Persimmon

**Siting:** Persimmon is a round-topped deciduous tree, typically 15 to 30 feet tall with a similar spread, though it can grow taller and take on an erect or willowy habit. It does best in full sun on well-drained soil that is otherwise adaptable, is hardy to USDA Zone 7, and its manageable size makes it suitable as a small shade tree, for espalier training, in mixed borders, or even in a large container.

**Seasonal growth:** The tree passes through a distinct annual cycle: dormancy from roughly mid-November to mid-March, followed by bud swelling in early March, bud break by month's end, shoot growth from April through July, and flower emergence beginning in mid-April. Because these stages are sensitive to water and nutrient stress, tracking them helps guide the timing of irrigation and feeding through the season.

Persimmon largely escapes the leaf spot disease that often disfigures its American relative by autumn, so its foliage tends to remain blemish-free through the growing season.

**Ripening:** Fruit matures late in fall and can remain on the tree into winter. Depending on the fruit, it may be spherical, acorn-, or pumpkin-shaped, ranging from about 1.5 to 9 centimeters across and colored from glossy light yellow-orange to dark red-orange, with flesh that stays astringent until fully ripe. The calyx generally stays attached through picking but loosens once the fruit ripens, and the ripe flesh is sweet from its content of sucrose, fructose, and glucose.

**Types:** Astringent fruit must be allowed to soften completely, becoming almost mushy, before it is palatable, while non-astringent types can be eaten firm and crisp, skin included, much like an apple.

**Culinary:** Persimmon fruit is eaten fresh, dried, or cooked into a range of value-added products and is a staple across many Asian cuisines, valued as a source of vitamins A and C and dietary fiber while being low in calories and fat.

**Ornamental:** Beyond its fruit, the tree serves as a small shade tree noted for its autumn color, and its tolerance of training makes it suitable for espalier, mixed borders, or container culture.

Persimmon in its cultivated Asian form is native to temperate eastern China, where it was domesticated and cultivated for centuries; seeds have been recovered from Chinese tombs dating to 187 BC, and the fruit was celebrated during the Tang and Ming dynasties. Cultivation spread from China to Korea and Japan, and the species was formally described from Japan by Thunberg in 1776 before being introduced to Europe in 1789. Seeds reached the United States in 1854, followed by grafted plants in 1864 and larger shipments in 1877, with production becoming established mainly in Georgia, other southern states, and California, aided later by further Chinese clones introduced by USDA plant explorer Frank Meyer.