Successful Persimmon Crop

[ameno]

I got a decent crop on my persimmon tree for the first time this year, so I thought I'd post some pictures.
I bought it as a fairly small potted tree at the end of 2019, and although I had a few fruit from it in its second year, this is the first time It's cropped properly. It also grew more this year than the other years put together. Guess it took a little while to establish itself.
The variety is Early Fuyu, if anyone is interested.

[Nicos]

Wow!…that looks an amazing crop for such a small tree. Well done!

You know, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten one, which is unusual as I like to try almost anything new. What do they taste like?

[Bren In Pots]

I'm impressed that is a good crop, I do like persimmons but don't buy them as much as I should.

[Nicos]

How do you use them?..raw, cooked - any favourite ideas?

[Bren In Pots]

I just slice and eat either on their own or with yoghurt.

[peanut]

A persimmon tree is next on my list.
I love them and tend to just slice up and eat raw.
They are hard to describe taste wise, maybe something like a cross between, papaya, mango and plum with more of a firm plumish texture? They are delicious though, whatever you think they taste like!

[Plot70]

They are nice like a mango orange.
You don't eat the skin.
It would be nice to get hold of some seed so that I can select the plant that grows best on my local soil. It would leave me with some to give away too.

[peanut]

The skin is fine to eat and very thin, I just slice mine and devour! So sweet and yummy

[ameno]

I still have just over half of the fruit hanging on the tree, as they aren't quite ripe yet. They seem to have survived the frosts just fine (most tree fruit should resist down to at least -1 or -2, as the sugar content impedes freezing).
Unlike most fruit, persimmons will apparently continue to ripen on the tree even after leaf drop (although they also ripen fairly well even off the tree).

The skin is fine to eat and very thin, I just slice mine and devour! So sweet and yummy

The skin is certainly fine to eat (I always eat it), but I'm not sure I'd say it's all that thin.
There's no rind under the skin like there is in, say, a melon or a citrus fruit, but the skin itself is somewhat on the tough side and weirdly shell-like.

The strong skin is probably the main reason they keep so well. Unless they are damaged, I have never know any I have bought from the shops to go bad. They last many weeks, even at room temperature, and although over that time the flesh inside gets softer and softer, they never actually go bad and a still perfectly edible, even once they've been sat around so long that the fruit has basically turned into a bag of pulp.

[peanut]

I still have just over half of the fruit hanging on the tree, as they aren't quite ripe yet. They seem to have survived the frosts just fine (most tree fruit should resist down to at least -1 or -2, as the sugar content impedes freezing).
Unlike most fruit, persimmons will apparently continue to ripen on the tree even after leaf drop (although they also ripen fairly well even off the tree).



The skin is certainly fine to eat (I always eat it), but I'm not sure I'd say it's all that thin.
There's no rind under the skin like there is in, say, a melon or a citrus fruit, but the skin itself is somewhat on the tough side and weirdly shell-like.

The strong skin is probably the main reason they keep so well. Unless they are damaged, I have never know any I have bought from the shops to go bad. They last many weeks, even at room temperature, and although over that time the flesh inside gets softer and softer, they never actually go bad and a still perfectly edible, even once they've been sat around so long that the fruit has basically turned into a bag of pulp.

I think it must depend on the variety and possibly where they are grown as those I get from my local shop have very thin skin. I'll have to do a bit of research before selecting one for the garden.

[ameno]

What I described above has been my experience of most, if not all, persimmons I have ever eaten, most of which were supermarket bought.

Although you might struggle with variety selection, as in this country all they seem to sell is either Fuyu or unnamed varieties.
I bought my Early Fuyu (and early sport of Fuyu) from Lubera, but since Brexit they no longer send to the UK. It's the same story with almost all European nurseries, where you might have been able to find a better selection.

[DannyK]

I got my persimmon here http://www.agroforestry.co.uk but they don't appear to have any currently listed. There were lots of varieties when I ordered in 2019.

So far no fruit. Mine is Persimmon (Diospyros kaki x virginiana) Nikitas Gift

[ameno]

Ah, yours is a cross between the American and Japanese persimmon. They are more cold-hardy than the Japanese persimmon (although even Japanese persimmons are fine down to at least -10c), but the fruit are smaller and the tree will grow larger.

As for why they don't have them anymore, it's probably Brexit. They probably sourced the trees from the continent, and it's likely that either the nursery they used is no longer exporting to the UK, or it is no longer cost effective to buy them there.
It's the same reason Lubera (who I bought mine from) no longer have a UK website or send to the UK.

[ameno]

Picked the remainder of the fruit today, as on Friday night it's predicted to be -3 or even -4. They were fine at -1 or -2 last week, but I don't want to risk them any lower than -2.
i picked 16 more fruits, which came to an additional 2.9kg. None of them are quite ripe yet, but they should ripen up fine indoors. I've bought some pretty underripe looking persimmons from the shops over the years, and they've always ripened up fine in the end (sometimes takes a month or more, though).

I think 25 good sized fruits, with a total weight of 4.7kg, is pretty good for a fairly small tree.

[Plot70]

I have found a single seed in a shop bought fruit.
It is certainly worth a go.
It is the right time of year for harvest for it to store and germinate in the spring without its biological clock being wrong.