All these persimmons we’re talking about are either PC types or PVNA types, right? Are there any PVA types to consider for a pollinated persimmon planting?
I lost Maru to a late frost 2 years ago. Mine was on D.lotus but if compatible I’d like to try it on virginiana just to see if they leaf out later or are more frost resistant than those grafted on lotus. My chocolate also grown on lotus is doing badly after getting slammed by a late frost this past spring. There is still some good wood on the tree so I will graft it to D. virginiana this Spring. My maru was OC by the way so i’m not sure about how Wye Maru.
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My Chocolate kaki persimmon appears to have set its first fruit. Or perhaps these are just female flowers? There are no male flowers except ONE male flower on the same Chocolate tree that is just beginning to form. This sure is strange. Perhaps I have a bunch of unpollinated fruit forming here? If that is the case, can I eat such fruit after it softens in the fall?
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Chocolate: Dead as doornail. Last year I topworked a D.V. rootstock to Chocolate. Grew nicely last year here in 7 A/B. 100% dead this Spring. I knew this was a gamble but it seemed others grow Chocolate at least a bit N. of my location. Oh well. I’ve never lost any of these to winter kill: Itchi, Fuyu, Giboshi, San Pedro, Matsumoto Wase Fuyu, Gailey. You win some, you lose some and some get rained out.
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Ham,
That sucks- sorry.
To be clear- My Chocolate and Coffeecake persimmons are in my z7a backyard in the city. They are planted in loamy soil with wood fences and brick structures protecting them from the worst of the winter winds on all sides- sort of like a courtyard, if you can imagine.
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My chocolate persimmon died this winter as well. My fuyus are growing like mad so I have no idea what killed it. Any idea what rootstock chocolates use? I’m getting growth below the graft point but everything above it is toast. 
My experience is with Coffee Cake, which I grafted on my Jiro tree. There were both pollinated and non-pollinated fruits. I am still not sure if they were self pollinated or were pollinated by a neighbor’s Hachiya tree which was overtaken by rootstock which seemed to have some kind of flowers.
I didn’t wait for the non-pollinated ones to soften to mush before I ate them. The reason is that I can only tell if the fruits are pollinated by peeling off some skin. By then it is too late to leave them on the counter to continue to ripen.
I immediately put them into the freezer, and ate after a few days. By then there was no astringency but they were not as good as counter ripened Jiro.
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Georgous! What rootstock do chocolates use?
Mine is on D. lotus, which I have to admit I’ve been surprised has worked so well. My tree is in a protected area (a backyard that’s more like a courtyard, surrounded on many sides by wooden fences and brick structures) so the worst of the winter winds don’t knock it around).
I would imagine D. virginiana would be a better choice.
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Congrats. My young Chocolate was all male last year and mostly male this year. I think there are a few female flower buds on it.
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It is fascinating how Chocolate varies its blooms. Mine started out nearly all female and now its 80% male. Its also about dead; I keep trying to move it to another stock without luck. This last year I had it nicely moved but the stock I put it on proved to not be so hardy and the whole thing croaked. I am growing a new virginiana root just for it and hope to graft it next spring.
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I got a Dave Wilson nursery choc persimmon and the graft died over the winter. It’s now sprouting back from the rootstock below the graft union. Any idea what this will turn into if left alone?
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They used to use lotos for rootstock, not sure what they are using now though. You should be able to tell by the leaves whether its kaki, virginiana, or lotos.
ill post some pics once it has leaves.
Weird mix of flowers on my Chocolate:
The sole (male?) flower has opened:
A few of the old (female?) flowers persist. Maybe these are ready to fruit?
I touched the tips of each flower multiple times with my finger in the hopes of self-pollinating the plant, assuming that hasn’t already happened.
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On my Coffee Cake persimmon, I found that I had to use a small brush to reach the pollen.
I hope Coffee Cake doesn’t need cross pollination, as I don’t have other varieties that produce male flowers.
I thought the male flowers came in clusters of 3.
I assume Coffeecake will be edible soft if not pollinated. If pollinated, seeded and edible firm or soft.
Yes, edible but not necessarily flavorful as compared to a pollinated one.
For it to live up to its name, I’m sure Coffeecake needs to be pollenized by a different variety like Chocolate. The question is, how good is a ripened, unpollenated Coffeecake persimmon. I’d like to know the answer to that too.
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