Hi folks, I was wondering, is anybody in Ontario Canada in Zone 5b/6a was able to grow persimmons? If anybody here from Ontario growing persimmons - what varieties and where yo buy them in Canada?
Dear Lena:
Welcome to GF.org. I like to ordre from Whiffletree.ca. I find the information provided by the Martin brothers to be relevant and more over reliable. I like to pretend I’m zone 5b but I’m really 4b. I say 5b because my orchard is located south-east with zero shade so…
I grow Giant of Zagreb quince, pawpaws (no fruit yet), persimmons (Mohler, Meader, Prairie Gem, Prairie Dawn etc.) so if I grow those you can definitely grow persimmons!
Bye for now.
Marc Lamarre, Stukely-sud, Québec
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Thank you! I checked this site, looks like they only list American Persimmon Seedlings (currently) that are hardy for my Zone 5b, the rest are for Zone 6 and above. With seedlings they say I need to plant several, but I have only space for 1 tree, and that spot may be even not enough space for big American persimmon
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Thank you Marc! I checked Whiffletree.ca, they should update their inventory around Jan 3 next year, need to see what they have.
If you had a space for only 1 tree, which one would you choose to plant?
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If you are new to fruit trees and do not necessarily follow nowadays trends you should really keep this in mind or else you risk huge disappointment… Since the pandemic people are more and more into growing veg and fruits so demand is very very high and offer is normal so you need to order very early in the new year in order to get the tree(s) you want…
If Whiffletree believes they will have their online 2022 catalogue by January 3, then order no later than January 4. Sorry, but no kidding. As for me I have already gave them my 2022 order and a sizable deposit. I’m a member of many forums related to fruit trees and the number of users who have written that they tried to order but all contacted nurseries were sold out is real.
You can get only 1 fruit tree? That’s sad… I don’t know about your fruit preferences so impossible for me to tell but you wrote about persimmons, right? Go with Mohler or Meader but like me you live in a nordic climate so don’t expect persimmons the size of “vanilla” or “rojo brillante” right?
Nordic persimmons are about the size of a golf ball but usually they taste very very good!
Marc
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Looks like (in the printed catalogue) https://whiffletreefarmandnursery.ca/ only have persimmon choice: Prok and Nikita’s Gift plus unidentified seedlings. Meader, Mohler, Prairie Star and Yates are not available, may be in January they will add some more varieties. Even if I order now for Spring pick up - I can only choose either Prok or Nikita’s gift, the rest don’t even have item numbers. Thank you very much for heads up about demand vs supply issues.
Should I pick 1 out of the 2 available (Prok or Nikita’s gift), or do you think it is better to find Mohler or Meader? My concers are that Prok can grow too big, and Nikita’s gift is not cold hardy enough. What do you think?
I will give you my strategy: it’s a very very rare French proverb:: vaut mieux avoir affaire à Dieu qu’à ses saints. Literally: better to deal (directly) with God than with his saints…. Meaning: don’t consult old catalogue, cause offer varies from year to year, don’t send email cause many employees don’t (always) answer them, take the phone (even if its means long distance charge) and ask to speak to Lawrence Martin or Shirley Harnell and get the the real picture, meaning what will be available for 2022.
When I just did the above mentioned strategy, this is the answer I got:
Hi Marc
For persimmons we got-
Prok
Nikita Gift
Barbara’s Blush
Garretson
All in 3 gal containers
Prairie Gem in 1 gal
Pawpaws I got all of your requests
PA Golden 3 gal
Benson 3 gal
Campbell 3 gal
Atwood 1 gal
Chappell 1 litre
Marie’s Joy 1 litre
Regards
LawrencE
++++++++++
Marc
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I think Prok would be a good choice.
Hardy , early ripening , and good !
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Prok can grow to 30 feet plus, that is huge. I only have space on my frontyard for up to 12 feet. I am thinking now more about Prairie Gem since it is smaller and cold hardiness zone 4 or Nikita’s - but cold hardiness pushing too much here I guess. What do you think about Prairie Gem or Barbara’s Blush?
Oh, my, that is so good advice! Thank you very much! I really appreciate your help!
I got my persimmons, they didn’t have Prok for some reason, but they gave me Barbara’s Blush instead. And I got Nikita’s Gift as well. Those are tall skinny sticks. I wonder if I should top them off shorter to around 26" high now? There are no side branches, just sticks with roots.
I met Lawrence when at the farm. He gave me Barbara’s Blush, he kept one for me. Thank you for your help Marc.