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The traditional gift given to someone starting out on a journey in
Japan, persimmons come in a variety of types, says our resident green
thumb.
There are two types of persimmons: astringent and non-astringent.
Non-astringent persimmons are also known as the modern persimmon and should be eaten when crisp like an apple. These are also known as the vanilla persimmon.
The astringent needs to be super-ripe, where the fruit becomes very soft and mushy.
Persimmons are a deciduous tree and can reach a height of around seven metres. The fruit grows to about the size of an apple and bright orange in colour. The fruit will start to ripen from around April or May to June.
There is a good variety of persimmons on the market; non astringent types are the Fuyu and Jiro, and two of the better types of astringent are Nightingale and Dai Dai Maru.
The tannins in the astringent persimmons make them impossible to eat until they are a mushy, juicy fruit and have an amazing flavour.
Persimmons need an open, sunny position allowing them to grow to about three to four metres wide. Good drainage is essential and they will tolerate a frosty area and do well with tip pruning. Most persimmons that grow with a heavy crop are prone to branch splitting, so plant in a protected spot away from winds to avoid this happening.
When harvesting the fruit, use secateurs. Pulling fruit off by hand can damage the fruit. They are also not prone to too many diseases. The only common problem would be birds and possums. The oldest persimmon tree can be found in Japan and is dated back as far as six hundred years.
For any further information on the persimmon I can be contacted on
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or visited at Virginia Nursery, Gawler Road Virginia.
Miniature fruit trees are fantastic for growing this time of the year. Two of the better ones are a peach called Pixzee and a nectarine called Trixie and they both produce a good quality coloured fruit and will grow to a height of 1.5m x1.5m, which makes them ideal for growing in tubs.
Ballerina apples are another good dwarf fruit tree with little pruning and lots of apples. There are six varieties of these trees: Bolero, Charlotte, Flamenco, Polka, Waltz and Ballerino. Maypol is a crab apple. They fruit early in their lives, so you don’t have to wait years. Their height will get to around three to four metres over a period of about twenty years. Each of these apples will need a cross pollinator. Again, all enquiries can be sent to my email address or I can be contacted at Virginia Nursery.
Happy Gardening,
Phil
Photo: Jef Poskanzer (via Flickr)
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