did a quick search and IKKJ appears to be borderline hardy for zone 6. Although Iām in 6b, do you think a winter cold front could wipe them out?
Iām not expert but Iād day after petal drop and again late July.
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Have you tried American or hybrid persimmons before? They have intense flavor and soft (some mushy) texture. It is not for everyone. None of my family members eat them.
Hopefully, you will grow something you like to eat.
I have a small IKKJ (MA, 6b) and in its 5th year it looks like itās finally going to hold on to a half-dozen fruit! (Hope I didnāt just jinx myself.) 
@Marco ā My experience is that the young tree is vulnerable. I planted mine in 2015. I had 50% top kill the first winter. Maybe 20% second winter. No damage after that.
I planted some new Asian varieties this year. My plan is to protect them for 2 years just like I would protect figs. Then theyāre on their own.
I recommend IKKJ knowing specifically that (1) it can survive Z6B, though it is not a sure thing; and (2) it will ripen fruit between mid-October and mid-November.
That said, a hybrid will survive too. The two questions are (1) will it reopen, and (2) will it lose astringency. I have Kassandra and Mikkusu, so Iām betting the answers are yes. I just have no proof yet.
Any reason why it wouldnāt be able to wipe them out? A bad winter is a powerful thing.
Here in the north we talk in term of ātest yearsā, that one winter that is particularly horrible. We are talking a combination of sudden temperature changes, record lows, no snow coverage to provide insulation, strong winds, you name it. A tree is not judge as hardy until it goes through one of those and come out the other end reasonably well.
To us up here borderline hardy means the tree is waiting for one of those winters to die. It could be next year, or four down the road, but you know it is coming. With thousands of options for fruit trees and a very limited place to put not even a tiny fraction of them, I would put selecting suitable varieties on the top of the priority list. There is no point taking a chance on one borderline tree when there are literally hundreds that would work better for you.
it was a sour cherry tree, Montmorency, my favorite, just planted one here in France. Cannot wait till next spring. I hope its covered with blossoms. Of all of the trees in my orchard in RI, it was the most trouble free. No black knot, no mould, only enemies were mocking birds and squirrels. After five years the tree was a much larger size and loaded with cherries. All delicious.
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Someone had recommended me to plant a Northstar Cherry, which is a sour cherry as well. I donāt think I ever had a sour cherry. Are they good to eat fresh? I wonāt be having any time to bake! LOL
You can eat them fresh, but the taste is different. It is a pie cherry as are most sour cherries. Sour is sour.
I agree with the sentiment, I just want to be clear about the facts. Z6B implies an average winter low between -5 F and 0 F with an occasional excursion above / below. In my 10 years at this location, Iāve seen -7 F once and -3 F a couple times. My IKKJs have survived it all. Also, winters appear to be getting warmer but Iām not going to speculate. Iāll assume the FDA is right.
Issue #1 is the young tree. All young trees are probably more vulnerable. But a young tree is small and can be easily protected. So I would strongly recommend winter protection for 1-2 years.
Issue #2 is the hardiness of the mature tree. The FDA Zones reflect averages, and yes there will bad winters. So the question is how bad. Moving beyond facts to speculation based on unsystematic grower reports, I believe that IKKJ is probably OK down to approximately -5 F. Maybe it would survive -10 F. That all would make it OK for Z6B but not for Z6A.
Also, it is well documented that cold hardiness in persimmons depends on timing. When the trees are deeply dormant (Dec - Feb), they are much tougher than when they are even thinking about emerging (March - April). So all these benchmarks are highly dependent on when.
Depends on you taste buds but usually the answer is no. They are sour with a more intense flavor. My daughter doesnāt have a sweet tooth so she prefers sour cherries over sweet.
On the other hand a sweet cherry can never match the intense cherry taste you get when you juice and cook with them. It is like expecting an orange to match the intensity of a lemon.
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I grew up in Italy and we had astringent Kakis in our farms (not sure which variety). Mushy, but delicious!