Diospyros vir. Recommendations from Jerry Lehman

General Fruit Growing
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These are some of Jerry’s Favorites. I’ve been on the phone with Jerry today.

Prok
Dollywood (D128)
Early Jewel (Claypool H118)
100-42
100-44
100-46
Claypool’s (I115)
Claypool’s (H63A)

I think any backyard grower would be happy all their life if they had just these D.vir. selections. All are 100% female and if no male persimmons in vicinity you will have seedless fruit growing these.

Notes:
Prok - Large, excellent.
Dollywood - especially for commercial growing but just as well for backyard growers. Firm.
Early Jewel - Backyard & commercial
100-42 especially commercial but backyard too.
100-44 especially commercial but backyard too.
100-46 especially commercial but backyard too.
I115 early, medium/large, drops firm
H63A - Jerry says only drawback for commercial applications is it is soft (if you consider that a problem). good crops, sweet, backyard, mid-season.

Jerry has straw under all his trees so even the soft persimmons land w/o being overly squashed.

Dax

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Thanks, Dax. What USDA hardiness zone is Jerry in?

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He’s at the edge of 6a where 5b is literally a few miles away.

Glad to share.

Dax

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4

Thanks Dax, are you currently growing any persimmons?

5

Thanks @Barkslip for the list. I’ve got some rootstocks to graft to next spring so I’ll have to keep a look out for scions of these varieties.

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Hi @ediblelandscaping.sc I’m grafting persimmons but haven’t planted them yet. Last year is the first year I began bench grafting persimmons and pawpaws.

You guys can contact Jerry Lehman for scionwood. He sells scionwood. jwlehmantree@gmail.com

Dax

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7

Cliff England is selling 100-46 as Lehman’s Delight if that helps anyone.

8

Do you find it easier to graft native to native than Asian to native?

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I’m not Dax, but I grafted around 10-15 of each and had equal success provided good scion wood. I saw no difference in kaki vs virginiana (virginiana rootstock).

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same here

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That’s right… it should not make any difference. Persimmons are very easy to get takes from.

Dax

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Good to hear. What diameter rootstock were you grafting to? I have a few that are fairly thick but many that are still a bit thin. With apples I’ve been able to graft 1/8" successfully but those are pretty forgiving I think.

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1/8" max on all. I veneer grafted them. I veneer grafted conifers for longer than a decade and much of it was miniature material less than that. I’d get stuff in that was toothpick caliper. One bud on a stem a toothpick or less in width.

I’m a 90% grafter of conifers… even that little shit. I learned from a man that was recognized among my peers as the best conifer grafter in the USA. His name was Dennis Dodge and he passed away 3-years ago this December. Bethlehem Nursery was his place in Connecticut.

Dax

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As a counterpoint, I grafted a few giant scions from Cliff England that were around a half inch thick (or bigger) without issue.

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Dax do you have any variegated pine trees you’d be willing to trade or sale? I’ve also been looking for Abies koreana Horstmanns Silberlocke, Abies koreana Silver Show, and Chamaecyparis pisifera Snow Reversion.

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@ampersand Did you three or four flap them or chisel away?

@ediblelandscaping.sc I believe I do not. I stopped grafting conifers altogether and what I have in my temp beds are not variegated pines.

Dax

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Thanks for the quick response,and good luck with your fruit tree grafting.

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Thanks Dax. I haven’t tried veneer grafts so maybe I’ll try that on some of the ones I have. I’ve primarily used cleft and W/T but I should have enough understock material to try all three for persimmon grafting this year.

Brad

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@bradkairdolf I cut into the rootstock and leave on average a 1/4" of the flap remaining cutting the rest of the above portion of the flap off. On the scion I only cut one side and then lay the cut/exposed portion down on a cork board and make a 1/4" “wedge” on the front side. There’s no need whatsoever to make two long cuts on the scion. Your takes will improve if you do this.

Cork is a natural antiseptic so as long as you clean it with water every so often and never any other cleaning agent you can lay cut scions directly on top of it without harming the cambium. I use the brand: Bambu in the medium size board.

Dax

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Thanks again for the tips. I’ll keep these in mind when I try it next year.