Persimmon growing in the Willamette Valley -- easy peasy

Survey says: persimmons are an easy to grow fruit, with largely no pest and disease issues in our region. Slow growing, but worth the wait.

Mar 21, 2024

Cliff notes:

-Over 30 gardeners responded to my queries about their experience growing persimmons. The response is overwhelmingly positive.

-There is some question as to reliability of American persimmon trees being self-fertile. This phenomenon might be “fruit drop” which the tree eventually outgrows. More info is needed.

-Gardeners are overwhelmingly planting Fuyu or Fuyu-type persimmons in our region and having major success.

-Hachiya-type persimmons are also doing very well.

-No disease issues to report.

-The only major pest issue has been birds and squirrels. Read on how to protect against this issue.

-Persimmon trees are slooow growing. But when many other trees succumb to pathogens like bacterial canker (plums, for example) our persimmon trees are likely to persist well beyond that time.

If you are unfamiliar with persimmons, there’s a few basics that we’ll need to go over so that you understand what I’m referring to.

Astringent varieties versus non-astringent varieties:
-Astringent varieties are unpleasant to eat until they have ripened to an extremely soft consistency. In my experience, they are soft enough when the skin starts to turn a bit transparent and you have difficulty picking it up without smashing it open. In other words, very, very soft.
-Non-astringent varieties are good to eat when they are fully colored up but still crisp. You can eat them when they soften. According to Lee Reich (an author on the east coast in a much colder zone), non-astringent cultivars need very hot summers to ripen. But according to many gardeners in our region Izu, Fuyu, Jiro, Early Fuyu ripen just fine here. Confirm ripening with other gardeners if you are considering other non-astringent types in our region.

American versus Asian varieties:
-Asian varieties are what most of us are familiar with - and they can be either astringent or non-astringent. As far as I know, most Asian varieties are self-fruitful.
-American varieties are all astringent varieties. They may or may not require a pollinator. Word is that American varieties are more interesting in flavor - I have yet to try. They are native all along the eastern coast of the US. According to Lee Reich, if you have a variety that needs pollination, it must match the variety you are trying to grow. Not all males will pollinate all American females if they require pollination.

One of the very first trees I planted when I moved to this property in 2009 was a Hachiya persimmon.

20 pounds of Hachiyas came out of my 2023 garden after thinning.

It took some time for me to like this tree. First of all, it’s an extremely slow grower, and initially a shy fruiter. When it did start to fruit, the fruits were still astringent, even after softening completely. After another year or two, the fruits lost the astringency but then they tasted bland. Boring. I decided to make Hoshigaki with them, and found that I liked them better that way. The next year, 2022, we had an incredibly late start to summer, and my fruits didn’t ripen well at all.

Then came 2023. Tons of fruit set. I got in there and thinned heavily - roughly 12 inches apart - as the branches were starting to droop a bit. We had a long, warm summer, extending into October. When November came around, I noticed a little softening on some of the fruits, and those that softened were starting to get pecked by birds.

I ran out there and tried to protect all the fruits with organza bags and did some initial harvesting. I was nervous at first, thinking they wouldn’t ripen well with the green shoulders that you see in the photograph. I popped the photo onto Facebook and asked other experienced growers what their experience is, and the consensus was that these should ripen just fine indoors, even with green shoulders.

And they did. This year, they were sweet and a little complexity of flavor and they finally tasted good. They ripen very slowly - a few at a time - and I was eating the 20 pounds or so toward the beginning of January.

Another thing that impressed me about this tree this year - the fruit tasted significantly better than one of the bigger, fancier Hachiyas that my husband picked up at a local Asian grocery store. He spent good money on that single piece of fruit, and though it was bigger and prettier than mine, mine tasted better.

I learned from other experienced growers that once the persimmon tree starts losing its color and dropping leaves, no further ripening is happening on the tree, so there isn’t a point to leaving them on the tree to soften.

If the birds do start pecking the fruits, that’s a signal to go out there and harvest.

Though my tree took a long time to fruit, it probably would have done so faster if I had paid more attention to it or if it was located in a sunnier area. I really don’t water this tree. I haven’t mulched it either. My garden is surrounded by forest, and gets quite a bit of shade. At the height of summer, my persimmon tree is shaded by 2pm.

