I planted Prok, Yates, Meader, Ruby, Rosseyanka, Prarie Sun, Tam Kam, and Gwang Yang this year. They are all listed as self fertile. But reading last night some say they may not be or will produce better with a male or if there is a male than there will be seeds. I’m in Virginia so there may be a male near by, but it’s mostly pasture. Do I need to plant a male for fruit production?
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I’m in Maryland and also have a collection of younger native persimmon varieties as well as hybrids such as Rosseyanka and Nikita’s Gift. I was under the assumption a male was not needed but a friend told me they would produce better with a male. They have started their 4th season. I did get one persimmon last year from Yates that that has been the only fruit from any of them so far. So I will be following this thread. I guess one concern is the amount of seeds in the fruit due to having a male around. Would a native male also result in seeds in the hybrids I wonder?
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Anyone?
As far as I know, the Virginia persimmons need a male pollinator. I know the Texas persimmons do. My Asian persimmons set fruit fine without a male. Just my experience. D
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(" do I need to plant a male for fruit production ")
No , no male needed.
I prefer seedless persimmons ,
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Second this. No need for a male with the types you have. If you get pvna types, then you’d want pollination.
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@SMC_zone6,
I grafted a male persimmon to my NG this year but it did not take. I will try to graft a male persimmon to it again next year.
This is my 6th year of NG. Bloomed like mad including this year. Fruit drop is at an alarming rate. A 6 th year old tree should be mature enough to hold on to some fruit. I have given it no fertilizer, no mulch. It got water during our mini drought. I think I have done all I can.
The Tam Kam on it has also dropped its fruit but this is its first year of flowering.
Out of desperation, I will graft a male on it next year. I am running out of patience.
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What male did you try grafting? My male Rosseyanka got mowed over by accident… I grafted new male varieties this year.
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Andrew,
The one you gave me.
NG is a mystery.
It dropped a lot of flowers in year 1, less in year 2 and appears to be holding onto them all this year. But produced fruit in all years. This is the first year it put on significant growth. @mamuang, surprised at your continued fruit drop.
Someone in California also mentioned that they planned to keep a male around to reduce fruit drop.
Rojo Brillante has dropped all flowers except 1. Maybe it will hold onto that one.
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I forgot. Too many persimmons around! I think I grafted 10 varieties this year.
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@ramv,
I’ve read many times that NG drops fruit more than other varieties. But this is getting ridiculous.
The only other thing I could think of is the amount of sunlight it gets. This tree gets about 6-7 hours of sun but it is at a good time, 10 am-4 (or 5) pm. It is hard to believe it does not get enough sun.
I grafted Tam Kam and Prok on this NG. Both flowered this year. Tam Kam flowers a lot more than Prok.
I will see if either will hold on to their fruit. So far, Tam Kam does not look promising. Neither does Nikita herself.
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Thank you!
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