Thanks for the info. Telling us only your USDA Zone is not enough. What matters is the actual temperature. So what were the coldest temps in your location in each of those 5 winters? @jxz7245 @Orange120OD
I don’t remember the temperatures spanning years 
But this recent one was our coldest of the five and my phone said -2 but the thermostat outside said -7 so I’m not sure what’s true. It definitely went below zero though. It’s had zero dieback so maybe it could even handle lower temps, but this still puzzles me because I’ve lost hardier persimmon varieties during warmer winters, so it’s hard to really know the cause. It’s definitely full kaki from the leaves. I don’t know, with persimmons I just try again and eventually one seems to live 
I put in many more this year to see what else might surprise me.
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This is good news. It’s good that they are resistant to temperature fluctuations. My growing season is too short to grow hybrids, so I decided to go for early varieties of D. virginiana. Our standard winters were fairly stable. Of course, there were temperature fluctuations, but without any extremes. This has not been the case for a few years now. This year, for example, we had a month of spring in January, then winter returned. And so on several times, until now. Local varieties are not adapted to this. Due to this, I lost my harvest of apples and most other fruits this season. They bloomed almost a month earlier than they should have, and during blooming, a frost of 17.5F hit.
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Anyone care to advise share what they might do with this Prok persimmon. I got it last year it looks like it was cut down to ship and did VERY little growing.
Being pretty ignorant of persimmons im tempted to let it grow however it wants this year to establish itself better…
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LOL, I can’t remember years of temps either. But I do remember some key days, like one day at -7 F in Feb 2023, because those are the days that really impact my trees.
My IKKJs show how “the devil is in the details.” Those trees seemed to tolerate numerous episodes of temps down to ~ -3 F with minimal damage. But a pair of nights at -5 F and -7 F in Feb 2023 proved nearly lethal – all 1-2 year old wood died.
Anyway, please pay close attention to those low temps in the future. That’s how we’ll learn what our trees will tolerate (or not).
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I’d let it grow as it will this year then graft it next Spring to Lehman’s Delight, a significant upgrade in taste IMO.
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Here is the lowest recorded temperature by my zip code for the past 10 years. Obtained from Lowest Temperatures in Harrisburg by Year
| Year | Temperature |
|---|---|
| 2025 | -7 °F |
| 2024 | 10 °F |
| 2023 | 14 °F |
| 2022 | 4 °F |
| 2021 | 18 °F |
| 2020 | 14 °F |
| 2019 | 3 °F |
| 2018 | -2 °F |
| 2017 | 1 °F |
| 2016 | 5 °F |
| 2015 | -4 °F |
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Thanks. I’ll definitely check that out. I’ve got another wild seedling growing-- Any other varieties youd recommend? I’m zone 5 cold and shorter season
Early Jewel would be a good one for you to try, gets lots of raves a little earlier than some of the other premier American persimmons. But I don’t have it. I thought I grafted it yesterday, but my cuttings that I purchased from a commercial grower were bad.
FYI, I bought Dar Sof last year and decided to use much of the subsequent growth (i.e., normal pruning) for grafts. I figured I could use 1-2 backup trees and my friends might enjoy a gift. So I’ve currently got three grafts, only a few weeks old, with a bit of growth and hopefully more coming.
I don’t know what your goal is, but LMK if you ever want to see mine. 
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@hambone I still have some H-118 in the fridge. You want to try again?
The scions came from my own tree, grafted last year. I’m 2 for 2 this year grafting to dormant DV rootstock using a hot callus pipe, so I know that the scions were good as of a month ago.
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PM sent
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I’m feeling bullish on actually getting some fruit this year. First blossom on two of my trees last year (but no fruit), and they put on a lot of growth last season. I’m seeing loads of flower buds, so fingers crossed I’ll be sampling fruits from at least two varieties, Prok and Mikkusu/JT-02.
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How high where your grafts on the trunk where the sap bled out your grafts? I messed up on some ultra rare hybrids last year grafting low to the ground with the idea of eventually burying the union. It was a physics lesson I won’t forget.
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How old is your JT-02? I’m seeing a good amount of blossoms on mine; this is their second year in ground although they were pretty big grafts. I’m also trying not to get too excited about trying at least one fruit.
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Cliff England measures 15’ between trees and 20’ between rows. My DV’s are 20’ apart east to west and 30’ apart north to south, planted last year… with the intention of adding a berry bush or other fruiting plant in the middle of each 30’ spacing over the next couple of years.
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I grafted in 2019 and planted in 2020, so let’s say five years. They don’t grow super fast in New Hampshire.
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FWIW, the age/size of the tree / rootstock seems to matter. I grafted JT-02 to an established tree in 2021 and got abundant fruit the next season 2022. I also grafted it to bare root seedling rootstock in 2021, planted the same year; and I got a few fruit the second season 2023 and maybe a dozen in the third season 2024.
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Definitely agree. An established tree regrafted might take the season off, but should otherwise be pretty quick. But bench grafts are pretty reliably in the 3-5 year range depending on conditions and care.
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The sap flooded grafts were at about 5 feet.