Persimmon: 5 types of persimmon fruit and our favorite ones!

November is Persimmon picking & Persimmon eating time. Check out our FIVE types of persimmons and, what our favorites are!
November is also the month we say thank you to US Veterans and, enjoy Thanksgiving!
Chapter descriptions
00:00 intro
00:54 Wase Fuyu (Matsumoto)
02:20 Nikitas Gift
04:13 Rosseyanka
06:40 Fuyu
08:03 Kasandra
08:51 Beautyberry!
09:31 OVERVIEW of all 5 persimmon fruit!
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Wase Fuyu "Matsumoto", Asian Persimmon (Diospyros kaki)
Self-fertile, grow in zones 6-9, to 10-12 feet tall.
Fruit: non-astringent, large round fruit, and with seeds (and sometimes, NO seeds). High sugar content.
Nikitas Gift, Hybrid Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana x kaki)
Self-fertile, grow in zones 5-9, to 10-12 feet tall.
Fruit: astringent (pick when soft), round fruit, and with seeds.
Rosseyanka, Hybrid Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana x kaki)
Self-fertile, grow in zones 5-8, to 15-25+ feet tall.
Fruit: astringent, relatively small and round fruit. We’ve read that she’s WITHOUT seeds!
Fuyu persimmon, Asian Persimmon (Diospyros kaki)
Self-fertile, grow in zones 8-10, to 15-25+ feet tall.
Fruit: non-astringent, relatively small and round fruit.
Texas Persimmon, UNIQUELY American (Diospyros texana)
Grow in zones 7-9, and produces very small round fruit.
At this time we do not know if it's self-fertile, how tall she grows, or astringency and, if the fruit is without seeds.
Kasandra, Hybrid Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana x kaki)
Self-fertile, grow in zones 5b-9.
At this time we do not know if it's self-fertile, how tall she grows, or astringency and, if the fruit is without seeds.
PERSIMMON TREE
the Persimmon tree is native to North America, and grows very well in zone 7. the Persimmon tree is a forgiving, versatile and low maintenance fruit tree. it grows in Zone 4 to 9 (NOT all persimmon varieties grow in chilly-willy, zone 4). its long taproot makes it good for erosion control. some varieties are more visually appealing - the Nakitas Gift is a short stocky tree with beautiful shinny dark green leaves. on the other hand, our Wase Fuyu (Matsumoto) Persimmon grows … kind of funky and small and gangly but produced about 60 blooms at only 3-4 years old (we picked-off all but 5 blooms).
the fruit’s nutritional value is OUTSTANDING. according to one NIH article: "Persimmon is naturally bestowed with bioactive molecules including proanthocyanidins, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic, carotenoids, dietary fiber, and etc. Persimmon leaves and fruit have imperative significance for coronary health because of hypocholesterolemic, anti-atherosclerosis and antioxidant perspectives...."
there are many varieties of Persimmon trees. American native and American cultivars (Diospyros virginiana); Asian cultivars (Diospyros kaki) and hybrid crosses between the American and Asian cultivars (Diospyros virginiana x kaki). hybrids allow us to select the Persimmon tree with the best range of traits (flavor, fruit size, tree size, astringency [astringent or non- astringent], seedless, self-fertile, etc.).
KZbin Playlist on Persimmon:
• Persimmon
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follow our HEPPY™ Pawpaws: heppy.org/persimmon
our collection of edible plants: heppy.org/plants
see more about HEPPY™ heppy.org/
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in 2017 I started planting on a 2 acre abandoned property. We’re located only 10 miles south of the US Capitol but are surrounded by several hundred acres of forest and very few homes. Our urban garden design, landscape architecture and permaculture techniques incorporate fruiting trees, fruiting shrubs, edible ground cover, edible flowers, and herbs and medicinal plants that will provide food for generations. It’s a long and slow ‘haul’ as we adapt, learn new things, and are (usually ;) enjoying the process.
Check us out!: heppy.org

[@heppylifestyle]

Matsumoto, Matsumoto, Matsumoto. That's the hint about our favorite type. Nikita's Gift is a great #2. But, ALL of the FIVE types are tasty. 😍

[@lisaevans8403]

Persimmons of all kinds are a most loved fruit for me.

