Starting Persimmons from Seed

MtnCreek

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Jan 6, 2012
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Anyone planted persimmons from seed? Temp for germination?

My oldest boy wanted to plant persimmons for the wild critters and said he had seen some at the feed store. We checked it out and they were Asian persimmons and they wanted about $50/ea...Not happening. Instead he collected seeds and we put them in pots. We keep the house about 68*. Anyone know if that's enough?

Thanks.
 
Anyone planted persimmons from seed? Temp for germination?

My oldest boy wanted to plant persimmons for the wild critters and said he had seen some at the feed store. We checked it out and they were Asian persimmons and they wanted about $50/ea...Not happening. Instead he collected seeds and we put them in pots. We keep the house about 68*. Anyone know if that's enough?

Thanks.
I think the Asian persimmons are the one that grow the size of apples aren’t they. The ones I’ve seen did well as long as they got plenty of sunlight but no good first hand knowledge.
 
Did you stratify the seeds?
You need to store the seeds in the freezer all winter. Put in pots in late January or early Feb.

If you didn't cold store the seeds I doubt you'll have many germinate.

Which reminds me...
I got to plant them PawPaw seeds in the freezer.....NOW.
 
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If you've got enough seeds I'd just put seeds out where you want trees. Mark them.

I plant a lot of ginseng seed. Best results are broadcasting the berries where plants already grow.

Come to think....

Persimmon may need to pass through an animal to become stratified or activated.
 
We put the extra seed in the freezer. I'll have him rough up some and soak them. May sprout them on a dish in paper towels so we can see how they progress.

Thanks for the info.
 
Did you stratify the seeds?
You need to store the seeds in the freezer all winter. Put in pots in late January or early Feb.

If you didn't cold store the seeds I doubt you'll have many germinate.

Which reminds me...
I got to plant them PawPaw seeds in the freezer.....NOW.

If you want Paw Paw fruit, you are much better off buying a known cultivar. The Paw Paw has a very wide genetic range and planting from seed will end with trees that may not produce fruit, or may not produce good fruit.

You can get asian persimmons trees for cheaper than that. Most of the asian persimmons are only hardy to zone 7 or so. I have been looking for a Cheng, it will live in zone 6.

Persimmons are really good to eat when they are soft, and really funny to give people when they are still astringent.....
 
Green persimmons are a little known cure for baldness. Don't eat 'em, cut one open and rub it on the top of your head. It'll draw your sideburns up.

When you're in a green persimmon fight with your brothers and some errant flings hit the garage door they will stain the paint. These stains will remain long after your Dad gets tired of making you scrub the door.

The nice ripe ones make some of the best wine. Crystal clear, like looking through a clean bottle of air. Dad told me it was his favorite result of all of his "experiments".

Thank you,
Mr.Smith
 
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You can plant one if you want to, I hate those MFers, and wage chemical and mechanical war on the damn things. They'll take over if your not careful, plus they taste like shit, and are a nasty mess in the fall. However, they are a very good opossum attraction. :)
 
Scuff them up and use the wet paper towel method, soaking isn't useful with most species that have long germination time. Put them somewhere dark at 70-80F. If you use a container (recommended) be sure to exchange 100% of the air every 24 hours to avoid moulds and algae. Keep it moist, use distilled water. If you don't have tails within three weeks then you weren't sterile enough, they received too much light, or the temperature fluctuated too much. The longer the germination period the more important it is to be sterile.

Pretty sure you could just root a bunch of cuttings from the local biome, it probably doesn't grow there for no reason. Not sure what climate zone you're in, though. Use rooting hormone from Walmart or whatever. In any case, both methods will take about 2-3 weeks before you know if you've done it correctly. Plan to lightly feed the rooted cuttings after they get established to get them over any shock or dormancy.
 
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I'm in zone 7. The seeds were collected yesterday around a persimmon in the pasture.

If I try rooting, I'll probably need to get them from a different tree. This one is not growing fast. It's been used as a head rub and butt scratcher a good bit.
 
I'm in zone 7 as well, you should be able to find a stand of them, and dig up a small sapling to plant. Might be easier and faster in the long run, just don't attempt to dig one up that has been bush hogged off a dozen times!
 
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There is something to be said for getting good genetics in fruiting trees. Pears, apples, cherries, plums— never had a bad peach, though. I know some of the dwarf peach trees they got out now are so good it'll make your dick feel like a second class organ.

Most traditionally cultivated berries are pretty decent in the wild, too. Wild VA blackberries made some of the best booze I ever had.
 
That is a great idea... Persimmons have a tap root and seem to do well in finding water... From a seed, it will take a while to produce fruit... maybe 4-7 years for a decent crop. Many seedlings are already 2 years old so the fruit will arrive that much faster...

Lots of videos on germinating seeds... planting food to help critters is always a good idea... especially a winter fruit like persimmons.... When the trees are young and short, the damn deer stripped the fruit off of my moms trees... now that the tree is taller, the birds get some, mom gets a lot and the deer get what hits the ground.... in CA the fruit seems to be ripe between thanksgiving and christmas