Yah , same here.
While it has been cool lately , it was plenty hot when they would have normally ripened. So not sure why so late?
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Yeah, and several of my other persimmon varieties seem late, too.
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Hereare my 3 Prok this year. They started to wrinkle. I let them hang on the tree through a night of 21 F a few days ago.
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I have never had prok stay on the tree this late.
Mine were late this year , but all dropped several weeks ago.
I have Several older trees of them, find it odd that yours stayed on so late. I have never seen that here.
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This is the first year I have persimmons fruited, Nikitaās Gift and Prok (grafted on Nikitaās.
It could be that it was the first year. The tree only get 5-6 hours of sun in the summer, even less in the fall.
These did not drop. I cut them off at the stems by a pruner. They could have hung on even longer. My friendās Yates ripened last month. His is a big mature tree.
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Makes me wonder if being grafted to nikitas gift caused it to be late ?
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I can tell you next year, maybe. I grafted another Prok on a seedling. If it sets fruit next year, I can compare. Again, that one gets even less amount of sun.
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My prok also all dropped weeks ago, way before it get wrinkled. But 100-46 will stay until picked.
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Same for me. My Prok ripened in late September and they all dropped.
I personally think my Prok was very late because 1) it was new. 2) it lacked heat. Not only our summer is not that hot, the tree is in partial shade and this branch is on a shady side of the tree.
I think the wrinkle occured after the fruit went true many hours of freezing temp (21 - 22 F) 3 days ago. I left one NG on the tree to see when it will drop.
Here is the size comparison between NIkitaās Gift and Prok.
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Iām thinking about using a Yates or Prok in the middle of my Cincinnati zone 6a front lawn as a shade tree and fruit tree combined. The thought is to do minimal pruning and let it grow in to a tall and hopefully good looking tree. Being in the middle of the lawn, it should be sufficiently away from walk way and street so the dropped fruits wonāt be a bother.
- I read on ediblelandscaping.com that Prok drops ripe fruit when ready to eat. Does Yates do the same? If the Yates fruits donāt drop, how would I harvest from the tall tree? Shake the tree?
- Do the dropped Prok fruit keep the c**** on, not exposing the pulp? (I canāt remember the c**** word, but the acorn cap equivalent thing on a persimmon.) Does Yates do the same, if Yates drops fruits also?
- I understand both have large fruits for American persimmon. Is one bigger than the other?
- If you have experience with Yates and Prok, which one do you think would work better in this setup? Is one better looking tree than the other?
- Anything I overlooked?
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Yates for me tastes every time like a bottle of perfume. Itās sort of disgusting but again, for me. I donāt know about others other than @mamuang who I remember reading had a similar experience. What do you think of Yates, again, Mam?
Prok on the other hand is the ultimate persimmon, really. Itās early, makes a beautiful upright tree, and has large fruit that shouldnāt be seeded if no pollen in general vacinity, and tastes wonderful.
Prok Iāve seen with a single leader and it was about 2/3ās as wide as tall at 25ā. Pyramidal in habit. A great yard specimen tree for sure.
Dax
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Appreciate the recommendation on Prok. I just thought of another aspect to checkā¦
- Does the root of American persimmon have tendency to come to the surface, causing uneven turf, trip hazard?
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50, 60, 80 years maybe. All trees eventually become large.
Go for it! Iāve spent the greater part of 20-years looking at trees in the wild, at arboreta, in landscapes and in books and online. Itās all I do. Donāt plant a Sweetgum, lol.
Dax
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Hope your right. I put Prok and Weber in this year. Lot of wilds around me, so guessing some seeds for me. I found that most of the astringency hovers right around the seeds, but after it has converted to sugar the seed area is the best part.
The house I bought a year ago has sweetgums for shade trees in the yard. Iāve spent the last year taking down a few of them. There are still a few left with two that are 30 inches diameter and too close to the house for me to take down safely.
Sweetgums are arguably the most invasive tree imaginable. They thrive in rocky clay soil of just about any PH and throw up root sprouts wherever the roots grow. Kudzu is the only thing that can choke out a sweetgum.
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Wow, i didnāt know that. I have always appreciated the smell of sweetgum leaves but never knew their diabolical sideā¦
Dax,
You have good memory. Yes, when I first tasted Yates, its intense sweetness and aroma was best described as nauseating.
However, after a few more trials (I donāt give up eating fruit easily!!), I have gotten used to it. I can say I like Yates, but can only eat a couple at a time.
I like non astringent Asian persimmons like Fuyu. It is mildly sweet and crunchy. American persimmonās taste and texture is very different. It is possible that people can like one and not the other. I like them both.
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Backtracking a bit here, but EVERYTHING here in Mid TN was about 3-4 weeks late due to frosts and freezes in April and May.
I cannot answer except to say that I ālikeā Asian crunchy persimmons but I love American persimmons.
Once I got Hachiya and let them go to jelly and that was very good but I still think I like American persimmons, the most. Growing any persimmons if you can seedless is to me the best blessing I think. If theyāre native, you canāt grow seedless. Itās a part of the game.
I have not eaten a hybrid yet (except Dr. Kazas as a blob on the ground crawling with worms - so nothing really any different from an American) - however, I look forward to JT-02. Knowing it can be eaten crunchy or soft is going to be an unusual treat for any zone 5-erās.
edit: JT-02 must be soft to be eaten or it is astringent so no crunchy eating.
Dax
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