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.
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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?
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You can try this pot, it air prunes all the roots very well. 12 Gallon Air Pruning Pots by Ultra Oxy Pots | HTG Supply
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
If anyone has a dormant Ichi Ki Ke Jiro scion, please PM me. I’m happy to pay for it.
My tree planted last spring has died to the graft. It was only about 15 inches tall overall.
I know it’s late.
I’ll look around elsewhere as well.
I will likely have some IKKJ scion, but later in the season, and not dormant.
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Is persimmon different than stone fruit for grafting? I still assume you need dormant wood to be successful.
My first persimmon tree so I’m not sure if there is something different about grafting one.
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I’m right there with you–I have no idea.
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I grafted persimmons in the spring when they leaf out. Scionwood was collected when it’s dormant (winter) and kept in a fridge until it’s time to graft.
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Phil,
I have three in the fridge if you are still wanting some. They are relatively small 3/16” diameter but full of growth buds. I can mail them to you if you still need them.
Dennis
Kent, wa
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So, the graft is harvested during a Persimmon tree’s dormancy, and it has to be grafted after the Persimmon has broken dormancy?
That’s how it is done for spring grafting for fruit trees, not just persimmons.
There are other grafting methods but spring grafting is very common.
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Something to do in February. 
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The scion wood is collected late winter when the wood is very dormant.
It can then be packaged properly and stored in the fridge crisper drawer. It will keep well there for months and will remain dormant.
Then in the spring when your apple rootstock is ready (waking up, budding, shoots, small leaves, sap flowing, bark slipping).
Graft your dormant scion wood onto the rootstock that has come out of dormancy… and it will cause the scionwood to wake up, grow, the graft union heals, etc.
That is how it works.
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OK but bud grafting is different, right?
Can a bud graft be donated from a non-dormant donor, and grafted on to a non-dormant recipient?
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