Persimmon Varieties for Zone 4b/5a

General Fruit Growing
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Hello everyone!

I’m located in Central Wisconsin, right on the cusp between Zone 4b and Zone 5a. I’ve developed a huge fascination with American persimmons, and after a lot of research, I’ve put together a list of varieties that seem promising for my climate. I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and real-world experiences growing these varieties.

Here are the varieties I’m considering planting:

  1. Mohler
  2. NC-10
  3. H-118 (Early Jewel)
  4. J-59
  5. Journey
  6. H-120
  7. H-63A (Paradise)
  8. Yates (Juhl)
  9. Prok
  10. Early Golden
  11. Geneva Long

From what I’ve gathered, each of these appears to be reasonably cold-tolerant, and many have been grown successfully in northern states or similar climates. However, one major consideration for me is that our average first frost date is around October 10th, with some years coming even earlier. Because of that, I want to make sure any persimmon varieties I grow can reach full color break and ripeness by early October to avoid frost-damaged or underdeveloped fruit.

If you’ve grown any of these varieties (especially in Zone 4 or colder parts of Zone 5), or if you have insights into their ripening windows, cold hardiness, or productivity, I’d really appreciate your input!

Thanks in advance!

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Zone 4 Orchard Harvest Time Schedule (Minnesota, Wisconsin)
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Welcome to the forum. I can’t be much help, since I’m way down in the toasty warm 7B, but it looks like a great list to start with.

Just in case you didn’t know, Journey is a hybrid and I’m not sure if anyone is growing it in an environment as cold as yours. But it may certainly be worth trying since it is supposed to be very early, so if it survives it could be a good variety for you.

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@EliindaUP is and his survived -22? IIRC

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Ooh amazing to see others are having success!

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Unfortunately my Journey did not go through last year’s cold snap, it was in cold storage in a pot. I have some Hybrid seedling that did that I believe have the same amount of khaki parentage as Journey (12.5%)? My journey tree is now outside under a pile of leaves to protect the graft, and this winter looks like it’s going to be cold too. I don’t like to put first year persimmon grafts outside up here as they seem to tender to survive. This may not end up being the case with more established rootstock; I will update my findings over the next few years. I will update in spring on how Journey fared over winter.

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i planted 20 seed from a member on here. all grew but the ones in pots croaked. i have 1 seedling i planted in ground that made it and grew to nearly 4ft. it survived several nights of -25 with no damage. i need to add another cold hardy one to pollinate with it next spring. ive read they can be slow growers. this one grew as much as my i.e mulberry. other than about 18in. of snow around it in later winter, i didnt protect it at all.

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They can grow like weeds in the right conditions. You may want to check out Bluehill nurseries Fulldraw or B H Hoosier seedlings. They have done better for me than the average seedlings. It sounds like you have found a winner seedling. The survivors like that are what we are searching for; don’t sweat the ones that don’t make it. Here’s hoping it’s a female.

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Ryan at Bluehill sent me 3-4 seedling persimmons in exchange for a whole bunch of Smitty’s Seedling scions a couple years ago. The seedlings were from what he considered his most hardy tree. None are alive today. I think the only chance for persimmons to survive long term in zone 4 is consistent snow cover. Little to no snow and -20 to -30 temps equal dead persimmons. I saw the same thing in WI during the 90s/early 2000s

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Hello, Meader & Mohler do great at my place 3b Canada. One secret easy to understand but maybe harder to implement: I grow the seedlings 4 years in a greenhouse before planting them. I get -26/-28 degrees Celsius here at 300 meters altitude. I do also quince, pawpaw (no fruit yet) and many many more… Marc in Stukely-Sud, Québec, Canada

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Wow, that’s incredible to see. Thanks for sharing!

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i just ordered a tin cup and deer luscious persimmons from blue hill. both are supposed to be z4b hardy and self fruitful. one starts to ripen in late sept. the other in the beg. of oct. i think tin cup will definitely be hardy as the mother tree is in n.w new york. both are supposedly very precocious. ill pair one with my seedling and the other on the other side of the property. we’ll see how they fare.

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Are you me? I swear I’ve made this post like across 4 forums.

(Looking up cross references.)

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Okay go here, and click “search” and look for the persimmons link.

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My notes:

As far as I can tell based on reading and a few zone 4 success stories, your best bet for trialing a persimmon in the hope you might get fruit in zone 4b are:

1st tier bred for cold: Meader, Pieper.

2nd tier bred or collected in New York: Prok, Geneva Long aka Gordon; 2 NY wild finds: Mohler, Tin Cup.

3rd tier “very early” harvest usually progeny of Early Golden: Prairie Sun A-33, Campbell NC10.

4th tier “early” harvest and reportedly hardy: Journey, Early Jewel aka Prairie Star H-118, Garretson, Paradise H-63A, Yates.

Of those Prok would have the largest fruit with the reputed least flavor, but defenders would say you should be glad you got a persimmon this far north, it’s the biggest, and its non-astringent by harvest picking time. People in 2025 were saying that Meader gets underrated. Mohler (very early) and Meader (early) are known for a lengthier harvest window that a backyard gardener would enjoy. Journey is new, so we don’t have any reviews but usually these part hybrid releases are selected as a favorite among many seedlings.

Estimated harvest order: (Very Early): A-33 < Mohler < Prok < Yates < (Early): Garretson & H-118, Meader < Geneva Long.

By the way, here is a paper on cultivars of persimmons and it has a diagram of parentage in the last pages; we should all be thankful someone made that:

https://journal.americanpomological.org/index.php/jofaps/article/download/12/12/185

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Of these, I have ordered Meader, Prairie Sun, Prairie Star from BlueHillWildlifeNursery, BurntRidge, and OneGreenWorld. I’m waiting on NeedMoreTrees until spring to find out if they have Geneva Long and Prok for spring with Rock Bridge Trees as my backup to get Prok. If both fail, I will try something from BlueHillWildlife Nursery. Last year I ordered 1 Meader but it died before shipping.

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First Year Trials
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idk gordon seems to rival prok in size. no idea flavor though. I mean this is only one guys fruit, but it sure appears quite large

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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.

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Prairie Star vs. Nikita's Gift?
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On this forum we’ve heard from some other zone 4 and 5 growers:

  1. Hello & what are the earliest ripening American Persimmons? - #5 by JesseinMaine
  2. [Replied to you above already].
  3. Persimmons 2024 - #906 by GeneH
  4. [This person already posted pictures above]. More pictures: Mini persimmons in 3b, Canada
  5. Persimmons in Maine - #77 by JesseS
  6. Persimmons in Maine - #81 by Barkslip

Red Fern Farm in Iowa had Prok, Yates, Morris Burton.

Someone in Zone 5b making hardy suggestions:

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Appreciate all the information, thank you!

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Since you are planning an orchard, you might want to see this post (to mark your calendar) and the rest of the thread too:

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Note: i haven’t grown any of these yet. Just was collecting info on earlyness that may ripen in that zone where my friends farm is at. I’ll plant them in ground next year (if the grafts survive the winter).

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