I have a mature Fuyu Persimmons tree with about a 6 inch thick main trunk that I need to move after dormancy kicks in. I've dug up and moved several types of trees previous, just never a Persimmons. I've read somewhere that a Persimmons sends down a tap root. How far down do I go to get that root? Couple feet and then cut it off? Or is it just the same as any other fruit tree? Does anyone have any advice? I'd like to be able to successfully move it with as little stress to the tree as possible.
Thanks in advance!
I tried to move a mature Izu Japanese Persimmon tree and I killed it. I wasn't very careful about keeping the rootball together. I removed all the dirt. I don't think that it has a true taproot but rather a fleshy root. I would think that if you kept all the roots together balled in burlap in a big ball it would fare much better than mine did.
John S
PDX OR
I’ve grown them, but never moved a mature persimmon tree. They are quite brittle, which I’ll assume extends to their roots. I’ve always assumed ‘the more root – the better,’ with regard to any tree. I actually consider them a temperamental tree, as I’ve recently lost 2 of my 4 for no apparent reason, and suspect the Asians are fairly short lived.
Don’t know why you’re moving it, but they’d be the last of my fruit trees that I’d attempt to move. A fig? – bullet proof! But my suspicion is a persimmon of that age would be a very risky venture. Hopefully someone with more experience will find this, but ‘around here’ persimmons are still considered an exotic by most folks … if they’ve even heard of one 
I am digging up the tree because if I don't get the owner is going to chop it up into a burn pile. It's a beauty. It's about 10ft tall. I'm hoping to save it. To me, it's worth the try. I did a 10 year old fig tree that was about 12 feet tall and a 5inch diameter trunk. That worked out well. I'll keep you posted on how the persimmons does.
Today I went out and dug the persimmons tree. It took me three hours to get it in the back of my truck - start to finish, including refilling the hole and tidying things up. I got it home, which took me about an hour. I dug a hole, set it up and now it's in the ground. It's got good support. Info for others - the persimmons tree root is no different than any other tree. They are not brittle nor do they have a tap root. I did some research and found alot about root pruning prior to digging up a mature tree, which should be done months in advance to ensure better survivability of a transplant. However, I didn't know about this in time. Just remember if you are going to dig up a mature tree, just start digging further out than you think the roots are which mine were about three feet out. I then dug about three feet down. I worked my way under to make sure there were no tap root that I had heard about. There were roots about 1/2 inch in diameter shooting out in the bottom center. Basically it look exactly like a typical fruit tree fanning out. When finished the root ball was about 27 inches deep and 4 feet 10 inches at it's widest spot. Anyone trying to tackle this kind of project, I think it's worth it. Instant fruit tree. I hope.
More updates at a later date.
Excellent info on rootstock and it fits with my experience. I hope that trees pumps out orange fruit in the fall. Might have to wait a year to let it adjust to the shock.
John S
PDX OR
Yes – an excellent update, thank you. And if the tree was going to be destroyed, defiantly worth the effort to transplant it. My only afterthought is a ‘good pruning,’ to balance the top growth with any root loss…
Just pruned one of mine a day ago, and they’re still a different animal above the ground. I’d be reluctant to do anything drastic, but feel any fruit tree moved as you have should at least receive a good thinning.
Their branches are so temperamental… and ‘heading cuts’ are not very obvious. Maybe cut back some of the uppermost heading limbs and allow the laterals to feed the tree, as it will likely send up several water-sucker shoots that can fill in any loss.
But good work and good luck – and do keep us posted. And they’re slow to leaf out, so be patient 