Great pics!
These are all American varieties? Any kaki x Virginiana in there?
I know very little about persimmons.
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Great report, Dax!
Do you mean it’s an open-pollinated seedling of Nikita’s Gift?
Some of the fruit look like they have been in the freezer, or do they look like that fresh?
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Quite an operation!
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Dax,
I am glad that you had the chance to talk and meet with Jerry personally because there are not many American persimmons breeder left out there. He carried on the torch for his teacher Mr. Claypool. His orchard looked amazing.
Tony
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@growjimgrow you’re welcome. I like to do these things and meet these interesting people and see their life’s work. And I like to know what I’m grafting. You’re all welcome.
@SMC_zone6 Jerry spaces for an orchard. I know his pawpaws are on 5’ centers. I would say most of his persimmons are on 8’ centers. That never came up during conversation.
@tonyOmahaz5 thanks for answering Jim’s question. I know you would have really had a great time had you gone with us. Same with Steven. @SMC_zone6/Steven is hybridizing persimmons. I’m going to get as many grafted persimmons in his hands as possible.
@BG1977 All these are American persimmons. The exception is x Nikita’s Gift . I’m answering your question from the previous thread of ‘Prok and Yates’ that Tony posted. @Stan (also) yes, The photo above describes the cross. It is a seedling and it is of a true ‘Nikita’s Gift’. Therefore it’s an F2 Nikita’s Gift. Open pollinated so Jerry doesn’t know if American pollinated it or if Rosseyanka pollinated it. I tried to get as much information about it and there is no more. I couldn’t even tell you from which Nikita’s Gift Jerry grew it from. And I don’t know how many he may have either. And whether it’s closest pollinator (in bloom sequence) or simply nearest trees are American or Rosseyanka. Really the only thing I can tell everyone is that scionwood is available upon request.
Hi Stan I haven’t forgotten your question. I had them in a cooler with ice to bring them home. And the moment I got home I photographed them. The persimmons that aren’t ‘mushy-ish’ looking aren’t ripe. Look at Claypool’s H63A and the far left one has not ripened yet for eating. Same with Pfiffer the third far right. Those need to soften to look like the others in those photos.
As long as a persimmon is turning orange on the tree it may be harvested to ripen on the counter. Otherwise a green persimmon will not ripen. Let me add (edit) that a persimmon that is very soft on the tree is virtually perfect. The mushier they get the sweeter they are and if you look on the ground every day or every other day for those that have fallen they fall into this category. When they get mushy-looking like snot they are still extremely excellent. If you look at Tony’s recent picture of (2) Prok on his counter with a split on the skin of each, that’s the perfect picker off a tree (or) the ground. Some people may like them in a mushy state more.
Jerry’s operation is to allow the fruit to drop onto straw beneath the trees. When I or Tony or anyone with persimmons eat them we eat them off the ground as often as picking them. You see above the ‘Geneva Red’ has black skin. That’s not a problem at all. The more ripe the sweeter they are. Black spots all over them; all that mush. Fabulous tasting.
Thank you all.
Dax
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The Asian ones are hardy here (zone 7 MD), but the less hardy varieties only marginally so from what I know.
American persimmon is wild all over. You can see the little fruits from the road along the roadside this time of year.
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Hey B,
I would recommend that unless you’re in a true zone 7a maybe even 7b that you stick with Nikita’s Gift and Rosseyanka and American persimmon varieites. Zone 6b winters will kill any Asian’s from what I’ve heard.
Dax
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Dax,
Did you bring back some scions of that F2 Nikita’s Gift. I would love to bark graft a branch on my multigrafted Hybrids persimmon tree.
Tony
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I’ll get wood for you next spring, Tony. I’ll write it into my grafting notes right now to order a stick for you.
