Hi, I ask this because Jiro is very sweet at my location but does not lose astringency.
However Suruga doesn’t develop as much sweetness even though it is supposed to be a sweet variety.
Izu is quite sweet but Jiro is much better.
I am curious to know if Taishu will develop sweetness. I don’t care if it doesn’t get non astringent. It’s easy to remove astringency. Sweetness is much more difficult to get.
there is no useful comment i can provide on the topic of sweetness .
sweetness is highly depend on local climate and cultivaction.
try and find out.
In this study of performance in a Mediterranean climate over two seasons, different batches of fruit produces variable results. Here’s my summary of the results for Total Soluble Solids (Brix) for the six varieties tested.
Kanshu 18-21, Shinshu 18-23, Soshu 15-18, Suruga 15-18, Youhou 16-19,
Izu 17-18.
In general, 18 is the number though some tend slightly lower, some slightly higher. Performance is surprisingly variable. Izu seems to have the most consistent results on this measure.
As a grower in a short-season area, I’m focusing on varieties that are early ripening, assuming that late-ripening varieties will perform poorly here. So I’m growing Izu and grafting Cardinal, assuming that it is Soshu. I also have Taishu but that’s a real stretch. But the only PCNA I’ve fruited so far is IKKJ, which ripens here in late October / early November, when it is deep orange but still hard and can be finished indoors.
FWIW, my Ichi Ki Kei Jiro is completely non-astringent here, despite relatively mild summers. That is, almost all summer days exceed 65 F, a minority exceed 85 F.
Harvest TIming.pdf (378.6 KB)
This is great news for me as we have similar climate conditions!
Thanks for the info!
Does anyone know a source where to get Gora Roman Kosh in europe? I‘d like to plant one but can‘t find them
jrd51, how long is your growing season (last frost date and first frost date)? Are your trees in ground or planted outdoors? Do you have a false spring (warming weather for several weeks before final frost)?
I’m curious if the right Asian persimmon would grow for me in zone 7 (low of 9 is the coldest I have seen) with a short growing season free of frost (last frost early May and the first frost is mid October).
My last frost tends to be in the last week of April; the first frost tends to be in the last week of October. But the last/first frost can, of course, be later/earlier. For example, a few years ago we had a severe frost on May 9.
My in-ground (planted outdoors) Asian persimmons include 3 IKKJs, 1 Saijo, 1 Sheng, 1 Giboshi. I’ve also got in-ground hybrids Kasandra and JT-02, plus a bunch of Americans. In pots, I have the Asian persimmons Saijio, Chocolate, Coffee Cake, Taishu, Izu as well as the hybrids Nikita’s Gift and Dar Sofievki.
My location is adjacent to Narragansett Bay – a large mass of salt water connected to the ocean – so warming tends to be gradual, moderated by the mass of cold water nearby. So no, there is generally not a false spring.
If +9 F is the lowest you can expect, then ANY Asian persimmon would work for you. But it you are in Zone 7 – like me!!! – your average winter low would be much lower (e.g., -5 to 0 F).
I’m confused, however: Your handle is “iowacity” but Iowa City, Iowa is in Zone 5b with average lows of -10 F to -15 F. Did you move?
No, I’m originally from California actually, I moved to NV about 10 years ago. Our variable spring weather is my major concern with Asian persimmons which is why I was curious what you were experiencing. I put in chocolate and coffee cake persimmons last year, but they didn’t wake up until the first week of June! I think due to the swings of cold temperature or maybe the very cold nights we have (in April and most nights are in the 40s or 30s).
Cold nights can definitely be an issue, retarding the emergence from dormancy. My rules of thumb based on observations here are that sensitive species such as figs and persimmons (unlike apples and pears) don’t grow well until temperatures are >60-65 F during the day and >50 F during the night. With nighttime temps at 40-45 F, growth slows or stalls. With nighttime temps <40 F, trees head back into dormancy.
That said, even those tender species break bud in early May. My own potted Chocolate and Coffee Cake (and a few others) are leafing out now, thanks to the slightly more moderate temps inside a detached garage. The in-ground Giboshi, Saijo, Sheng have swelling buds but no green yet.