I am thinking about trying these asian persimmons. I would love to hear if anyone is successful in growing them in zone 6 inground. Also If anyone has them in pots I’d love to hear how it’s going, that might be an option too.
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In ground unprotected or protected? 6 a or 6b.
One member here @anon89542713 is growing Ichi KKJ in ground but with very good winter protection.
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Yes, I do. It is growing under gazebo frame, so I create two layers for Reflective insulation with 200 watt heat lamp and fan inside, regulated by thermostat set at 23F.
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I thought IKKJ can take down to -10. Does your temp go below that Galinas?
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I’ve had IKKJ for 6 years and seen no damage. I think I’m kind of on the border between a and b. I also have Matsumoto Wase which is listed as zone 7 on some sites… it has done very well with no damage.
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It should, however, the first year I had it without heater it froze out almost to the ground with just 3 low buds above graft survived. It had a cover, but no heater. And it was not even that cold that winter. So for precautions next year I set the heat lamp and thermostat around 28F. This year moved it down to 23. May be next year I will move it even more down. The problem with our winters is that temperature can easy jump 50-60 degrees up and down in 36 hours, the temperature set high enough will flatten that jump.
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You are in 6a?
Rach,
I am speaking of persimmon trees in ground only. Not potted trees.
I am in zone 6a and@Galinas is in zone 5b.
People should not just use the lowest temp alone to a make decision.
There are times in my zone 6 a when temp drop to -20 F. More importantly, when we have mild winter in Jan or Feb and lowest temp in March. The temp swing does more damage.
I grow Nikita’s Gift which is cold hardier than IKKJ but it could get killed in my zone. @tonyOmahaz5 used to grow NG 8n his zone 5. I think it got killed after 7-8 years.
Yes, even without winter protection you may be able to zone push. The question is how long? If you do not winter protect, the answer is not long. You can get away with it as long as Mother Nature allows you. As you know, She is unpredictable.
If you winter protect, it probably will last as long as you are not tired of protecting it when the tree is growing bigger/taller every year.
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Save yourself some time and headache and grow the JT-02 aka Mikkuso because it tasted sweeter and richer than Ichi and it can handled -20F easy. Just protect it the first year to get it going.
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Halfway relevant: I have a very happy Jiro (not maekawa) in 6b. I don’t protect it in winter, but I did plant it near the south side of my house.
I do expect it to someday succumb to a harsh winter, but I have yet to see any dieback after ~5 years in ground.
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I had KKJ for about 8 years, producing for the last 4 of them. It died back to the ground and pushed some growth the following year. I grafted it over to Nikita’s Gift and am waiting for it to get larger enough to start producing again. The process has been very slow as the plants around it have benefitted by not having to compete with the persimmon.
While I am in Michigan, my location is quite sheltered and the persimmon and a couple pomegranates were all I lost that year. Neither has recovered well.
Scott
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Thanks Everyone! I just wanted to hear real world experience in lower zones with these. The reality of global warming is the fluctuating jet stream so maybe it just isn’t worth the effort and I should put some in very large pots.
Rach – I’m łatę to this discussion, but FWIW I have three IKKJ planted in 2015. I got the first good harvest this past year (2020). One tree ripened nothing but the other two gave me 25-30 excellent fruits total. I’m expecting more in the future.
I’m in Z6B (borderline 7A) RI. The 1st year, I had 50-60% top-kill but there’s been minimal damage since then, despite winter lows of -3 to -7 F a few times. The trees break bud fairly early but manage frost OK; last year we had a hard frost May 9-10.
I don’t disagree with Tony’s recommendation of a hybrid. I planted Kassandra in 2016 (it blossomed last year but did not set fruit) and I’m trying to start Mikkusu / JT02 grafted to American seedling rootstock now.
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Is yours in an exposed site or protected behind your house? Do you cover it, or it survives fine unprotected? Asking about Matsumoto.
It died! Along with all the other zone 7 cultivars. But Roseyanka and Kasandra are tough and haven’t seen any damage on them ever.
An update to my comments above. . . . I’ve had three IKKJ unprotected in the ground since 2015. In the 1st two years, the trees suffered severe damage at ~ -3 F. After that, there was minimal damage through 2022 despite temps briefly at -3 to -5 F a few times. In Feb 2023, there were two nights at -5 F and -7 F. The trees were nearly killed. All wood 1-2 years old was killed outright. Buds eventually popped from older wood roughly 1 month late in late May. I consider this a near-death experience.
My take-away is that IKKJ will be killed by persistent cold < -5 F. It is definitely not hardy to -10 F.
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