I have grown saijo 30 yrs in Houston. Micro zone 8. We get the maximum chill hrs for Houston for higher chill fruit but not the prolonged cold. Grew american and asian persimmons. Lost all asians that came out of Kali with lotus rootstock. Never any problem with american rootstock. 2 yrs ago planted saijo at vacation home in true zone 8 on DV and the tree never came back out of dormancy. Checked tree and everything above the graft was dead. Last year purchased another from a different vendor and this spring same thing. Everything above graft was dead. Climate and soil different. Houston sandy loam and here clay that I lovingly refer to as brick. Also growing Suruga 10 feet away on same rootstock and it is thriving. Getting ready to order another one on lotus but would like to get the experts opinion. Thanks
Well, Iām not an expert but Iāve got Saiyo growing on DV both in the ground and in a pot. I grafted scions to rootstock trees that I bought bare root, planted in pots, and grew out for a year before grafting.
My noviceās suggestion is that you try something similar ā get DV established in the ground for a year, then graft Saiyo onto it. Or if you still have healthy DV rootstock trees from your past Soiyo plantings, graft Saiyo onto those in the spring. FWIW, I have found bark grafts both very easy and very successful with persimmons.
Iām assuming that your Saiyo wood was not killed by mere cold. But did you have winter temps below 0 F?
Your clay soil May seem a curse, but believe me it can be a blessing, but not in its āBrickā state. There are a few things worth knowing about clay soils as explained in this article by Purdue University: CEC benefits
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ay/ay-238.html
First, Thereās a good chance the Brick soil you have could be killing your plants by improper drainage. To determine if you have good drainage suggest that you dig a hole where you want to plant and perform some perk tests. If they drain well then your clay has not formed a hardpan; on the other hand many clay soils often form a hardpan that is very difficult for plant roots or water to penetrate. So to prepare for planting verify drainage. If when you dig down you hit concrete like conditions itās best to try to penetrate it with a pick ax. Once you break thru the hardpan it should drain much better.
As explained in the Purdue article, clay consist of very fine grained mineral components with each molecule holding a negative charge, hence giving clay soils a very high CEC. To make your clay soil more fertile and less brick like you need to incorporate high ratios of organic materials such as compost, spagnum peat moss, and leaf litter.
Amending your soil properly can overcome heavy, compacted clay and get it back on track for healthy lawn and garden growth. Adding materials such as organic compost, pine bark, composted leaves and gypsum to heavy clay can improve its structure and help eliminate drainage and compaction problems. Gypsum is often used on heavy clay soil in particular, as it breaks down the compacted matter. Unlike sand, which can actually harden clay, gypsum makes it crumbly. Gypsum works on the clay, breaking it up into small crumbly pieces making it easier to work with and also improves drainage. If the soil is a very heavy clay, then this may need to be done more than once.
Good luck and I hope this gives you some ideas to improve your soil.
Dennis
Kent, wa
One additional thought that can help a lot to protect from winter freezing, If you think that winter freeze may have caused your plants to die, you can better insulate your plants from freezing with a thick layer of mulch, preferable woodchips that ultimately breakdown into soil. In addition to that benefit, mulching can also help keep the clay moist creating a much softer texture to make it more friendly to your plantās feeder roots that go outward and upward towards the treeās drip line. You can then introduce earthworms such as European crawlers, red wrigglers, or Canadian crawlers that will keep the clay tilled and aerated improving its texture for a much more organic fertile growing area.
Good luck
Dennis
Kent, wa
Just to help with diagnosis, what was the coldest winter temp in the winters when Saiyo died in ātrue Zone 8ā?
Donāt have a clue as to winter temps. I am in Kingwood when cold. It may be cold hardiness because I lost a Parfianka on left side of home last winter also. The Parfianka in front lost the top 2 thirds of plant. Time to find a more enjoyable climate because I also grow many tropicals, bananas, starfruit, mangos, etc. Thanks