Early Golden and Garretson might succeed for you. They are supoosed to have early-ripening cold hardiness approaching Meader’s.
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A friend further south and closer to the coast has a ‘Szukiis’ that was loaded with fruit, not sure how they ripened as I saw it in late October and they were still opaque and turning from green to orange. He has probably half a zone more than me-5b vs 5a. He says it ripens well some years, others not so much.
@Matt_in_Maryland, I do have Early Golden growing, this was it’s second year from grafting. Seemed a bit lower in vigor with a bit of a sprawling habit. Thanks for your suggestions…another one I intend to add in is Yates, Fedco has carried it the last few seasons.
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Tony has been inspiring for this trial as he has proven that these(American persimmons) can tolerate zone 5, but he has a considerably longer season than I do, so there is some difference in which varieties should be able ripen here.
(Thank you) and you guys are right @Matt_in_Maryland Early Golden completely slipped my mind.
Meader I don’t know.
Dax
Hello, I had a Meader for many years and it never ripened (in Vt) . Growing season length and heat are more important than zone for good fruit on these.
Eric
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One hell of a winter later…we had -25F over the New Year and that provided a good test for hardiness. Turns out I’m in climate zone 4(thought z5)- this was the second time we’ve been below -20 in the past 5 years. Anyways, my persimmon trees and young grafts are looking good despite that cold snap. I did bury 1 and 2 yr old graft unions in woodchip mulch, using inverted tomato cages to help contain it, and this seemed to do the trick as many died back to the mulch line but show healthy cambium underneath, and preserved the graft. Reassuring is that my trio of ungrafted seedlings seem fine without receiving any protection, the tallest is around 7’ and I am hopeful that some might produce flowers this season.
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What do you do, when they get winter damaged pretty low? I had to cut 5 feet tree back to 18 inches, it is now pushing 3 buds at about 10 inches above ground, almost just above the graft. Should I now form new leader by choosing one strongest shoot?
I was wondering…haven’t seen much of you for a while. I’m glad things are looking warmer now.
Yep, tall stake and every 6" to 12" loosely tie the new growth with flexible gardening tape. Set a new leader.
Pinch the other shoots back to ~3 leaves and keep them that way as you begin your new leader.
Dax
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Thanks!
Happy days for persimmons here in Maine as the season for other fruit is winding down. …one of my seedling trees set fruit for the first time and they are now turning orange and beginning to soften…I will update when they ripen fully, hopefully not too long for no!
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I planted 3 yesterday. I live way up there near Montreal, Qc (zone 5) 
A friend has been growing them for 3 years (not fruited yet).
They seem to be hardy enough for our weather.
Cheers,
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An American persimmon is on my list for 2019! I have never tasted one though, and maybe that is unwise, as I really am unimpressed with the Fuyu I tried. I found it very sweet but very dull!
People say American persimmons have a complex flavor- in what way? Spicy? I guess anything would seem complex when compared with Fuyu persimmon!
One Green World has a lot of interesting cultivars for sale, I was thinking of buying from them. I’ll be making it into an espalier, as I’m running out of room for trees. I haven’t found any evidence online of anyone doing an American persimmon espalier… maybe there’s a reason for that, or maybe not a lot of people grow American persimmons, much less espalier them?
Anyone on here grow OGW varieties? Such as John Rick, Garretson, Early Golden, Prairie Dawn, Prairie Star, Prairie Sun, Mohler? They have stated they are “apparently self fertile.” I wouldn’t buy one if I had to buy a male.
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Katie I added an American persimmon to my yard this spring, never tasted one though. I did eat couple of Asian persimmons before I added the tree. I plan on grafting Asian varieties to my American persimmon tree. Mamuang introduced me to Schlabachs nursery in Medina, NY. I bought my seedling from them. Their catalog doesn’t list persimmon. I was ordering pear trees and figured I’d check with them for persimmon just in case. They happened to have it and shipped it with rest of my order. It’s doing great now. You might want to check with them. Quick google search should bring up the phone number if you are interested. They don’t have a website.
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I had grafted some american persimmons in small (too small) pots last year and they flowered this spring. Unfortunately, I moved this spring/summer and I meant to plant them out to a relative’s property. I never got to planting them and they probably died without water this summer. (Hey, I feel bad, but I have a 4 month old and moved this summer.)
Based on my observation of precocious flowering, I think that you’d probably be able to keep them small. But mine likely flowered that way because they were about to bite the dust.
I believe they fruit on new shoots formed in the spring of the year. So probably OK for espalier - e.g. not as challenging as peaches in that form. There has to be something on small-form D. kaki from the Japanese since they are the master of small trees.
I have some D. virginiana from Burnt Ridge planted in the ground in SE Iowa and they have died back to the ground every year for the last 3 winters. I’d find the most hardy varieties. And I expressly asked Burnt Ridge if there seed was northern provenance and they said yes. 
Not sure why they winter kill so bad here. That site cannot be much colder than Red Fern Farm.
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Katie, my understanding is that OGW’s “Praire” series are trademarked names for Jim Claypool’s varieties. I believe Praire Dawn is H63A. Does anyone know what the others are? I tasted H63A recently and it was truly excellent. Also great is NB-02 (Zima Khurma) which Cliff England sells…I thought it was among best of what I tasted, along with Kasandra, which is another hybrid. Kasandra holds its fruit and has the taste of a kaki, but with some extra complexity. I have a Kasandra now, but I’m hoping to one day get a few others.
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As to the question of flavor, I don’t know if I would necessarily call it spicy. I’ve tasted mild notes of rum, raisin, citrus, to name a few. Among the best of what I tasted recently at England’s Orchard are H63A, WS 8-10, 100-46, Prok, Wonderful. The hybrids we tasted include Rosseyanka, Kasandra and NB-02. NB-02 is the most similar to a virginiana in flavor and drops its fruit. If I could have four trees it would be Kasandra and Rosseyanka for their milder taste and holding their fruit, and NB-02 and H63A for great sweetness but with the added virginiana complexity.
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Katie,
You definitely want an extremely early variety for your climate. ‘Prok’ is super. If One Green World has Claypool H-118 that’s aka Early Jewel. Both are very early.
What I do not recommend is Early Golden because it is hermaphroditic. You will seeded fruit. Believe me when I say that seedless persimmons are the only way to go. Do your research on the one you select. I don’t know any of those cultivars OGW sells except H-63A which is absolutely wonderful but later ripening and I wouldn’t chance it in zone 4b.
@Levers101 you got hosed my brother!
Dax
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Think it would be worth it to buy a seedling from Red Fern Farm directly? My understanding is that seedling means a random sprout from decent parentage… which would probably be more cold hardy, but is not guaranteed to be excellent. Hmm…
Dax, I keep seeing Prok listed as zone 5. I am thinking about Prairie Sun, which is supposed to be early ripening according to OGW and Northwoods Nursery. It’s also seedless. As I pack my yard to the brink of what it can support, I am being more and more careful to pick fruit that is the very best for my area! No space for duds.
@nik_umesh Rum raisin and citrus sounds tasty! I’ve seen such great reviews for the hybrids, I wish I could grow them here! Just a titch too cold, I think.