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Am. Persimmon in the heat
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John S
PDX OR
2797 Posts
(Offline)
1
September 30, 2021 - 11:14 am

As was the case with many others, my H-118 prairie star failed to create fruit during our extreme June heat.  So I started thinking, which of our American Persimmons will do the best in extreme heat? I don't think that this extreme heat is a one-off.  It's been coming steadily for decades and even ramped up during the last 20 years.  I noticed that my Early Golden has no visible fruit either, so I cross him off the list of high heat saviors. 

My NC-10/Campbell's has a few fruit and they aren't even turning a bit orange yet. I ordered the scion because it was supposedly the earliest to fruit in other climates. Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? They are in a more shaded area, and it could even be a blessing, as so much of our other fruit has ripened way earlier. What will we gather from the orchard in late October and November?  I'm giving him a maybe.  We'll see what happens with him. He is already not my best tasting persimmon, but we'll see.

So then I turn to Garretson, which has been my all-star for years.  It still has a lot of fruit on it.  Not as much as in other years, but that's understandable. Solid performance, but when I taste them, I notice that they also are noticeably less delicious than in other years. The texture is also less pleasant.  Given the heat, I'll give him a B+.

Today, I just ate one of my Szukis persimmons.  It was absolutely delicious.  This is the first time that a different variety has clearly been better than Garretson. I thought about how small the fruit is, and wondered if that is what saved it.  I'm thinking it is more like feral persimmons are in the wild, so maybe it is more resilient in the heat.  Right now, I'm thinking that Szukis may be my persimmon for the heat.  I am a little cautious, because, as we know, fruit is variable in quality each year.  Szukis is not really a popular variety. It is most frequently cultivated, as I did, to add a high quality male pollinator, which was crucial in the Claypool trials for evaluating the best fruit. 

Yes, I know it is just anecdotal information.  When you accumulate anecdotal information, you can create a hypothesis, and if it works out, you've got a good theory.  I would love to hear what others think.

John S
PDX OR

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Dubyadee
Puyallup, Washington, USA
237 Posts
(Offline)
2
October 1, 2021 - 8:00 am

Did your fruitless trees have blossoms on them? If no blossoms then your fruitless trees were affected by last year’s growth.  I have a persimmon that fruited for the first time three years ago, I got two fruits from it. It has not had blossoms since. If you only have one tree of each variety and these trees are in a backyard setting with various shade and water conditions it may not be a fair competition as opposed to an orchard with rows of trees with identical growing conditions. 

I have two plums, an Asian pear, and a peach that never produced, all are over 15 years old. Last year I decided I would plant figs beside these four trees to replace the non-fruiting trees. When the figs got bigger in a couple years I was going to cut down the other trees. I watered the figs enough in the dry season to keep them alive. This year all four of the old non-fruiting trees bore fruit for the first time. Did they hear my exclamation of their impending doom and get their act together?  Or was that little bit of extra water enough to put the trees in a condition to set fruit the next year?

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John S
PDX OR
2797 Posts
(Offline)
3
October 3, 2021 - 1:14 pm

I like your idea of checking the blossoms, Dubyadee.

The Am. persimmon blossoms are so tiny, that I rarely check them.  Maybe I'll pay more attention now. 

I have 5 varieties of American persimmons.  They all get plenty of sun, especially when it hits 116, 112, 108, 107 F.

After I added micro nutrients like Boron and Manganese, I got trees to bloom that didn't bloom before.

I may have to try that threatening to chop them routine.   I wonder how loud I have to say it?

JohN S
PDX OR

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DanielW
Clark County, WA
519 Posts
(Offline)
4
October 13, 2021 - 8:46 am

My Yates did fine.  It's downhill a bit from the septic drainage system so maybe that helped.  It's becoming a rather tall tree.  Prairie Star (I think) at least survived.   My Saijo never does all that well - maybe it's the D.lotus rootstock?   Nikita's Gift is loaded.  It always does very well.  Is on D. lotus too.

Interesting, about 3 years ago I planted Chocolate and Coffeecake persimmons in a location that doesn't get much attention - not weeding, not watering, not much of anything.  Last year I thought they died.  This summer, both put on a fair amount of growth despite the heat and no care.  I should do better next year to reward them.  Not sure of their rootstocks, maybe D. virginiana.

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John S
PDX OR
2797 Posts
(Offline)
5
October 19, 2021 - 7:44 am

Daniel,

Maybe we can do an exchange of Yates and Garretson this winter?

John S
PDX OR

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DanielW
Clark County, WA
519 Posts
(Offline)
6
October 21, 2021 - 7:05 am

John, I'm happy to share scion.  I don't think I'll be grafting new trees this year but I'm happy to share from the ones I have.

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Larry_G
185 Posts
(Offline)
7
October 21, 2021 - 12:28 pm

Two parking strip trees a few blocks from here in SE PDX and in full sun

were undamaged by the June heat and look to have a full crop of fruit

the size and shape of American persimmons. They are starting to turn orange.

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John S
PDX OR
2797 Posts
(Offline)
8
October 23, 2021 - 10:09 pm

This is pretty late for American persimmons. I wonder if they're Asian persimmons? My Americans are almost done.

John S
PDX OR

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Larry_G
185 Posts
(Offline)
9
October 25, 2021 - 2:48 pm

That is possible, I am not knowledgeable about the various persimmons.

The ones in my neighborhood are flattened, about 2 inches in diameter,

and they all color up mainly in November and are still hanging around at Christmas.

 

In August or September, I did pass by a few trees near an alleyway and those clustering

persimmons were flattened, small, and so many were on the ground it was hard

to find a clear spot for a footplant.

 

Perhaps the later variety sizes up after most of the summer heat has passed.

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