[@lisaevans8403]

I love the native ones to NC for persimmon pudding the best

[@AncientHippie]

I try to keep my fruit tree profiles low as well but if they get tall I saw this great idea and made one. Take a 2x2 and a plastic 1/2 gal milk carton. Cut off the bottom and cut a small v in the bottom. Attach that milk cartoon to the 2x2 with the open bottom facing up and the v out. You can then get any fruit up high without a ladder just line the fruit into the opening with the v at the stem. Push up and the v separates the fruit.

[@heppylifestyle]

Love it!! That really is a great idea for many fruiting trees.🐞

[@michaeldawson6565]

I bought bag of dried fruit and it had persimmon in it did a search and your video was at the top thanks for the video was nice to find out what it actually was and was very tasty

[@heppylifestyle]

glad you found us Michael! thanks for the feedback, and for stopping by! very nutritious fruit. from a study posted to NIH: “Persimmon is naturally bestowed with bioactive molecules including proanthocyanidins, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic, carotenoids, dietary fiber, and etc. Persimmon leaves and fruit have imperative significance for coronary health because of hypocholesterolemic, anti-atherosclerosis and antioxidant perspectives….[anticancer properties] demands further probing to unveil their therapeutic mechanisms…persimmon and its bioactive components can be effective in reducing the burden of diabetes mellitus." check us out: heppy.org/persimmon take care, pete moss

[@ChiledeGarcia]

I’ve watched your Persimmon videos a few times each. Matsumoto huh? I’m interested in some scion wood. I’m in California. So far I have Nikita’s Gift and Saijo. Both in a 5 gallon just under 2 feet tall with some branching. I first had persimmons Hachiya and Fuyu 10 years back at my parents house. Excellent fruit. Now I have my own place with plenty of land for trees. Thank you for your videos.

[@heppylifestyle]

was supposed to be in CA today! I love CA!!! i saw the Hachiya growing here & there in SoCal (or, some acorn shaped Persimmon). and yes, Wase Fuyu (aka, Matsumoto Japanese Persimmon) is my girl! i'm reading, "for eating fresh, nothing beats the variety called 'Saijo'." need to get Saijo on my radar 🤓. gracias, Happy Holidays & thank you Daniel, pete

[@eriknelson9032]

My dad's tree has huge delicious ones , I eat them like apples. It needs to be cloned

[@wsmaga]

Do an air layer with the tree. You’ll get as many clones as you want.

[@lydiazafra3476]

Love❤❤❤❤persimmons my number one fruit in USA

[@heppylifestyle]

Smart lady!! 🥳🤣 Thanks for stopping by Lydia!

[@georgiapeachnut2490]

Thanks for sharing information on persimmon trees. I have only one a fuyu and it's fruiting. I do plan to air layer. Do tgey propagate well.

[@heppylifestyle]

wow, you're a gardener! don't know about air layering Persimmon. they propagate & grow well from seed and i see the ol' timers grafting Persimmon. suckers with fine roots (around the suckering root) seem to transplant OK. personally, i was supposed to try grafting ... two yrs ago. still want to try this yr if my scion is still good. that's my $0.02. thanks for stopping by, and c ya in the garden!

[@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxy26]

Great video! Which ones have that rum raisin or butterscotch flavor that some American persimmons have ?

[@heppylifestyle]

i just Googled that to see if it's a variety; however, i read "flavors reminiscent of butterscotch and caramel" as a description of the American persimmon ... just as u wrote! well, they're more like candy -- just sweet and jello'y and tasty. maybe hints of caramel. i thinks weather (how cold weather affects ripening) is an influencer, and that too is about ur plant zone. anywho, i just started eating my first persimmon. a few suck (from the same tree) but 90% of the fruit is delicious! and there's slight variations in flavor! hope that made sense and thanks for stopping by!

[@bluegrassdiggers9030]

Did you ever get an American variety? If not Early golden is an excellent variety I grafted one last season and it bore 5 fruit while still in a pot and only about 3 foot tall. It has nice colored flesh no black spots like many native trees and few seeds.

[@heppylifestyle]

Nope, didn't get an American; do have male natives to graft to. Thanks for the heads up on Early Golden! What's the fruit size are u seeing?

[@GrowingWithNick]

Loved the video!! I have 2 persimmon rootstock, and would love to buy Nikitas gift scionwood from you!

[@heppylifestyle]

Thank you for the feedback Nick. i subscribed too! we may trade fig scion if possible; something fat & sweet & weird is what i like. i believe we have a Hardy Chicago or Brown Turkey -- she's getting really big. otherwise, $5.00 per scion (5 or less scion) & $10.00 for Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope. hope that works. thank you Nick & Happy Holidays, pete

[@nirmalasivam2941]

@@heppylifestyle Would you be able to send scions in an envelope to UK?

