I recently received an Ichi Ki Kei Jiro persimmon tree. It has been looking great, but last night the temps dipped into the high 30’s and today the leaves are limp and lifeless looking. Do you think the tree will bounce back from this? Any advice on what to do if we get another cold snap? Thanks in advance!
I started a new IKKJ … planted in ground a month or more ago. Here in z7a mine is just starting to bud swell and have some tiny leaves.
It has not experienced any temps below about 45 since it buds started swelling and greening.
But I started two new JPlums this year. They both bloomed mid/late Feb… and one set 100 tiny plums… which a couple weeks later went thru a few nights in the 25-28 range.
I covered the one with tiny fruit… but the fruit shriveled and fell off.
The leaves on both looked sad and wilty for a few days… but did bounce back and are looking great now.
Hope your IKKJ pulls thru. I find it hard to believe that upper 30s would cause serious damage… but I have no experience with IKKJ yet.
I’m in Northeast Pennsylvania, zone 6a. I also planted a Rosseyanka, but that one took a beating during packing/shipping, so I can’t tell much of a difference. The Ichi looked great when it arrived, though, so I am a little bummed to see it looking so sad. I am stoked to finally be growing some persimmons, though! Hopefully it bounces back.
People were talking about growing non astringent persimmon here a few months ago. I asked about IKKJ. People said even in zone 6b on American rootstock it suffered a slow death. I made sure they had it on American and they said they did so I question if IKKJ is actually zone 6 hardy given others comments.
You bought a potted IKKJ ?
From which nursery?
I personally don’t think in-ground IKKJ can handle zone 6a unprotected, at least, not for long.
@galinas grew it in zone 5 with protection the first couple of years.
I got them from JustFruitsandExotics. Both the IKKJ and the Rossey arrived in 3 gallon pots. The Rossey is in the ground, the IKKJ is still in it’s 3 gallon pot. I have been debating putting it in the ground, but I also have an idea that I may try out. Do you know how Pawpaws sent in pots are typically in open bottomed pots to air prune the tap root? I have a 15 gallon nursery pot and I was thinking about cutting out the bottom and replacing it with 2 pieces of 1/4 inch mesh hardware cloth, held in place up the sides by zipties through holes drilled in the pot. I’ll then layer the bottom of the pot with 1/2 inch stone, fill with soil, and plant the IKKJ in there. I already have a fig tree that I lug inside during the winter, might as well give it a friend. Could this a viable option to keep the persimmon tap root from spinning circles around the pot?
You can try this pot, it air prunes all the roots very well. 12 Gallon Air Pruning Pots by Ultra Oxy Pots | HTG Supply
I’ve got 3 IKKJ’s in the ground here, borderline Z6B/7A. The trees had two rough winters at the outset but have been OK since. HOWEVER, I agree with @mamuang that odds are against survival in Z6A with normal winter temps.
That said, I wouldn’t expect damage from the high 30’s F.
Your Rosseyanka should be fine in zone 6a.
Don’t know if you saw Bob’s thread. He is in zone 7. Weird weather these past several have has made growing fruit in borderline zones riskier.
Yea, I’m hoping the Rosseyanka can hack it here. If it winds up dying I am going to put a Prok or Yates in its place (though ideally I would get my hands on a JT-02). I bought the IKKJ on a bit of a whim… I’ll probably see how it fares in a container. The weather has certainly been tough. This past winter was mild, for the most part, but we had a few nights that dropped below zero with serious winds on top of that. It is nice to see Bob taking that kind of loss in stride.
I killed many trees due to in neglect. If trees have issue in late fall (due to deer or whatever), it will not be very resilient in the next spring.
Usually the nursery grown trees like yours should be resilient in the next spring because it was grown in ideal environment. Look for new buds to form in next week or so.
If temps get low again, you can protect the tender growth with few layers of a plastic grocery bag with a string. It could help a lot.
But to be honest, if the tree didn’t make it because temps hit 30 in mid-April, maybe it’s not the best tree for your zone.