Worth growing American persimmon if Asian does well in your climate?

Hi everyone,

I have a few decent size American persimmon rootstocks growing in my yard as the result of some Asian varieties that were grafted on the American rootstock that died to the ground and regrew. Asian persimmons have performed well for me in southern AZ (zone 8) and I have all the varieties I want at the moment (about 20 total, with several PVA, PVNA, PCNA, and PCA).

I have never had any American persimmon other than those from wild trees growing in the midwest. Therefore, I don’t know how any of the “improved” varieties compare to the Asian varieties.

Would any of you that have tasted both Asian and American varieties recommend I expand my collection to include some American varieties? If so, which ones?

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Early golden is sweet and delicious! A friend in Lawrence kansas grew these that i ate.


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The taste and texture of pure American and pure Asian persimmons is quite different. When you like one, it does not mean you will like the other. Best if you can try both.

I love Asian persimmons for its mildly sweet and crunchy texture. I can eat a lot in one sitting. The American ones are very sweet, mushy and perfumey that I feel a bit nauseated after eating more than a couple at a time. I definitely need to adjust my taste buds and expectation when I eat American persimmons.

They are many here who love the taste of American persimmons and find Asian ones boring,p and lack character.

Also, they are hybrids that may be pleasing to many more people on both sides.

@tonyOmahaz5, @aap are one of many here who can give you advice.

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I have had both and I prefer the crunchy Fuyu over american persimmons.

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I have never had any of the improved American varieties but have collected some wild ones near my house. At home I have planted Jiro.

I also have a tough time eating many American persimmons at once, but that experience is only based on the wild ones.

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How would you compare these to some of the wild fruits you’ve had?

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Not like the wild type and taste is similar to hybrids.

I grew up eating the wild American persimmon. I have tasted a crunchy Fuyu and it’s just not the same taste. I like it but it is mild and sweet. The Fuyu I forgot was in my pantry that had gotten soft had a much better flavor to me. I have a Eureka that as an Asian astringent was really good when fully ripe and very much like the American. I am now planting a mix of Asian astringent and non astringent and I have a couple of American hybrids. If you like the Asian astringents then you will most likely like the Americans and I hope the hybrids are similar–larger fruit with the intense American taste.

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I had the pleasant experience to taste a American persimmon in Middlesboro KY in November.
Best one I’ve eaten to date…and I used to eat quite a few as a youngster growing up on a 180 plot of mostly woods and pasture. Used to possum and coon hunt from time to time as a pre-teen.

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I haven’t tried the american varieties but I love the astrigent Asian types. After I saw this video I really want to try a good american persimmon. Skip to 7:30 to watch how she raves about Meader.

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Excellent! This is exactly what I was looking for… Meader looks like a worthwhile addition to an Asian persimmon collection.

Funny thing is Meader is the easiest of American varieties to find and the Midwest Fruit Growers Association strongly recommends that one pass on growing Meader. They say that it is seedy and only fair-good for flavor.

That was enough for me to keep looking

Scott

I’ve heard the same thing. I’ve told that Prok and Yates are better tasting than Meader.

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After posting, I looked up some info on Meader and found some similar sentiment… I’m sure it’s fine but there are much better varieties available.

As of right now I’m thinking “Lehman’s Delight” and “Barbara’s Blush” may be worth adding.

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I’ve been wanting to get Szuki’s myself (I have an Elmo in my best friend’s yard, though I always forget to ask him if it has fruited. )

Scott

American Persimmons are sweeter than the Asian varieties - and I actually prefer them. They might even be the sweetest fruit I’ve ever tasted, with a 23 Brix score!

“The American persimmon is about the size of a golf ball and, when ripe, measures approximately 23 on the Brix scale, which tests for sweetness of fruits such as apples, which, by comparison, measure only 14,” Smith says.

Or also compare that to an extremely sweet peach at 18!

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not sure who wrote this, but that’s a horrible generalization of a fruit (apples) that can go below 10 and approach 20 brix, as well as vary widely on acidity, etc…

persimmons are sweet but that line just caught my eye as bad science/writing/fact-gathering on smith’s part. Then again, if I am reading correctly, they are selling fruit from seedling trees, as opposed to improved varieties, which also makes me scratch my head?

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Neil in NV had apples at 27 brix last yr. That’s the highest I’ve seen. That’s near Reno in a very sunny dry climate.

I grow Prok, H-120 and several seedling American persimmons and have eaten only astringent varieties of Asian persimmon. I much prefer all of the American persimmons because they have much more flavor than the Asian ones.
High Brix level not always mean better taste. I have squashes at 17 Brix which are excellent for a squash, but it’s not fair to compare them to a 17 Brix pear or apple. I really like my 32+ Brix plum, though.

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