persimmon trees
 

I plan to plant a patch of persimmon trees on my land this year about how many should I plant , how, and when. Thank for your help.[:-]

RE: persimmon trees
 

Plant the trees before they leaf out this spring. Since there are male and female I' d plant at least 5 trees for a good chance at having both sexes. Persimmons are difficult to transplant. Even if they look dead, keep them watered and they may grow the following year. If the trees are seedlings; dig a hole twice as wide and deep as the roots. Discard the subsoil and backfill with topsoil, leaving no air pockets and tamping the soil. Water wet after (and during) planting.

Dan O.

RE: persimmon trees
 

Sorry Dan O. I dont think I said it but im planting them from seeds when should I plant the seeds. Thanks again.

RE: persimmon trees
 

The seeds should have been stored in moist peat moss in the refrigerator since last fall. You can scarify the seed with sandpaper (or dilute hydrochloric acid) before you plant. I plant the seeds in plastic pop bottles with the top and bottom cut off in April. You can cover the top if you want to make mini greenhouses. The seed tends to germinate late (June). Plant at least double the amount of seeds than you want trees. The nice thing about the pop bottles is that you just dig a hole and slip the entire tree and soil mass out of the bottles in the fall after the leaves die off. The roots stay undisturbed and you should get almost 100% transplant success.

Dan O.

RE: persimmon trees
 

Dan O - I was going to ask if persimmons would do ok as far north as central Iowa, but I guess if you can grow them in Canada, I' d be ok! So now my question is, how do persimmons compare to apples in deer preference, time of availability, growth rate, and production? If I can get them around here I would likely buy them from a nursery, as large as I could afford them, and plant this spring. I have read about persimmons for years but never seen any in this area and just assumed they were a southern tree. A few planted along with my apple trees might make for a nice variety.
Thanks-- TimberPig

RE: persimmon trees
 

TimberPig---have you check with your state wildlife or conservation department? Here in Missouri, the conservation department has seedlings available to landowners at very cheap prices.

RE: persimmon trees
 

Greg- I just ordered 3,600 seedlings from the IDNR this month. I dont recall seeing persimmons on the list, but I' ll double check, thanks.

RE: persimmon trees
 

Timberpig; I' m located in a bit of an extreme micro climate. My zone is 7a, which is warmer than a lot of land south of me. Central Iowa should be OK if you' ve got at least 180 frost free days and corn heat units above 3300. I' ve started planting some trees on my zone 5b property. It' s a test but I enjoy trying. I' ve never had any frost damage on my Persimmons. The biggest problem is getting enough heat units to mature the fruit properly. I' ve got the same thing with my Pecan trees.

With Persimmons. planting the biggest tree isn' t necessarily the best idea. They don' t like transplanting and you' ll need to mulch and water them.

Dan O.