Since my initial planting, I came across a recommendation for the variety Saijo specifically for making Hoshigaki. I planted one about 5 years ago. Cool fact - in Lee Reich’s book Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden, he notes that there is a 600 year old grafted Saijo tree still growing in Japan.

Another variety I planted more recently was an American variety called Prairie Dawn. Word is that American varieties are even more complex and interesting than their flavors. I will report back here once my tree is of maturity.

And now, after the positive reviews of Izu (see below), I think I’m going to have to plant this tree. I have an excellent spot for a dwarf fruit tree and don’t already have a non-astringent variety. Also the positive reports of shady conditions (see gardener #7) is a bonus.

Stay tuned for reviews and updates on all my trees.

My garden on Instagram

What have other gardeners had to say on this topic? Ever-interested in hearing other gardener experiences, I took a poll across several Facebook groups specifically located in the Willamette Valley. The initials are how I keep track of conversations. I also scoured past conversations and made appropriate notes as well.

Note: you can skip down to read a consensus if reading through all of these is a bit much.

VH from FGG says they grow Fuyu. No pest issues in 15 years. They like to be fed a low-balanced diet. They ripen around the end of September.
TB from FGG fondly remembers persimmons growing in Indiana, and said as children they’d bring them to their mom for making into the best-ever cookies. This was in the 1960’s, I’m guessing these were a native American tree but he doesn’t know for sure.
CC of HWOTGPA has a fuyu and it does great. No issues with pest and disease. Ripens October/Novemberish.
JE of HWOTGPA has Izu and it fruited well. She’s since planted Fuyu, but it is too young to fruit.
EA of HWOTGPA has Early Fuyu and it does great for her.
LLB from OCG has Fuyu. It took five years to fruit, and the fruits and delicious. Eastern Grey squirrels have now overrun the neighborhood and they steal all the fruits. Ripens about Novemberish.
MDR of PNWG says she has Izu persimmon. No pest or disease issues. It is a natural dwarf with a central leader. Quite late to ripen even though it is supposed to be early, but it has AM shade and she is located 475 feet.
YP of POG says she lets her Hachiya persimmons stay on the tree until there is a solid freeze. She then strings them up for winter-drying, and they turn into a taffy-like flavor that is incredible. She also has Fuyu and dehydrates these as well.
JO from POG says he has Fuyu, and into its 3rd year it put on 30ish fruits! Incredible flavor. He’s had problems with squirrels eating the fruits.
RL of POG has both Fuyu and Hachiya. Birds do like them. She finds they don’t require as much water as other fruit trees. Her fuyu is hands-down her favorite fruit tree.
BCR of POG has a 3-year tree. Does not recall the variety but it isn’t growing well.
MM** has a few baby fruit trees at home. She’s also a founding member of the Home Orchard Education Center, and notes that their mature “chocolate” persimmon died in a deep freeze. She also notes that they’ve gotten lots of inquiries about “Nikita’s Gift” which is supposed to be self-fertile, but many gardeners are mentioning that it is not in their gardens (this might be the phenomenon of fruit drop - Nikita’s Gift is known for doing this for the first several years).
MC** of PPG has a 20 year old Meader that is supposed to be self-fertile but so far has not been. She’s struggling to find a male American persimmon to go with it.
LR of SOGG says their family has a Fuyu. It must be 15 years old. Pest protection has never been an issue. In November they are hard like an apple, later in December they soften to tomato-like consistency.
Late November Fuyu harvest near Salem.
SJA of SOGG has Fuyu. Excellent crops every other year, good crops on alternate years. Never had pest problems.
CL of SWWAG says he doesn’t have room for a tree, but really likes Hachiya persimmons partially thawed out of the freezer.
KL of the same group commented that she does the same thing, and puts them in smoothies, and that they are very good.
DA of WLG has a mature Fuyu. Loves them fresh and dried and gives away fruit every fall. Took many years to fruit. Birds and Squirrels don’t bother them until the leaves start to turn.
DB from PW planted Izu, it is healthy but too young to bear.
PT of EG has Fuyu in almost full sun. Six years old, gives hundreds of fruits.
HMB of EG has Fuyu. It produces well, though it does show some damage from cold snaps.
EZ of EG has had Hachiya for more than 20 years. Also has Tamtam and it produces well.
MK of EG has Fuyu, produces well.
Angela Baker of Parkrose Permaculture has Early Fuyu and loves it, except for biennial bearing tendencies. Took seven years to get a crop. Also has Nikita’s Gift** and performed well in her 2023 garden, but it took several years to get a crop. She has a video series on growing/tasting persimmons, one of which you can find here.
SS of POG has had Fuyu trees for 30 years and loves them.
MKJ of POG has Saijo and loves it.
AH of POG has Izu, Jiro, Chocolate, Imoto, Saijo. Izu is favorite for flavor.
IN of POG has Izu and fruits. Also has Early Jiro but too early to fruit.
CL of PPG notes that the Hachiya in the Portland Chinese Garden fruits well most years.
DA of SWWAG has Hachiya and says it is best when very soft. Also has Fuyu and enjoys its apple-like texture.
ROC of SWWAG has Fuyi and likes them both dried and fresh.
MK of SWWAG has Izu and what she thought was a Saijo but looks like it was mislabeled and is more likely Ichi Ki Kei (early Jiro) or Cardinal. She likes both of them.
BG of SWWAG likes Fuyus the best.
AY of SWWAG has an unknown variety, it produces very well, despite total neglect.
DW of SWWAG has Jiro and it fruits well.
DSL of GOM loves their Fuyu.

