Persimmons 2025

hm, how old is the tree? and where is it?

just going thru pics it kind of looks like Tanenashi. Is it pollinated? would help figure out if its PCA or possibly PVA or PVNA

It’s about 15’ tall and I’m guessing at least 12-15 years. I took a fruit from the tree but it’s still quite firm so I’m still waiting for it to get softer before cutting it up. Its fruits have a distinctive pointy end.

Past couple weeks got done trying Nikitas Gift, JT02 Mikkasu, Zima Khurma, Kassandra, Rosseyanka, Fire Crystal, Jiro, Great Wall, Hao River, Saiju, Gwang Yang, Sung Hui, and a few other large acorn shaped asians.
They all mostly taste the same to me (like an Asian persimmon), even the hybrids (minus the texture, gooey vs some hybrids more firm). American persimmons win for flavor for me all the way.
Still looking forward to trying other hybrids in future like Sestronka, Chuchupaka, etc. Cliff said Sestronka has more American flavor in it i think.

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The winner here too. Just wish they were bigger.

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Wow, I can’t disagree more. I’ve tasted 7-8 different Asians, 5 Americans, 2 hybrids (JT-02, Kasandra). The two hybrids are by far the best. Maybe I’d have a different view if the persimmons ripened further south.

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Sestronka fruited for the first time for me this year and is the most similar to an Asian persimmon of all the hybrids I’ve grown (Rosseyanka, JT-02, Zima Khurma, Nikita’s Gift, Kasandra) in terms of size and flavor. I think Rosseyanka tastes more like an American persimmon, and Zima Khurma and Nikita’s Gift have the best balance between Asian and American flavor of the hybrids I’ve tasted. Kasandra and JT-02 are more on the Asian side of the spectrum. I agree with @jrd51 that I generally prefer the flavor of most hybrids to that of any Asian and American cultivars. I do appreciate the flavor of American persimmons, but when dried the texture is unappealing to me - more mealy than chewy. Asians and most hybrids except Rosseyanka, on the other hand, are excellent dried, and that’s the way I eat most of my persimmon harvest.

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I am a big fan of americans for the extra flavor… but I tell you this… I had my first tree ripened hybrids (kasandra) and asian (ikkj) this year and they were absolutely delicious.

I had a couple kasandras that did not fully ripen on the tree… and I brought them and they counter ripened in just a few days. These were still very very good.

Now I have had 2 IKKJs … that were picked nice and orange on Nov 5th… and counter ripened for close to a month at room temp.
They finally did fully ripen… to that red soft stage. But they are not nearly as sweet and flavorful as the few fruit I got that actually tree ripened late Sept, early October when we still had hot weather.

Their flavor seems to be much more simple… very similar to a store bought hychia.

I think if you dont have a long enough season for hybrids or asians to fully ripen on the tree while it is still warm… and you are ripening them some other way (off the tree without heat)… that seems to be the flavor and sweetness deminisher to me.

My tree ripened (red soft) IKKJs were delicious… but these that have counter ripened for a month… taste very similar to a store bought hychia. Much more plain and simple taste.

TNHunter

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They were from Mars Organic Farm in NJ.
They were all ripe (minus a few stragglers that ripened later, esp Rosseyanka).
Here’s the fruit thats still leftover today:

I always hear Saiju is a great persimmon but its basically just sugar-water for me. I think my tastes have adapted to the American flavor and i can’t detect anything majorly different in hybrids like Kassandra/etc either. While having 800 hard fruits i can pick hard from my Saiju without much animal losses is pretty cool, I’d prefer the 100% American flavor (But i’ll probably still go back and buy $100 worth of hybrids again next year to try them out :slight_smile: ).
Ive done like 5 side-by-side comparisons so far, and will do 1 more tomorrow to see if i prefer any particular hybrid.

In terms of prettyness, all the trees hybrid or asian were pretty.
i liked how more red the Nikita Gift were getting.
and how the Mikkusu (JT-02) have a bright but light orange color and very flat shape that stands out.

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We ate a IKKJ last night that was red but still somewhat firm (not cunchy)… and the flavor and sweetness in it seemed better than the two red soft fruit we tried recently.

Perhaps they really start to go south flavor and sweetness wise if you let them ripen too much (soft and gooie) on the counter.

We have one fruit left now… it is red but still but still somewhat firm. We will eat it tonight and expect it to be very good.

TNHunter

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