Low temp of 7f this winter, so an easy one! All my kakis came through fine, minus deer damage. All are on virginiana rootstock either purchased or grafted by me in the last year.
Tam kam - growing fast
Saijo - Slow to awaken but lots of shoots forming
Chinebuli - planted bare root in November, all buds are swollen and green.
Izu - growing fast and has a fruit! Not bad for 1 year old grafts. Deer have been browsing it.
IKKJ - was a lower branch with Izu, budded out nicely then deer ate it.
Nikita’s Gift - Deer defoliated late last summer, some buds opened but most still asleep.
I’m adding lots more varieties this year, so more results to come.
I had IKKJ for 7 years before the brutal winters of 2 and 3 years ago. (Also 6a/b most years here ). First year it was burned back to inches above the graft, second bad year it took it to the ground. I now have vigorous stems that I will be grafting American varieties to.
I had fruit from it for 3 years before losing it. The last year was very good as there were dozens of fruit on it. (And it was only about 8-10 feet tall at that time.
Same zone as you, first winter for all trees. I’ve got Prok, Rosseyanka, IKKJ, and Hana Fuyu. Everybody is leafing out nicely, although some branches seem to be slower than others to wake up. IKKJ seems to have a little dead wood, but not a worrisome amount.
Rosseyanka has been my most vigorous by far, and I’m not sure why. I swear she was just a tiny whip when I planted her, but she leapt at least 2 feet that first summer. I think I even see a few flower buds forming now. Hana I bought larger and put in better soil, but seems to be taking her time acclimating; Rosey is almost as large now.
I know this is an old thread but I wanted to report observations in 6b. This winter was very mild and I don’t think it went below 15 degrees at my location. About half of my kaki and my Prok American persimmon are showing green buds. This is the earliest I’ve seen them waking up here. I hope we don’t get a late freeze since I don’t think they’re as frost tolerant as other trees once they wake up.
Hi Kelby, saw your posts about Asian persimmons from a while back. I’m in the western suburbs of Philly, and also grow Asian persimmons, figs, apples, Asian and western pears, quince, cherries, pomegranates (still young bushes) and lots of other unusual plants.
I’m wondering if you are open to swapping scions? I have a number of Asian persimmon trees that I grew from seed. I’m gonna try my hand at grafting them with different varieties. I already have for Fuyu, IKKJ, Miss Kim, and chocolate persimmon grafted trees from various nurseries. Looking for other varieties to graft myself onto my seedlings.
Also would like to try adding a few varieties onto my existing Granny Smith and Liberty Apple trees.