[@heppylifestyle]

@@nirmalasivam2941 yes; however, I don't know what the rules and regs are for it. I'll send but will it be revived (I'm just being OCD or something). I cut and ship scion fresh off the trees in Jan-Mar or so. Please help me remember ;). Now, let me look for herbs that help memory :). Thank you for asking, btw. Much appreciated!

[@nirmalasivam2941]

@@heppylifestyle How can I contact you?

[@heppylifestyle]

@@nirmalasivam2941 email me at [e-mail]. Payment by Zelle or PayPal; I'll get u the details when we proceed (plz). I ship fresh cut scion from the States, Jan-Mar, or so. I worked several days in a tee shirt in Jan 2023. And thank you. Plz subscribe ;)

[@klauskarpfen9039]

What is the coldest it gets in winter, where you are? Do you get frosts (below 0° centigrade) after the sap has started rising? A spring frost of minus 7° C killed my asian persimmon (chocolatinho), which was supposed to withstand down to minus 14!C, when fully hibernating.

[@heppylifestyle]

i'm sorry to hear about the chocolatinho (Chocolate Persimmon, maybe). as you know, the weather has become very odd; we had a very warm winter and a mild spring. BUT it sounds like you got hit with a "cold snap" (American English for "unusually cold weather for a few nights when weather should be warmer"). it MAY be true that your Persimmon tree was young; established trees (3 years old & older) can withstand harsher weather (cold snaps, drought, etc). American Persimmon take colder weather; however, I like Asian Persimmon more for several reasons. we are USDA plant zone 7 (-15C or 5F) but we did loose young trees rated for zone 7 (not Persimmon but other types of trees). I believe trees need to be established with withstand cold temps. but remember, root disease or some other factor may have contributed. we can get below 32F (0C) but usually, not after the Persimmon start budding (sap rising; Persimmon comes out of dormancy). Persimmon are one of the last trees to start budding in spring. not sure if I helped Klaus. thanks for stopping by, and please subscribe!, pete moss

[@bluegrassdiggers9030]

I know Matsumoto is a thick girl but can she handle the cold? In the past we have had some cold winters in Kentucky but lately we only get down to around zero a few nights at the most.

[@heppylifestyle]

i see it listed as zone 6 or 7, depending on the source. She's an Asian variety so zone 7 is safe (we're zone 7) and i'd say, maybe zone 6. yup, winters seem milder. i haven't shoveled snow for 2 winters. Edible Landscaping lists it at Zone 6-9. our Matsumoto was SLOW growing; it was sickly looking for the first 3-4 years (produced little). it may have been the tree and not the variety...don't know. but each yr now, she's producing more and more. still short as heck. thanks my $0.02... hope it helps.

[@willnulph03]

Which persimmon do you suggest for wildlife. I want to grow some here in Pennsylvania for deer and other wildlife

[@heppylifestyle]

our Rosseyanka is a fast growing, large tree that produces a lot of fruit for us. our Rosseyanka is a heavy producer. small fruit but she's prolific! thanks for stopping by!

[@Don-Coyote-De-Transylvania]

I have one Nikita's ghift and 2 Rosseyanka trees. Do you recommend grafting the Rosseyanka ones with Nikita? Is Nikita self pollinating?

[@heppylifestyle]

hi Pull Ups! i'm NOT impressed with the Rosseyanka BUT that's my take. she's too tall too fast with small fruit; however, for others, it may be the ideal shade tree with fruit! but i believe you can graft Rosseyanka with Nikita and yes, Nikita (our second favorite) is self pollinating ;). Nikita's Gift is a cool tree. please sub & thanks for stopping by, pete moss

[@Don-Coyote-De-Transylvania]

@@heppylifestyle You convinced me. I will graft one Rossy with Nikita. I will still keep one Rosseyanka just in case i like it lol. Also thx for checking my video. Didn't expect that. I will subscribe because of that. Happy new year!!

