I’m looking to add a couple persimmon trees to my garden. I would like the non-astringent type like the fruit I can buy at the market that they called fuyu. A friend of mine gave me what he called a fuyu and it was much bigger. I’m confused by the different varieties. When shopping for tree’s online I see, Fuyugaki, Imoto Fuyu, Matsumoto Fuyu, Hana Fuyu, Giant Fuyu, and Fuyu Jiro. Are they the same? Which are the most common and easiest to grow and a manageable hight? Also is it worth spending extra the money for a 4’ to 5’ oppose to a 3’ to 4’ or 2’ to 3’?
Any help would be appreciated.
Welcome!
All those varieties are PCNA (Pollination Constant Non Astringent)
There’s several PCNA varieties, Jiro is the most common and stays at a decent height, all those are good depending what you’re like size wise.
Hi Alex
Welcome.
I’m in zone 8 and I struggle to get the varieties I have to ripen. Gradually after testing about 8-10 varieties, I am having some success but many have not yet fruited to know for certain. You are in a zone that could be even more difficult to ripen them so the first thing you need to research among Both Asian and American varieties is to determine if anyone in your region has one that works. You also can consult people like Cliff England at Englands Orchard as he may know what could work in your region, but locating someone nearby can easily save you a lot of frustration. So far of the Fuyu types that I have ripened is IKKJ a Jiro persimmon. All others I have I am still waiting to test what they can produce.
You can use the member map to locate members nearby in your region. Maybe you will find a member who knows what you would like to know.
Take care
Dennis
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That was a great question Alex1.
It can be confusing because Fuyu is a variety name, but in the US it is also used for other varieties that have similar fruit. I believe the real Fuyu is Fuyugaki. But the fruit you buy at the grocery store called Fuyu is probably Jiro.
I’m in a similar boat as DennisD. I have several non-astringent and I’m still learning which will perform well for me. I’ve gravitated towards ones that are described as ripening early. But most of mine haven’t fruited yet, or only once or twice. There has been much variation and I’m still learning what is due to the seasons conditions vs. age of tree, variety and whatnot.
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Alex, where are you located?
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I would imagine a Midwest or east coast zone 7 wouldn’t struggle to ripen as much as you PNW guys, as I think you just don’t get the heat that is required to ripen many fruits. However that’s just speculation on my part.
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I started one of those… IKKJiro… last spring.
Size should be 8 to 10 ft (tall x wide). They say zone 6-9. I am in 7.
I am getting one of these to start this spring…
Cardinal.
They say this one can be kept at 12 ft with pruning… or could go to 20 ft unpruned.
“Gaki” is “persimmon” in Japanese. So Fuyugaki is plain Fuyu. Matsumoto Wase Fuyu is a bud sport of Fuyu that is earlier to ripen but otherwise similar. Hana Fuyu is a synonym for Yotsudani, which is reported to be late ripening. As I understand it, the “Fuyu” produced in CA and sold across the U.S. is actually a type of Jiro, hence the name Fuyu Jiro.
Thank you everyone for the replies. You information is very helpful. I forgot to mention I am located is south Jersey zone 7a. I would like to have 2 possibly 3 persimmon tree varieties. The Ichi Ki Kei Jero is one of them because I was told it is a true dwarf and it is very prolicfic for its size. Plus I have the perfect spot for it in my garden. I would also like a tree that will not grow too big, especially wide, have nice fruit and look good in the landscape. So it will be both an ornamental tree that provides a harvest. Not sure if the Imoto Fuyu or the Matsumoto would fit the bill? I don’t know the differences between the two. If I decide to get a 3rd I was thinking the Izu because it’s available and I was told it is a crisp and juicy variety and grows to only 10-12 feet.
@Alex1 … I am in Tennesse (southern middle) zone 7b now.
Our two coldest nights this winter were 2-3F and 6-7F… my IKKJiro was still small enough that I could protect it and I did for those nights.
After this next seasons growth… expect it will be too big for me to protect it like that.
Hopefully… it will be more mature and able to withstand the cold better on its own next winter.
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You can keep any variety of persimmon at whatever size you want given that they fruit on current year’s growth. I’ve got a 15 year old Prok that I keep at about 12 feet by pruning very hard each winter. The outlier I’ve found is Sung Hui, which has a semi-weeping growth habit that keeps it dwarfed and sprawling without the need for much pruning at all.
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@SMC_zone6 … that is impressive… great for fruit harvest.
Now I know what is possible hope I can get similar results.
Thanks
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@SMC_zone6, do you have any deer pressure? I would guess that those who struggle against the nippers might need to do their main prune higher up than your pics seem to show.
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Yes, but not so bad. The deer tend to go for my apples first.
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That is impressive pruning/ training on the prok.
My question would be , why ?
Prok falls from the tree when ripe.
So, other than the “ splat “ factor.
I would see little reason to keep them short.
I believe that my tall prok trees have much more area to produce fruit. ( more production than a short tree.
I do think that short form would be ideal for persimmons that need to be cut from the tree, Asians and hybrids.
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I’ve got limited space so don’t want any single tree getting too big. I’ve considered starting a new Prok in an area along the northern perimeter of my orchard so it could get as big as possible and not shade anything out, but I probably wouldn’t eat all the fruit it produced. Especially since so many great hybrids are becoming available. But, yeah, if you’re looking to maximize production, this isn’t the way to go.
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I think for most of us space is our limiting factor. Having variety over quantity is probably also desirable for most, assuming that isn’t at the expense of having to buy fruit from the store by the time we’re through 
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OK, dueling Proks. . . .
This is mine, planted in 2015. But I found the fruit insipid. I wonder if it was mislabeled. In any case, I top-worked it extensively. At this point, only the central leader (with growth above) and two branches are still Prok. These are colored black.
Everything else is a branch bearing a graft of some other variety, the Americans H63A, Barbra’s Blush, Dollywood, and Morris Burton; the Asian Miss Kim; and the hybrid JT-02.
I expect to cut the central leader where indicated and then graft the hybrid Nikita’s Gift there. I will cut the two branches where indicated and graft the American H-118.
To the point (finally), it is possible to keep an American variety small with aggressive pruning and still see fruit. In fact. you can see dried “Prok” fruit in the uppermost branches.
p.s. The non-Prok sections of this tree were pruned a week ago.
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Mid-Missouri zone 6b. This is a picture of a Nikita’s Gift persimmon that I planted November 22, 2024. It was purchased from Home Depot; a nice little tree with plenty of leaves which froze off five days after plenting; then I wrapped it.