Best regards,
Dax
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@tonyOmahaz5,
The Nikita’s gift I saw in Kansas a week ago are huge but they are not ripe yet. They still need a lot more time. Color has not even began to change. They grafted them to the tips of branches of an American persimmon. Our winters have been milder lately so perhaps we can get away with more but even at that we are only zone 6 A here.
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@Barkslip There was a very famous botanist named Fernald long ago, I think I recall. Is your friend related?
He would say he is.
He’s a Frenchman and he says he’s never met anyone French he liked.
I’ll run it past him sometime.
Dax
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Yeah the name Fernald is royalty in the botany world.
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How did you like 100-46? Cliff England is selling that as Lehman’s Delight, he’s indicated it’s one of the best he’s had. I hope mine fruits soon!
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It’s excellent. Top of the line of the 100 series.
For commercial purposes it’s probably the best of all persimmons… It’s size and precociousness (bears probably 9/10 in the second year when bark grafted onto a decent size & established seedling) make it thee choice for commercial growers.
Really-really great flavor.
Dax
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Dax,
Thanks for the wonderful report and pictures. Now, you’ve messed up my persimmon wish list! 
However, I’d like to caution those who have never eaten soft, ripe persimmon (American) and pawpaws. It is an acquired taste. Some people can really be turn off by the taste and texture of soft persimmon and pawpaw esp. the squishy, slimy texture. @speedster1 once posted his honest view about one of these fruit.
I tried pawpaw once (Thanks @tonyOmahaz5). I don’t know how much I will like it. I like sugar apples but don’t care for cherimoya. I’ve planted two pawpaw trees and wonder why I need two trees. I think I may keep just one tree and graft other varieties onto it.
Also, that’s why I support a fruit exchange category. It’s better to pay other forum members $7-10 for the cost of shipping/postage and try the fruit before you invest your money and time to grow a tree that you have never eaten and may not like.
Taste is subjective. What someone loves, you may find inedible. Just my two cents.
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Okay, I’ve tasted them all and here’s what I feel about each in no particular order:
A-F just like school.
100-42 __ Solid A.
100-43 __ B good but 100-42 is better. The fruits I ate have a bit of astringent aftertaste. I sampled several to make sure it wasn’t one particular fruit. All had some slight astringency on well ripened fruits.
100-45 __ A-/B+ not as good as 100-42
100-46 __ Solid A.
I can’t tell you if 100-42 or 100-46 is better than the other. They’re both excellent. Slightly different but excellent. That would be a toss up I think for anyone taste testing them side by side.
H63A __ A+ best flavor of all.
100-29 ‘Deer Magnet’ __ very good. Solid A-
Deer Magnet is named that because it will still have persimmons on the tree in December.
Pfiffer __ good not great. Do doubt a solid B. Largest one I brought home.
Morris Burton __ very good. Solid A. Smaller fruit but very rich in flavor.
Geneva Red __ astringent when ripe. Only an ornamental. I wouldn’t eat a second one ever.
(OP) seedling of Nikita’s Gift __ Solid A. Renamed to Dr. Kazas
Then I’ll add from recent visits to Red Fern Farm:
Prok __ no doubt a solid A.
Geneva Long __ Solid B. Good but lacking richness.
Lena __ as good as Morris Burton and impossible for me to tell the difference in flavor. Also same size as Morris Burton. Lena is a wild seedling from Indiana.
Dax
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I knew that i would like pawpaws, persimmons and mulberries even before i tried them ^^
Maybe because i thought all day long how they might taste like 
So far i was not disappointed and iam hyped to try new fruits.
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I grew up eating crunchy non astringent persimmon and dried persimmon. I also like soft ripe Hachiya so I know I will like the soft, mushy ones of the American kind.
I reserve my judgment on pawpaws. I need to eat more to say if It’s worth a space in my garden.
Also, our expectation plays a role in our judgment. If the fruit’s taste and texture do not meet my expectation, I, sometimes, do not like that fruit even though they are good fruit.
I mentioned this because this two fruit, in particular, require acquired taste.
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