[@heppylifestyle]

@@Don-Coyote-De-Transylvania thanks for sub'ing! thanks for the feedback; yup, the Rossy may be the ideal trees for some. the Rossy & Nikita are both american/asian hybrids but i BELIEVE both species ?inter-graft? and cross graft and graft graft with no issues. probably one reason there's a shit-ton of american/asian hybrids ;). we hope to start grafting next yr. good luck & let me know how it goes, pete moss

[@lydiazafra3476]

Grafting is better to grow than seeds

[@ivansoto32]

beautiful video a question to buy which one do you recommend matsumoto or fuyu I await your answer thanks

[@heppylifestyle]

that's easy ;): matsumoto. i'm sure there are good Fuyu's; however, in my head & experience, I see "Fuyu" as a 'catch-all' name for something that has many individual cultivars (trees with individual traits). like, the matsumoto also goes by the name Wase Fuyu (Matsumoto)! anywho, the Matsumoto is our winner. And go Asian Persimmon (also called, Japanese Persimmon) IF you want a more compact tree. but check your plant zone.... I JUST planted a Izu, Saijo and Giant Fuyu Persimmon Tree, so we'll keep learning. please sub' Ivan, and thanks for stopping by, pete moss

[@ivansoto32]

@@heppylifestyle thank you so much for answering

[@heppylifestyle]

@@ivansoto32 no worries Ivan!

[@gvv1mhh]

Thank you for this great video. I’m in the market for a couple persimmon trees for my zone 6 A/B. What variety do you recommend?

[@heppylifestyle]

Hi. There are MANY varieties of Persimmon and I have experience with few. But, you can't go wrong with Nikita's Gift or the Matsumoto (Wase Fuyu). I prefer Asian Persimmon varieties for several reasons but for you, you need to check the zone-rating of any variety of Asian Persimmon you select -- Asian Persimmon are typically less cold hardy. Zones 5, 6 or 7 are the lowest USDA zones. My entire blurb on Persimmon is here, heppy.org/persimmon. Hope that helped and please subscribe!

[@gvv1mhh]

@@heppylifestyle thank you

[@heppylifestyle]

@@gvv1mhh no need to reply but choosing between American vs Asian Persimmon is personal. My primary leanuing towards Asian is that they're shorter (less pruning) and produce larger fruit. BUT, some folks may want a big tree and smaller fruit is OK. So, they'd select American. Then, there's the hybrids (a mix of characteristics between American & Asian). from what i see, you can't go wrong with Nikita's Gift or the Matsumoto (Wase Fuyu). :)

[@gvv1mhh]

@@heppylifestyle I bought 4 Fuyu trees last year and all 4 died over the winter. They’re in pots and I’m still giving them time to see if they’re actually dead

[@truthsayer6329]

Can you send me some seeds of the Nikita's gift? Really would like to try and grow this here in zone 5 where I am so let me know.

[@heppylifestyle]

i hope you subscribed! i'll do what i can; keep me in mind; Persimmon pickin' time is around the corner!

[@lisaevans8403]

Never heard of beauty berry

[@heppylifestyle]

Beautyberry is of the 2 plants that inspired me, believe it or not. It's name is Beautyberry and virtually no one knows of it 🤓🧐🥳

[@lisaevans8403]

How long after u plant a persimmon your fav. Do they produce fruit. I have heard 3 yrs is that correct.

[@heppylifestyle]

Yes - 1-3 yrs; it depends on how tall / mature the tree is; like, I get one fruit the yr I plant a tall bare root tree. By 5 yrs, ur picken by the basket full 🤤😋. Thank you for stopping by!

[@khalidyamin757]

I’ve a persimmon tree that gave fruits this month, although there was fruits, the fruits were small and had black spots. What does it indicate? Thank you in advance 😊

[@heppylifestyle]

Hi halidyamin757. congratulations on growing Persimmon fruit! generally, black spots are only skin deep and some varieties of Persimmon produce small fruit. ABOUT BLACK SPOTS: we also have black spots on our fruit's skin (and leaves). it's a fugus or bacteria, and common in most parts of the world. it's LESS common in dry areas such as Southern California; we live in Maryland and air moisture is higher. fugus and bacteria thrive in humid, moist climates. black spots on our fruit's skin is only "skin deep." the fruit inside in not affected. so, we just live with it. ABOUT SMALL FRUIT: small vs. large fruit is typically based on the variety. i planted more Persimmon and they were the Asian varieties that produce large fruit. short tree but large fruit. on the other hand, our tallest Persimmon trees produce small fruit (the Rosseyanka and native America variety). ONE solution for you in to graft a piece of Persimmon scion to this tree; select scion of a Persimmon that produces large fruit (eg, Giant Fuyu, Izu, Matsumoto). also, tree health may be a factor BUT Persimmon trees are very hardy. sorry for the loooooong answer, and i hope this helped! plz sub', and take care!

