Doesn’t Early Golden spit out male flowers as well?
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Early Golden does produce male flowers. It is not consistent and usually on older trees. I discussed this with Jerry Lehman about 22 years ago while talking about breeding prospects for persimmons.
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These Claypool documents are excellent that a forum member sent me.
Claypool Orchard Records copy.pdf (12.5 MB)
CLAYP.XLS (368 KB)
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A forum member suggested i look at the 100-46 and i see what they mean now Diospyros, '100-46' American persimmon – Cricket Hill Garden
" Cricket Hill Garden
Diospyros, ‘100-46’ American persimmon
Diospyros virginiana
Variety description: This cultivar is one of the finest crosses to result from the American persimmon breeding work by Jerry Lehman of Terra Haute, Indiana. This early to mid-season ripening cultivar. Large fruit has a reddish orange blush and an excellent sweet flavor. Trees bear heavy crops. The pulp of the ripe fruit is recommended use in puddings, cookies and breads. Partially self-fertile female tree will produce seedless fruit without a male pollinator.
Site requirements: Persimmons grow best in a full sun location with fertile, well-drained soil. They are quite adaptable and will grow in poor, dry soils, though such sites are far from ideal.
Size at maturity: With pruning, trees can be maintained at 20-25’.
Pests and diseases: None of concern in the Northeast.
Hardiness: Will grow in USDA zones 5-9."
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That could be a show stopper for many of us suburbanites.
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The early golden has been grown since 1880 i love the flavor of that one! @39thparallel and i were eating those early golden back in 2016 and 2017 and i liked them ever since that time. Diospyros virginiana seed - #5 by clarkinks As i mentioned
" In 1880 the first named American persimmon was selected out of the wild in Illinois. This original variety, ‘Early Golden’, would go on to be the female parent for many of the cultivars developed throughout the twentieth century. Elwyn Meader of Rochester, New Hampshire, was interested in American persimmons and developed one supposed self-fruitful cultivar called ‘Meader’. Another one of the more famous American persimmon breeders was the late James Claypool who began his work in the 1970’s. He also worked with Professor J.C. McDaniel from the Unniversity of Illinois whom is responsible for selecting ‘John Rick’ and ‘Florence’ (5). Over the course of 20+ years Claypool evaluated over 2,000 trees and kept records describing the characteristics of each tree in his breeding project. As Claypool’s health declined in the early 1990’s various members of the Indiana Nut Growers Association decided to carry on his work (1); one of those individuals was Jerry Lehman, who has a 60-acre orchard in Terra Haute, IN. He has been working with persimmons there ever since and has a large repository containing some of the most diverse American persimmon genetics in the world. The breeding aims today remain largely the same as Claypool’s original criteria (1):
1.Reduce the long ripening period
2.Improve fruit size
3.Calyx holding to fruit when dropping from the tree
4.Increase the already wonderful flavor
5.Skin tough enough to hold fruit when it strikes ground
6.Better the color of skin or attractiveness
7.Reduce seed numbers
8.Eliminate black spots in fruit flesh
9.Improve pulp color & longevity when frozen"
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“The tissue that heals grafts, “callus”, only grows in persimmons at warm temperatures, typically at least 25°C (77°F) .”
Persimmon bark grafting | Rick Shory.
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Interesting information in Claypool’s records! My young 100-46 wanted to grow fruit but it aborted this year.
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This website Outstanding Cultivars – Best Persimmon ranks Outstanding Cultivars. Please disregard the 2 kaki hybrids at the bottom though i’m sure they are excellent. All the 100-45, 100-43 , 100-42 are on there. 100-46 is likely too new.
" Outstanding Cultivars
Claypool (this page under construction)
C-100
B-59 seed and fruit
Dollywood/D-128 fruit only, seed extremely large
I 115
A118 seed and fruit
B56 seed and fruit
C100
B101 seed and fruit
H118
Lehman
400-19 seed and fruit
400-21
400-23
100-45
100-43 seed and fruit
100-42
Heritage varieties
Prok
Killen fruit only ,seed stores poorly
Early Golden, heritage only , no outstanding qualities
John Rick ,heritage only , no outstanding qualities
==================================
Hybrids
Roseyanka , the original hybrid from Russia, very hardy to central Indiana, fruit never falls must be picked, requires severe pruning to avoid fruit being out of reach on tall tree, production can be 30 gallon of fruit on one tree
JT-02 aka Mikkusu , a very Hardy 50/50 Asian/American persimmon hybrid"
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Something everyone should know H118 above is prarie star. Which means prarie sun ,prarie dawn , prarie gem and others are actually the same claypool series.
https://www.northwoodsnursery.com/category/850/?page=2
" Prairie Star® American Persimmon
One of the earliest ripening American Persimmon varieties, Prairie Star® American Persimmon is prized for its unusually large, very sweet, firm and flavorful fruit. Apparently self-fertile, Prairie Star™ fruit is also seedless in our orchard. (Claypool H-118 cv.)
