anyone growing any in zone 4a/b? A friend is interested
But Many American and American hybrid persimmons produce seedless fruit without a pollinator, that was the original question.
In Russia yes!
The US East coast has too much sun at the end of winter and too many temperature fluctuations.
Ironically if you shaded it from the sun and added snow around it at the end of winter, it might survive, but if it breaks bud then frost hits it, it could be dead.
Also depending on the variety, the fruit might not ripen before winter, even in zone 6 and 7 persimmons have these problems.
2 Likes
This is for a friend in edmonton
1 Like
Does anyone know for sure the % of Nikita’s Gift… I know above says 75% Asian kaki / 25% American virgininia…
That implies scenario#1 below… but “seedling of Rosseyanka” which some people i thought say was used in the cross… implies either scenarion#2 or #3 below:
- Rosseyanka female (50%/50%) crossed with a 100% Asian male
making Nikita’s Gift = 75%Asian / 25%American (@Richard‘s Excel file has this)
or i heard maybe NG is actually some seedling of Rosseyanka (called “Rossey2Male”) crossed with an unidentified 100% Asian female
-
if that male seedling of Rosseyanka was created by crossing Rosseyanka (female) with a 100% American (male)…
then this “Rossey2Male” would be 75%American / 25%Asian
and it crossed with a 100% Asian (female)
so in that case NG would be: 62.5%Asian / 37.5%American -
if that male seedling of Rosseyanka was created by crossing Rosseyanka (female) with a 100% Asian (male)…
then this “Rossey2Male” would be 25%American / 75%Asian
and it crossed with a 100% Asian (female)
so in that case NG would be: 87.5%Asian / 15.5%American
Anyone know for sure?
2 Likes
To find out as much as i did above hang out on the Ukrainian and Russian websites and remember Nikita’s Gift is actually called Nikitskaya Bordovaya. Nikitskaya Bordovaya is from the The Nikita Botanic Garden in Yalta.
This website Persimmon (D. kaki x D. virginiana) NIKITA´s GIFT - kontajner simply says
“Interspecific hybrid of the 2nd generation (BC2), type PCA. It was created by selection from the offspring of a backcross of the variety “Rosseyanka” with D. virginiana. The original name ‘Nikitskaya Bordovaya’ is also used. It is very frost-hardy and can be grown in colder regions.
Crossing: Rosseyanka x open pollination with an unknown variety of Diospyros virginiana. Breeder: Oleksandr Naumovich Kazas, Nikitsky Botanical Garden, Yalta, Crimea, 1975.
Vigor: semi-vigorous, a 10-year-old tree reaches a height of 3 – 3.5 m, with a rounded-pyramidal crown
Flowering period: June. This variety is parthenocarpic, meaning that it bears seedless fruit even without pollination. With the presence of another variety as a pollinator, somewhat larger fruits with seeds develop.
Fruit: medium-sized, 60 - 120 g, with round-flattened shape. Skin orange-red to burgundy when ripe and soft. The flesh is jammy, burgundy, sweet, and very flavorful when ripe.
Harvest season: the fruits ripen gradually, the first already at the end of September and the last in December
Yield: regular and abundant; even in dry years, up to 70 kg of high-quality fruit can be harvested from a mature tree
Disease resistance: resistant to fungal diseases and pests, no chemical protection is required during the growing season
Frost resistance: -24°C to -25°C, in more northerly regions, frost protection is recommended for the first two years after planting”
≈======================
Now lets discuss the other perspective. I would go directly to Cliff England myself for clarification based on this statement https://affnorchard.org/masterplantlist/diospyros-hybrid-ukr-nb-01-nikitas-gift/
“Diospyros hybrid – UKR (NB-01) “Nikita’s Gift”
Collection Status: Cultivar is present at AFFN – planted at AFFN: October 26, 2025
Common Name: Hybrid Persimmon
Parental Cross: Rosseyanka x OP (kaki)
Geographic Origin: Ukraine, near Kherson
Finder/Creator: Dr. Oleksandr Kazas, 1975
Known Sources: Brambleberry Farm, Just Fruits and Exotics
Alternative Names: NB-01, Nikitskaya Bordovadya
Notes: A smallish tree, originally from Ukraine, precocious and very productive has no astringency once the fruit is ripe and is a medium to large fruit. It is a complex hybrid of American and Asian Persimmon hybrid. Cold hardy to Zone 6a. The original name for Nikita’s Gift is Nikitiskaya Bordovaya(NB), or which loosely translated, means burgundy of Nikita Gardens. It is a daughter of Rosseyanka(D.virginianaXkaki hybrid, aka Russian Beauty) back-crossed to kaki – so, it is 3/4 D.kaki. Per Cliff England, Nikita’s Gift is NB-01, but is not Nikitskaya Bordovaya, 9/18/2023.
