JT-02 is winter hardy but can be affected by severe last spring freezes that don’t seem to affect D.V. as much. My JT-02 barely bloomed last year because of a hard late April freeze, and in some cases, had some dead wood. I suspect all hybrids could suffer from the same issue.
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It is @KYnuttrees busy time of the year. I’m hoping him and @tonyOmahaz5 show up soon to add some additional information about the latest hybrids they are experimenting with.
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@clarkinks just FYI. Cliff reported on FB that he had gotten Lyme disease and had some other issue, so was slowed down for a while. So he may not have much time for input here.
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I just moved to a new place with lots of room to trial Hybrid persimmons. I will heavily cross breeding the Dar Sofiyviky since the fruit is much larger and earlier ripening than JT-02 with similar cold hardiness. I got 3 seeds of JT-02 crossed with the hardy male Kaki Cheong Pyong to plant out this March 2024 for trial. I also planted a dozen other hybrid persimmon varieties to trial also. I will keep on updating how they do in Z5 yearly.
Tony
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Clark, this thread Paul started has a lot of good information about existing varieties, including some lesser known ones.
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Chuchupaka should be added to this list.
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Chuchupaka is one worth trying in 6a, i hope i have it also, I probably have it among my younger trees i grafted and lost the tag.
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Ive got it growing here in SE Vermont, zone 5. Im not sure hardiness wise, but ripening time (a main concern here) seemed workable based on descriptions Id read. One suggestion Id add for these hardiness lists different folks have compiled is to include ripening time. For those of us in borderline persimmon cultivation regions, it may well be more limiting than hardiness. My experience, such as it is, has been that essentially ALL hexaploid virginiana cultivars are hardy here in “zone 5”. Ive has to be judicious about picking cultivars that ripen before the seasons “turn” and though, which in recent yrs (Ive been here ~20) is Nov. 1 or so.
In any case, theres little point growing a fruit tree that wont successfully ripen during your season, hardy or not. Its possible this has been included and Ive missed it.
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Good thought. I dont really have that worry here in KS, but you do. Mr Cliff has tested most of these hybrids and hasnt mentioned one to ripen too late, so i think they should ripen for you.
I believe Mr Cliff shared that NB-02 ripens on the earlier side, he posted ripe pictures one time that i recall, of them being early .
I recommend you try JT-02 and NB-02, along with Chuchupaka.
Another thing is that hybrids can be picked earlier than natives, and ripen on the table. You can pick hybrids when they are orange but not yet ripe, like Kaki.
I’m a little further south than @hobilus but I’d echo his concerns. I have a friend in WV who raves about Nikita’s Gift, but he can barely ripen it – indoors. His USDA Zone is similar to mine but his growing season is a little longer, so I might have a tougher time. Nevertheless, I’m going to try it – but I expect disappointment.
My point is just that we shouldn’t take ripening of hybrids for granted.
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Makes sense.
Yeah I believe from what i have seen shared, that Nikitas Gift ripens on the late side, and has often been killed in 6b. Rosseyanka is even later than NG, though it is more 6a hardy.
Here is Mr Cliffs post on NB-02, in early September his location. @hobilus
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Has your friend tried picking the fruit unripe and ripened indoors? I’ve found early picked Nikita’s gift to be sweeter than every other tree ripened hybrid or American or even Asian.
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That sums it up exactly for many of us northern zone 4-5 folks.
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Yes. Picking in November then ripening indoors worked for him.
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Hmmm, curious. That might be reason enough to try it. It sounds like hardiness is a problem for NG. Rosseyanka, as mentioned above is supposed to be hardier (mine has been through -18 without a hiccup) but far later
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