**The variety Nikita’s Gift is known to drop most of its fruit for the first few years of growing. As for the Meader - I would check with other growers in the area to confirm that they are indeed getting Meader to fruit before purchasing one.

Tallies:
*Note that both “Fuyu” and “Hachiya” refer to types of Asian persimmons. Fuyu refers to non-astringent while Hachiya refers to astringent. Jiro and Izu are both “Fuyu” types. Since Fuyu is overwhelmingly the tree that is planted in our region, I do wonder how many of them are actually Izu, Jiros, or another cultivar that falls under the Fuyu category. Either way, there have been *no* reports of any Hachiyas or Fuyus not performing in our region.

Successes: are those trees that have been fruiting well for gardeners in our region:
*Fuyu: 17
*Hachiya: 6
Izu: 5
Early Jiro: 2
Early Fuyu: 2
Saijo: 2
Tamtam: 1
Chocolate: 1
Imoto: 1
Nikita’s Gift: 1
Total success stories: 35

Failures:
Chocolate: 1 see gardener #12 notes. Mature tree died in a freeze.
Nikita’s gift: 1 see gardener #12 notes. Trees did not die but are not fruiting.
Meader: tree did not die after 20 years but fails to fruit without pollinator. See #13
Total failures: only one tree has outright died (Chocolate). The others - there are some question about those varieties’ ability to self-pollinate in our region. The more reliable variety choices would be listed in the success category.

Misc sources of growing info: if you’re curious about growing other varieties that are not mentioned here, I’d recommend searching other forums specific to our area. Here’s a few I found:

In this video from Lane County master gardeners, Hachiya and Fuyu are recommended for Asian varieties, with Early Golden and Garrettson being their American selections.

OSU has a video presentation on low-care fruit trees. They recommend Early Fuyu, Early Jiro, and Saijo for Asian varieties. For American, they recommend Prairie Star, Early Golden, and Meader.

An old thread on the HOS forum details several gardeners growing American Persimmon varieties in the valley that may be of interest.

Here is an old thread for the Seattle area. They’re further north than us, but have similar weather, the info regarding varieties should apply well to the valley.

The Mount Vernon test gardens, north of Seattle, have a write up on their variety recommendations. American recommendations: Meader, Early Golden, and Garrettson. Asian: Saijo is most reliable, Izu, and they found Jiro may not ripen every year (keep in mind this is quite a bit north of the valley, with a shorter growing season).

The Home Orchard Education Center has a blog post on general info about persimmons, but I didn’t see info on cultivar selection. Cool read for those that are interested in knowing more about persimmons in general though.

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