One of our best native American fruits and hardy to minus 25 °F, American Persimmon can be grown in all but the coldest regions of the U.S. Our hard-to-find, grafted varieties produce bountiful crops of delicious, light-orange fruit. American Persimmon fruit is ready to eat when it is soft like a tomato and is great for fresh eating and for making delectable cookies, cakes, and other treats. American Persimmon trees are easy to keep 10-12 ft in height with pruning.
They like full to half day sun and can grow on most soils. Our varieties are partially to fully self-fertile but all will bear heavier crops with a Male tree for pollination. Naturally pest and disease resistant, our American Persimmon varieties can produce 30 lbs. or more of fruit and often begin bearing the 2nd or 3rd year after planting.
Latin Name: Diospyros virginiana
Site and Soil: Persimmons like 1/2 day to full sun and well-drained soil
Rootstock Description: Grafted onto American Persimmon rootstock
Pollination Requirements: Prairie Star® is self-fertile. Plant with our Male Persimmon to ensure good crops
Hardiness: Hardy to minus 25°F.
Bearing Age: 2-3 years after planting
Size at Maturity: 10-12 ft. in height (with occasional pruning)
Taste: Sweet
Fruit Size: Large
Bloom Time: June
Ripening Time: Late September
Yield: 30+ lbs.
Pests & Diseases: With proper care and placement Persimmon trees are not bothered by pests or diseases
USDA Zone: 4-9"
These are how the numbers and names line up
" Prairie Dawn®
(Claypool H55A cv.) From the breeding work of the late Jim Claypool in eastern Illinois, Prairie Dawn® is early ripening and features abundant crops of large, golden-orange, sweet and flavorful fruit.1450
Prairie Gem™
(Claypool F-25 cv.) This unique and very attractive variety features delicious, light orange, sweet and tender fruit. Prairie Gem™ bears abundant crops of easy to pick, seedless Persimmons.1453
Prairie Star®
(Claypool H-118 cv.) A superior and early ripening selection from the work of Jim Claypool, Prairie Star® is prized for its large, sweet and flavorful, orange-yellow fruit.1455
Prairie Sun®
(Claypool A-33 cv.) This beautiful, orange-yellow fruit is not only early ripening, it is delectably sweet, firm and delicious. Prairie Sun® is another excellent selection from Jim Claypool’s orchard.1457"
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H-118 aka ‘Prairie Star’ aka ‘Early Jewel’
3 names- confusing
i believe H-118 is the original number designation from Jim Claypool’s orchard. probably designates a row “H” and the number in that row.
I think ‘Early Jewel’ was Jerry Lehman’s name for it. Not that h-118 doesnt make your mouth water. Its the name i put the tags in my orchard.
‘Prairie Star’ was the name given by One Green World, who trademarked it under this name. i like OGW as a nursery, but this business of trademarking other people’s breeding work is bogus. It creates needless confusion, since these are already named cultivars in most cases, and it just doesnt pass the smell test IMO.
In this particular instance, I believe Jim Claypool actually provided OGW with the varieties and allowed them to release them under their own names. in many other cases, though, they seem to simply scarf up someone elses named selection and file a trademark for it.
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That is very confusing. It creates duplicates in the orchard unless people are reading this thread or others like it which sorts all of this out. When in doubt im using the documents above and making notes as i use the spreadsheet and pdf above
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I have a few of those growing already (Prok, John Rick, 100-46, JT-02, among others) and plenty of rootstock to graft over to some of those other varieties.
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Just stick with the numbering system when possible 
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Some suppliers only use one of those 3 names.
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Outside of CA, only get the numbered ones Or yes, refer to a table if it exists.
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My H-118 just came in today! Got the hole ready and everything. As you know, now comes the hard part of getting the graft through the first few winters.
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I think JIm Claypool, Jerry Lehman, and the countless folks who’ve perennially placed ‘Early Golden’ as ‘tops for flavor’ in INGA persimmon taste testings at Jerry’s place would disagree with the ‘historical with no outstanding qualities’ notation.
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Follow up to the Claypool documents:
So I searched it and the overall top Persimmon according to the points is L-128a at 84.5. Is this a cultivar that ever received a name? Is anyone still growing it?
Also I see a I-94a with a 10 on his flavor scale with 78.2 total points. There is another persimmon called I-94 aka Valeene Beauty.
I’m assuming they are two different trees as perfect circle farm has them as different trees. Can anyone clear that up?
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Anyone know who owns the Claypool orchard now and if it’s legally protected, with a conservation easement or similar?
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