This is a debate which has been going on for a long time… Can Diospyros virginiana be propagated from cuttings?
Usually it is as good as impossible but an Israelian study was dedicated to this subject and it appears that some individuals can be rooted. Rooting capability varies from one individual to another and is genetically determinated.
You can check this study: “Rooting of cuttings of selected Diospyros virginiana clonal rootstocks and bud growth in rooted cuttings” just google and you’ll find…
So the answer is yes and no… cuttings from one tree can be rooted and from the next tree they cannot be rooted…
It would seem that all my trees are non-rootable but actually I also find it easier to use seedlings as rootstock…
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Seedlings are out of reach for those who don’t have male flowers though. Thank you for sharing the information from that study, it is encouraging to know that genetics does play a role.
If you have to prune your trees anyway, maybe knowing specific cultivars root more easily than others would make having them more useful too…
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In light of the study @Mikatani just referenced, would you be interested in growing out at least one of your seedlings that you were able to root? I for one would love some cuttings if they were on offer in a few years.
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Since persimmons are dicots…and vascular tissue is arranged in rings have you tried girdling the ends vs node injury? Curious as if one works better than the other.
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I put each one in their own cup for the winter, outside. We’ll see in the spring if they leaf out.
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Growing persimmon rootstock from cuttings instead of seed would be so much better… No stratification, plus you know what kind of vigor to expect. I’m rooting for some successful overwintering! 
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Well the ones that had roots started made it through the winter.
Get your magnifying glass out for this one. I shoved the ones that didn’t have roots in this cup.
The ones sprouting were in water with no sign of roots put in this cup the same day as the others.
The will to survive is strong.
Here is a Sestronka grafted on one of their roots a year ago for comparison. They have some serious catching up to do.
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Hey that’s awesome you have some surviving! If all we need to do with certain rootstock is lop off the top and plant it in a pot to grow new rootstock, that’s a pretty good closed loop scenario and a great backup strategy if other trees don’t make it.
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thanks again for this link/post.
if you have problems with fungus mold in the pot which destroy the cuttings,
you can use 8-hydroxyquinoline.
It kills the fungus/mold but not the plants.
it was often used for that, but unfortunately you can no longer buy it in the pharmacy here
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it is superfluous to comment on it.
but that is really wise.
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I’ve been trying this at home in Portland, OR with little success over a few years.
I’ve taken cuttings from a mature Fuyu tree in mid-September. This year, one of the cuttings kept a leaf on for just a few days shy of 8 weeks but didn’t grow any new buds. All the videos I’ve watched have bud growth after 4-8 weeks; it crossed my mind that I should be cutting earlier.
My hopes rise and fall about the potential of buds to show in the spring. Last week I started to see little white hairs developing on 2 of the remaining cuttings and what I thought could be bark development. I wasn’t sure if this was a sign of life or some kind of mold that I’m not familiar. I’ve attached a photo with the hopes that some folks here might have an idea of what’s going on.
Should I keep it in the potting mix and keep on spraying or throw it out in the compost?
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@sublimity – I think that those are lenticels, not root initials. Lenticels tend to swell and show white when exposed to high humidity for an extended time. My experience with figs suggests, sadly, that you can get white lentils without ever getting roots.
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@jrd51 thanks for pointing that out, I will keep my expectations in check. Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure one of my cuttings from last year had lenticels as well but did not bud in the spring. I actually just took one of them out of the pot to examine and didn’t see any roots at all.
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Keep us posted on the results, and thanks for sharing! It is promising that you might end up with an own roots tree on that one, keep up with whatever you have been doing. PCNA kaki trees on their own roots would be very desirable in marginal cold hardy areas because they could come back from the roots and you’d be sure it’s the desired variety.
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That isn’t going to root. What videos are you talking about? You’ve seen videos of rooting kaki cuttings that result in own-root tree? Please share a link.
There are lots of disingenuous (or naive) propagation videos in circulation. I want to see the roots coming from the cut stem.
p.s. Welcome to the forum 
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While I agree with your sentiment, it’s always possible that something could work…
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@murky Feel free to elaborate but I’m guessing that you don’t believe that it’s possible? I’ve viewed many videos (and agree with your statement) but this was the one that stood out and seemed trustworthy Grow Persimmon Tree From Cuttings: Propagating Persimmon Tree From Cuttings - YouTube. There are lots of people in the discussion asking for evidence of roots so the author posted a follow up Grow Persimmon Tree From Cuttings: Propagating Persimmon Tree From Cuttings - YouTube (see @ 2:45).
@jrd51 I did pull the remaining cutting from the pot yesterday to investigate and did see what appears to be 2 roots growing from the stem (didn’t think to photograph it tho). I cleaned off the lenticels and took it out of the plastic since that seems like it’s no longer necessary. I suppose time will tell.
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I’d love to see it work.
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Sublimity. I think it unlikely to work with Fuyu without some extraordinary conditions or insight. It’s been tried a bunch using straightforward methods that work for other trees. I’ve seen lots of videos, how to tutorials, and so forth. Haven’t seen actual roots on cutting.
I get annoyed at people who make “how to” videos, when trying something for the first time, without the disclaimer, and without the actual result.
I hope your cutting that appears to have roots, takes and grows. Please report back. Be aware that bud opening and growth does not mean roots.
edit: In the linked video, the after picture with leaves, is not the same cuttings from earlier in the video, and I don’t believe they are rooted. I’ll be happy if I’m shown to be wrong on this.
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I am all for trying new things.
But I too get annoyed when folks encourage what has already been tried and failed scores of times for 100% of those trying.
New methods might be created for creating clonal copies. But simple rooting techniques applied on commonly available kakis or virginianas are doomed to fail.
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