[@khalidyamin757]

@@heppylifestyle thank you man wish u all the best

[@khalidyamin757]

@@heppylifestyle the black spots i mentioned seem like they’re deep inside the fruit not only on the surface.. is it a disease of some kind?

[@heppylifestyle]

@@khalidyamin757 i was afraid of that (so, i only gave the skin-deep reply in hopes of sending positivity...or something). Yup, it's VERY likely a fungus or bacteria. you'll need to do some googling to identify the specific culprit. you may need to spray a for one year (an anti-fungus or anti-bacteria solution). over time i've learned a little about fungus or bacteria; they typically linger yr-around and then attack what they attack, IF the conditions are good for them. NO-SPRAY SOLUTION includes: 1) dispose of diseased fruit (like, trash-can disposal), 2) rake-up and dispose of all fallen leaves under this tree, and 3) prune/remove funky limbs. in otherwords, sterilize the area of fruit, leaves and diseasy looking branches that are likely harboring the fungus or bacteria over-winter. if u dont clean, then i suspect that the disease will re-emerge in spring and continued it's life-cycle on this (and other) trees(s). i do the latter strategy for my Serviceberry which is prone to disease that also rots the fruit. Gymnosporangium rust is a problem i have :/. the recommendation for no-spray Gymnosporangium rust mitigation is the three things i listed above. i'm sorry to hear about ur fruit; would like to know if you pursue a solution, what u do and how it works. hope this helps!!🤞🐞

[@lydiazafra3476]

I prefer Perdimmons than mango here in USA but when in Philippines mango is sweet persimmons does not grow in philippines

[@chickenfarm09]

Will the hybrids get more seeds in them if they are near wild stands of american persimmon? I'm assuming they will cross pollinate

[@heppylifestyle]

@chickenfarm09 great question and i'm not smart enough to know. IF your determined to know more, then folks at growingfruit.org are knowledgeable and you may get an answer. also, i've read that Persimmon have a rather odd pollination...situation. “pollination variant” & “pollination constant” characteristics. more about that is here, heppy.org/persimmon#Persimmon_tree_care i have witnessed varieties of Persimmon that are seedless one yr and not the next. i do have native wild male Persimmon on the property. you ask a good question.... thanks.

[@chickenfarm09]

@@heppylifestyle Thanks for the response. I grafted a Nikita so from what you say it sounds like a good choice

[@heppylifestyle]

@@chickenfarm09 Nikita is a VERY good choice. i grow only ~7-8 varieties but Nikita is a favorite. SO sweet, productive and relatively compact. I'm having grafting envy -- am glad you have that skill.....

[@thevagrowinggardener1898]

Good day! Are you still selling scions of the Nikita’s Gift?

[@heppylifestyle]

hey VA Growing Gardener! I sub'd to your channel ;) yup, we have choice pieces of Nikita’s Gift scion. you can email me at usc333 [at] gmail [dot] com, and details are here kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHzOgqqOpL95sKM let me know if you like Black Raspberry and Tripled Crown Blackberry. thanks for stopping by, pete moss

[@thevagrowinggardener1898]

@@heppylifestyle thank you! And will do!

[@thevagrowinggardener1898]

I subbed to you as well!

[@heppylifestyle]

@@thevagrowinggardener1898 thank you Neighbor!

[@heppylifestyle]

@@thevagrowinggardener1898 thank you Neighbor!

[@aquillawallace7979]

I'd love to buy some rootstock from you. I'm in clinton.

[@heppylifestyle]

hola Aquilla - hello Clinton! i don't know if i have something worth selling; i :/ think :/ i potted something with roots to see what it'll do (1-2 yrs ago). i;'d give it to you BUT it'll be no where as nice as if you get a potted / bare root tree. big box stores are crazy cheap; i do advocate for to buy from mom/pop retailers online. i SOOOO appreciate the offer to sell/give (meet) my neighbor; however, for quality it's mom/pops, and for price and an OK tree, it's the big box turds :) i have to shorten this URL and add a few mom/pops: heppy.org/exotic#nurseries_that_sell_types_of_exotic_fruit_trees_and_other_edible_plants Happy Holidays Aquilla!, pete

[@aquillawallace7979]

@@heppylifestyle Thanks for all the helpful resources!