More of my Persimmon Zone 4b notes from online reading:
@tatin109
Persimmon (Ebenaceae \ Diospyros virginiana)
• Full sun for Zone 4b. Self-Fertile; having a male puts seeds in fruit (undesirable) though all northern 90 chromosome persimmons sometimes make some male flowers. Suckering. Requires pruning to stay at 12’ or will grow to >20’.
• Protect in winter 1st years by inverting tomato cage over it and filling with mulch or better yet grow in greenhouse or over-winter in garage against house wall.
• Hardy Varieties: Meader (early season) has the longest harvest window stretching into November in Minnesota and was cultivated for New Hampshire cold. OGW says Prairie series is replacing Meader as hardiest to cold for zone 4. Geneva Long aka Gordon (early season) has very good flavor, tall size, bred for cold and to hang fruit after leaf drop, ripens mid Oct-Nov. Prok (very early) is popular in Zone 5 Iowa with late Sep harvest, large fruit but mild flavor. Garretson (early) is hardy seedling of Early Golden. Pieper produces in Canada. Szukis is grown in Zone 5 but small fruit used for its male flowers.
• James Claypool crossbred varieties are referenced by letter-number. Prairie Sun Claypool A-33 (very early season, Garretson x Golden Supreme) rum and clove and pumpkin spice earthy flavor, or Prairie Star aka Early Jewel Claypool H-118 (early season, Juhl x George) are good cold-tolerant with votes of being among the best. A-33 is firmer and meatier like a date and harvests at least a month earlier. Paradise Claypool H-63A (early, Burton x Early Golden) noted as “best flavor” in forums also trialed zone 4 sold by PerfectCircleFarm. Dollywood D-128 (mid-season 1 week after Barbra’s Blush, G2M x Miller) has good reviews.
• Wild finds: Mohler (very early, NY wild find) good flavor medium size and long harvesting for 2 months peaks in Sept some into Oct. Yates aka Juhl (very early, Indiana find) 2.25” harvests in Oct in zone 5 Vermont won awards. Tin Cup (NY find).
• Lehman etc. varieties: Barbra’s Blush WS-8-10 (mid or early-to-mid season) has unique distinct rich not fruity flavor. Osage (early-to-mid season) might work harvesting just after the early season. Although “Lehman’s Delight” 100-46 (mid-to-late) is voted best with 2-3” fruit, it is mid-late hence most years won’t finish developing in MN autumns. These are offspring of Claypool’s work. Lehman varieties tend to ripen later than Claypool.
• Osage, Barbara’s Blush are pure Americans that could offer the “into November” ripening experience as could the hybrid Mikkusu JT-02. Geneva Long (long harvest window and long shelf life) might also ripen into Nov. Millers is an old 1800’s variety with long harvest coinciding with Meader so Oct-Nov.
• Hybrids: Journey is the most % American of hybrids and most hardy, very early season; we are waiting (2025) to learn if graft survives in UP Michigan. JT-02 Mikkusu is the next hardiest. Dar Sofiyivky Sofie’s Gift is a 10 degree-more hardy grandchild of Nikita’s Gift. Nikita’s gift was a Zone 6a, late-harvest, hybrid Asian-American considered exceptional, offer different flavor. Chuchupaka is also a 3rd gen child of a hybrid. For hybrids we still need more reports on both hardiness and harvest time because Nikita’s Gift harvests too late for zone 4.
• PerfectCircleFarm is currently developing zone 4 survivors of Nikita’s Gift with product expected by 2030 and it got a good taster review in 2025.
• Other recommendations: H-120 has worked in 5a Iowa. Deer Magnet is good flavor selected for holding fruit into freezing, Nov-Dec drop, small fruit. As early-mid Valeen Beauty (Claypool I-94) (2.25” fruit at Brambleberry Farm or Cricket Hill), Elmo A-118 (Oct-Nov). Claypool I-94… Prairie Dawn H55A has a good forum review. Plant northmost in row because they will overgrow to 20’ if not pruned. Reason to buy 2 is it’s hard to know which will survive zone 4. Trial Geneva Long (long harvest window, New York bred, consistent fruit). Wait for PerfectCircleFarm Nikita’s Gift offspring in 2028-30 due to many “best persimmon variety” votes.
• Disappointing: Morris Burton. Prok is the blandest in the south, but no astringency and still 5x stronger flavor than Asian.
• Ripens without astringency: Prok, Geneva Long.
• Rosseyanka “Russian Beauty” probably harvests too late, starts last week Oct. The original Early Golden doesn’t work in zone 4b either due to hardiness or harvest time.
• Timing: A-33 and Journey earliest of producers. Prok is late Sept in zone 5 Iowa, then 1 week later is Prairie Star H-118 both are “early season”; Dar Sofiyivky Sofie’s Gift ripens in Oct. Osage is called “mid season” and might survive in zone 4 if Dar Sofiyivky Sofie’s Gift does not. I asked SOMEONE who had a zone 5, 8-cultivar multigraft about ripening. He said: “As I remember the ripening time was Prok, Yates, Early Golden, H-120, H-118, Morris Burton #3, Knightville, then Meader.” This person’s favorites were Prok and H-118 but liked H-120, Yates, 100-42, Early Golden. John PDX Portland experiences: A-33 < Mohler < Prok < Yates < Garretson & H-118 < Early Golden.
• An ideal zone 4b multi-graft could have mostly very early to early some mid-season branches chosen from: 1. Top rated Claypool early-season varieties Prairie Star H-118 or H-63A (both are similar). 2. Top rated Claypool mid-season variety like Valeen Beauty I-94 or Elmo A-118 or Dollywood D-128. 3. A mid-season Lehman variety Barbara’s Blush (unique flavor) or Osage or unlikely Lehman’s Delight 100-46 (prob too late). 4. A couple wild types or different parentage like Mohler, Yates, Tin Cup, Geneva Long. 5. Additional very early season branches could be: Journey, Prok, or A-33. 6. Maybe a hardy Asian-American variety: Mikkusu JT-02 (hardiest) or Dar Sofiyivky Sofie’s Gift or Chuchupaka but they may not be hardy enough. Late season branches don’t work in Zone 4b, only use zone 5b or below scionwood on a zone 4 rootstock and base tree.
