I don’t have prior experience with growing persimmons, but after trying some American persimmons grown at a nearby orchard, I saved seeds, stratified them over the winter and now have 10 baby trees growing in 44oz size drink cups with holes in the bottoms. I plan to plant them out in a wild area to benefit wildlife, maybe promote archery hunting as well. I thought of trying to plant them using ‘tree tubes’ to help them grow a little larger before the wildlife can munch on them. The area where I would plant them is USDA zone 6a, in SW Pennsylvania. I have never seen wild growing persimmons anywhere in the area. The area I plan to plant them is a very overgrown meadow, soil is clay and crumbling shale at the top of a hill with good drainage.
Will this type of soil and method work, and any other suggestions?
Should I plant all in the same area to maximize my chance of male and female being planted close enough together, or could I plant them in two groups of 5 in different locations? This is all assuming I am not going to be grafting anything to them.
How many years would it take to start seeing the first fruit?
Thanks for any advice!