So if I read this right, the Ukrainian source says Rosseyanka x DV male whereas Cliff England says Rosseyanka x Kaki male, both open pollination so it really depends on what male trees happened to be available for pollinating insects.
Offhand, I’d assume the Ukrainians are more credible – after all, they developed the variety. Also if Nikita’s Gift is hardy to -25 C / -13 F, there’s probably more Virginiana than Kaki in the genome.
That brings up a question – In my notes, I’ve recorded testimony from Cliff England that Nikita’s Gift is killed at -5 F. I’d be very pleased if that’s true only for young trees with -13 F more accurate for established trees. Can others weigh in on this issue?
p.s. ChatGPT claims that the Ukrainians do NOT assert a DV male. It says that this is a misunderstanding / mistranslation. All that is known for sure is that there was open pollination, so it depends on whatever males were present.
2 Likes
Any European/Ukrainian people maybe will know as maybe they know any people involved in persimmon breeding now or then?
@Vitamin @Harbin I think I saw them post in some Ukrainian persimmon convos so thought I’d tag them.
3 Likes
“Nikita’s Gift” - Nikitskaya Bordovadya (daughter of Rossiyanka). This cultivar was developed from open-pollinated seedlings of the Rossiyanka cultivar. It belongs to the constant group. It is a dioecious variety producing only female flowers. It is prone to parthenocarpy. The tree is of medium vigor. The crown and leaves are more reminiscent of oriental persimmon. [11]
11. В.П. Черняев. Культура хурмы в Крыму и на юге Украины// Научно-техническое издание по растениеводству. 2012 г.
В.П. Черняев - Ukrainian scientist who studied persimmon
Nikitskaya Bordovadya is a variety selected by the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. It was obtained from free pollination (apparently by oriental persimmon) of the Rosianka variety. Morphologically, it is closer to oriental persimmon.[45]
45. Дерев'янко В.М., Дерев'янко Н.В. Гібридна хурма. // Садівництво по-українськи: журнал. - 2017, №3. - с. 90-93.
Дерев'янко В.М. - Ukrainian scientist who studied persimmon. Breeder, author of such varieties as Sosnovskaya, Dar Sofiyivka, Adolf Lishchuk, and others.
Rosseyanka (Hybrid Rossiyanka-18) was obtained by crossing a Virginia persimmon (female) with an Oriental persimmon (male). This is a dioecious female form from the constant group (fruits are tart when firm and are consumed after 10-30 days of storage). The variety is partially self-fertile (develops parthenocarpic fruits)[11].
11. В.П. Черняев. Культура хурмы в Крыму и на юге Украины// Научно-техническое издание по растениеводству. 2012 г.
В.П. Черняев - Ukrainian scientist who studied persimmon
5 Likes
@sergey thanks
“Nikita’s Gift” - Nikitskaya Bordovadya (daughter of Rossiyanka). This cultivar was developed from open-pollinated seedlings of the Rossiyanka cultivar. It belongs to the constant group. It is a dioecious variety producing only female flowers. It is prone to parthenocarpy. The tree is of medium vigor. The crown and leaves are more reminiscent of oriental persimmon. [11]
11. В.П. Черняев. Культура хурмы в Крыму и на юге Украины// Научно-техническое издание по растениеводству. 2012 г.
В.П. Черняев - Ukrainian scientist who studied persimmon
Nikitskaya Bordovadya is a variety selected by the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. It was obtained from free pollination (apparently by oriental persimmon) of the Rosianka variety. Morphologically, it is closer to oriental persimmon.[45]
45. Дерев'янко В.М., Дерев'янко Н.В. Гібридна хурма. // Садівництво по-українськи: журнал. - 2017, №3. - с. 90-93.
Дерев'янко В.М. - Ukrainian scientist who studied persimmon. Breeder, author of such varieties as Sosnovskaya, Dar Sofiyivka, Adolf Lishchuk, and others.
Rosseyanka (Hybrid Rossiyanka-18) was obtained by crossing a Virginia persimmon (female) with an Oriental persimmon (male). This is a dioecious female form from the constant group (fruits are tart when firm and are consumed after 10-30 days of storage). The variety is partially self-fertile (develops parthenocarpic fruits)[11].
11. В.П. Черняев. Культура хурмы в Крыму и на юге Украины// Научно-техническое издание по растениеводству. 2012 г.
В.П. Черняев - Ukrainian scientist who studied persimmon
1 Like
@Sergey – Thanks!
This helpful message from Sergey confirms that Nikita’s Gift was produced by open pollination, so the pollen parent is an educated guess but probably Kaki based on male-flowering varieties in the vicinity.
3 Likes