ORIGINAL: west_hunter21
Your not the first one that has told me that about the persimmon trees, but I read an article somewhere that a guy was having success growing the sawtooh oaks in the UP of Michigan--I'll see if I can find it again
Could be he lives close to Lake Michigan and gets buffered from cold temperatures? Zone 5 might be pushing it a bit on tolerance. The southernhalf of lower Michigan is zone 6.
The sawtooth was introduced into the eastern U.S. around 1920. Its range of adaptation extends from north Florida to east Texas, through Missouri into southern New England. However, it is subject to winter kill in upstate New York and throughout the north slopes and higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains, as far south as Georgia.
http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/s/2003/0416/1540064.html
Gobbler Sawtooth map provided...
http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/pubs/kypmcbrquac80.pdf
It is unfortunate that those intent on improving habitats do not want to replant slower growing native oaks such as bur, white, red, ect.