Fruit bat (love yur name),

“I am attempting to grow a Fuyu, (Jiro) persimmon in Yamhill County. Haven't seen any mature trees anywhere around. Does anybody know of any persimmon success stories or know where there is a Jiro growing near Portland area?”

I’m in Yamhill County and have had Fuyu (Jiro) persimmons for ..many years. ‘Many years’ being well over twenty for my oldest – that died this Spring " title="Crying or Very sad" /> I’ve a smaller fruited astringent persimmon with a name I can’t remember (and am too lazy to go out and look.. though I did eat a couple of them off the tree this evening!), and one more Jiro, around 15 years old – down from 3 total as I took one out a year ago for serious garden expansion and it was not looking too good…

The demise of the oldest tree seemed a combination of its wet location and severe vole activity below ground. The other (younger) Jiro was likely the same, planted in the same little ‘draw,’ just a bit further up. And the vole damage has been deadly…

Magnificent trees, they are very brittle; limb spreading can easily snap a ‘weak crotch.’ They need no pollinator and usually set good crops. I’m in a cool draw at 350 feet elevation and ripening is sometimes ‘iffy.’ They’re the last fruit I harvest …well, them and my Fuzzy kiwis. No insects eat or attack their leaves, though deer will eat whatever’s within reach - so mine spent 3 to 4 years caged in until they grew above that threat. They have no seeds and may be eaten from crunchy through soft. They dry well, I’ve got gallons. Birds will begin to ‘peck’ them after the leaves fall, which is after the first ‘killing frost’ – though the fruit will hang on for weeks, it looks amazing. Raccoons are hard on them, as they’ll break the brittle limbs when climbing to the top after anything you leave (for the birds..).

The tree’s seem naturally dwarfed and need very little pruning …and being an avid pruner, I’d be happy to get in there if needed. No sprays are necessary for any disease or pests. The tree’s have done well after some very cold winters. Once established, they show no signs of thirst – and you know it also gets dry around here. The fruit can get some one-sied blackened sun-scald when exposed; no big deal unless you’re looking to market them.

I’ve seen some persimmon trees in McMinnville, generally ‘new,’ but always green and growing – they’ve a beautiful ‘lime-green’ foliage in the Spring and an eventual orange through purple going on in the Fall. I can’t say enough good about them, they’re a very underutilized if unknown tree and do very well in our dryer than the Valley or foothills of the Cascades climate. I’ve been waiting to see an orchard go in for decades ... but it’s not going to be me …you?

Hey – if you’re in Yamhill County, you can get a free library card from Linfield College (don’t tell everyone) and check out an amazing ..make that AMAZING DVD on persimmon cultivation, harvesting, storage and marketing in Japan of around 25 years ago. A full-length ‘movie,’ it’s riveting for anyone into Persimmons. It was once quite an industry over there and I suspect they’re still at the hart of anything commercial. It’s said persimmons (you’ve got me going now..) are the most eaten fruit on earth, due to the number of Asians and their cultivation and appreciation of them. So we’re real late to the game. – And I always need to thank Jim Gilbert of “One Green World” for inspiring me to grow them …all those years ago.. His online nursery would be an excellent source… or Kramer’s in Mac

Sohoppy, it’s so difficult to describe their flavor. Fuyu’s can be eaten crunchy or soft or anywhere in-between, and each stage has a lightly different flavor, if not texture. To me, they’ve more ‘flavor’ than an average apple... I like their mid-ripened flavor best, and they’re not too juicy at that point. I’ve never thought of them as “juicy,” though waiting until an astringent (Hachiya) persimmon becomes eatable would come closer.

…honestly, my mouth is watering at this moment as I consider booting up and heading out to the tree - that might answer your question I’d also assume, like most other fruit, they’re not ‘tree ripened’ in a store. I suspect there’s an extra richness that develops when they’re left to hang to that moment of perfection.

Given my druthers, I wouldn’t be without one. The fruit keeps well refrigerated, too. I’d gladly trade all three of my winter pear trees (Comice, Highland & Anjou) for persimmon trees. Though the pears are delicious, they’re impossible for a home orchardist’s (lacking an oxygen free environment) to ripen without brown rot. Larger Asian persimmons keep for months and ripen well when set out for a week.

If you like fruit, which is likely why most of us are here, I can’t see how you’d not like a tree-ripened persimmon.