My wife, Kathy, and I moved into our present home in 1979. At last, we had some space to garden and plant some fruit trees! During the next two or three years, we planted some of the usual varieties, such as apples, apricots, peaches, and even a fig or two.
We had arrived at a point where we were thinking of something different when Kathy suggested a persimmon tree. Ready to roll out my immense knowledge and experience, I asked an important question: “What’s a persimmon?” After Kathy told me about them, we decided that it would be a good tree to plant, and we soon found a bare root tree.
Persimmons are said to grow in zones 7-10, and Red Bluff is usually considered to be in zone 9, so that worked. The trees are fairly drought-tolerant and like well-drained soil, so that worked, too. They like full sun and want room to spread, and we could do that, too.
We decided to plant it in our front yard. We did the usual things, digging a nice deep hole and mixing some compost and a bit of fertilizer into the soil; then we waited for results … and waited and waited. After a few weeks, we wondered if something was wrong since it hadn’t leafed out. It finally did, and we have since learned that our persimmon tree is always the last tree in our yard to leaf out.
Persimmons are the national fruit of Japan and originally came from the Orient. According to an article on the website “Kidadl” titled “Fuyu Persimmon Tree Facts You Haven’t Heard Before”, persimmons are an extremely important part of Japanese culture.
Persimmons bear the scientific name Diospyros kaki, and we had chosen the Fuyu variety. We did so because many varieties of persimmon are astringent until the fruit is soft, but the Fuyu can be eaten crisp like an apple right off the tree. It can still be allowed to soften, then be used like the astringent varieties in such things as cookies and pudding – more on that later.
It is said that persimmon trees take 3-5 years to produce fruit, and that was our experience. When young, the yield is smaller, but it increases, and the trees grow rather quickly.
Fast forward a few years and we were getting a few hundred persimmons each year. The number kept growing, so one year I decided to count each persimmon I harvested. In the end, I had reached about 1,700, with about 200 or so left on the tree (they were too high up to harvest). This has continued each year consistently. We start harvesting the first or second week of November and we continue well into December – a long season. What happens to the fruit left on the tree? The birds take care of that. Even hummingbirds enjoy the softened fruit, sticking their beaks through the skin and sucking out the juice.
Why persimmons? Kathy and I, along with a number of our friends, just love them. They are said to be rich in vitamin A and have more vitamin C than citrus. They also feature carotenoid antioxidants for heart health, and are a good source of dietary fiber. Even if all that weren’t true, I just love their sweet flavor. I have used the softened fruit in cookies and pudding, and cut up the firm fruit into our oatmeal. We have sliced and dried them. Most of all, I love to peel and eat them.
The tree is graceful and also quite decorative. Usually, in the fall the leaves change colors to yellow, brown and maroon. This year, though, we had an early freeze, and the leaves started falling after turning a dull green.
We planted our tree about 40 years ago, and it’s the one tree that has lasted. I can honestly say that I would do it again.
