Roger's Tree Pick - Persimmons

As we approach autumn, there remains the delicious and colorful fall fruit of the persimmon tree to highlight the landscape. Its delicious fruits can be used for some fall baking and for seasonal decorations for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Their fall-like colorful foliage and striking orange fruits make the Japanese diospyros kaki persimmon a good choice as a small ornamental tree for Southern California gardens.

Besides being a decorative tree, their fruit is tasty in breads, cookies, and puddings. You can even air-dry them in slices for its chewy and date like flavor.

The Japanese or Oriental persimmon grows in many varied planting zones and does just great here in north San Diego County. It’s a tree that can reach 30 feet and just as wide in time. It enjoys good soil drainage and can make a lovely small summer shade tree, or you can espalier the branches in time with some training.

Varieties that do very well here in San Diego from the coast to the mountains are:

“Fuyu,” firm fleshed and about the size of a small baseball but flattened like a tomato, it is nonastringent and available locally in many farmers markets.

“Hachiya,” a big, slightly pointed fruit, is astringent in taste and a very shapely tree for ornamental use; its fruit ripens a little later.

“Chocolate,” a medium-size, acorn-shaped fruit, is nonastringent when unpollinated, with seedless yellow-orange flesh. Fruit from pollinated trees can produce the best flavor in my opinion.

“Gosho” (Giant Fuyu), is very large and round in its shape, sweet and nonastrigent.

We have a Native American persimmon found in the eastern US and there are hybrids between the Japanese and American persimmons if you want to expand your persimmon tree collection.

In caring for your persimmons let the soil dry somewhat between watering. Too much or too little watering causes fruit to drop. Prune the trees when young to establish a good framework; thereafter prune only to remove dead wood, shape the tree, or open up a dense interior of rubbing or crossing branches.

After its colorful fall foliage drops (pending weather), you are left with a fabulous looking deciduous tree with wonderful ornamental fruits hanging on to its grey-white branches. In late November, the deciduous branches (bare of leaves) with their fruits attached can create a special look for your Thanksgiving decorations and be very striking with small ornamental gourds and squash, mini pumpkins, or pomegranates dotting your dining or buffet table.

Your garden is rich with possibilities and creative options are just waiting to be tapped and enjoyed in your home throughout this fall season.

Roger Boddaert, Maker of Natural Gardens, can be contacted for landscape design and tree consultations at (760) 728-4297.