I see lots of hybrids between Asian and American persimmons, but is anyone crossing American persimmons with Diospyros nigra, black sapote? It would be nice to combine the big, sweet fruit of the black sapote with the cold-hardiness of the American persimmon.
Doing the cross would be awkward, probably involving mailing pollen from one zone to another, since I don’t think the trees can grow in the same climate, but the results could be interesting.
Not to be confused with Zapote Negro (Diospyros revoluta ), aka Black Apple - a very poisonous fruit. Although the common names translate to the same name, they were created in two different cultures and have distinct meanings in those locations.
I’m planning to try to cross it with D. texana since I think they have matching chromosome counts and their native ranges are near but non-overlapping. I haven’t acquired the nigra tree yet, and have just started a couple batches of texana seedlings after getting mislabeled seeds a couple years ago. So this is many years out, but that is the plan!
I will grow the nigra in my greenhouse, and might do the same with the texana, though I’ll test the latter outside here.
It might be easier in parts of FL where the zones meet up near the coast. There are places here you can drive a short bit and be in a very different climate because of the moderating effect of the water, especially the gulf. I’m in zone 9B. I thought I was too far south for American persimmons but they grow in the wild 20 minutes from my house and I’m going to try to graft improved varieties onto seedlings when the time is right. I also have a black sapote I grew from seed I want to try to situate in such a way that it won’t get too cold in winter. It’s in a pot and 4 ft tall right now. I was also thinking about getting a grafted one with a smaller habit. There are a few varieties in nurseries around me. I know my sister on the coast can grow it (10A).
Oh that would be a dream cross if it worked out to a smaller tree that was more cold tolerant with bigger fruit
Daley’s Fruit Nursery in Australia has a good number of better selections of diospyros nigra.
What chromosome level of ploidy would you be aiming for?