Persimmon
Diospyros kaki
Asian persimmons are handsome trees with glowing orange fruit in fall, and they're among the easiest temperate fruits for Florida and the Gulf South. They come in two kinds: non-astringent types like Fuyu, eaten crisp like an apple, and astringent types like Hachiya, which pucker the mouth until they're jelly-soft. The native American persimmon is a separate, smaller-fruited and much hardier species.
Tree facts
- Scientific name
- Diospyros kaki
- Origin
- China; developed for centuries in Japan and Korea
- Tree size
- 15–30 ft; easily kept at 10–15 ft
- Growth rate
- Slow to medium
- Sun
- Full sun; tolerates light shade but bears less
- Soil
- Adapts to most well-drained soils, including some clay
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Pollination
- Most set seedless fruit without pollination, so one tree is enough. Pollination-variant types like Chocolate need a male-flowering tree nearby to develop their dark, sweet flesh.
- Cold hardiness
- Dormant trees take about 0–10°F; late spring frosts damage new growth
- USDA zones
- 7–10
- Years to first fruit
- 3–5 for a grafted tree
- Season
- Sep–Dec
- Water
- About every 10 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
- Feeding
- About every 120 days, Mar–May
- Pruning
- Jan–Feb
- Taste
- Honey-sweet, with notes of apricot and cinnamon; crisp in Fuyu types, custard-soft in ripe astringent types
- Nutrition
- Rich in fiber, beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin C
Is persimmon safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts
What you can eat
- Ripe flesh, raw: firm or soft depending on type
- Peeled and dried whole (hoshigaki) or in slices
- Leaves, dried for tea in Japan and Korea
Toxic parts and cautions
- Take care: Unripe astringent persimmons are full of soluble tannins. Eating a lot of them, especially on an empty stomach, can form a hard mass in the stomach (a bezoar) that sometimes needs surgery. Eat astringent types only when fully soft, and go easy if you've had stomach surgery or have slow digestion.
- Good to know: The seeds are a choking risk for small children; remove them.
Pets: Ripe flesh is fine for dogs in small amounts, but the seeds can inflame or block a dog's small intestine. Horses that eat many fallen persimmons can develop stomach bezoars, so pick up dropped fruit near horses.
How to eat and enjoy persimmon
- Fuyu types sliced fresh into salads
- Soft Hachiya pulp scooped with a spoon, or frozen as an instant sorbet
- Hoshigaki, hand-massaged dried persimmons (Japan)
- Sujeonggwa, Korean cinnamon-ginger punch with dried persimmon
- Persimmon bread and pudding
- Smoothies
When it's ripe
Non-astringent types: pick when fully orange and eat them crisp, or let them soften. Astringent types: pick when fully colored and ripen indoors until very soft, like a water balloon; a bag with apples or bananas speeds it up. Clip the fruit with the green cap attached.
Storing it
Firm Fuyu types keep a few weeks in the fridge; soft persimmons only a day or two. Soft pulp freezes well.
Persimmon varieties (9)
Chocolate
A pollination-variant persimmon: pollinated fruit has cinnamon-brown, sweet flesh that can be eaten firm, while unpollinated fruit stays astringent until soft.
Taste: Sweet, spicy, rich · Season: Oct–Nov · Size: Medium
Plant near a male-flowering persimmon for the brown, non-astringent flesh.
Fuyu
The most popular non-astringent persimmon: squat, tomato-shaped and crisp-sweet as soon as it's orange.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Sweet, crisp, mild · Season: Oct–Nov · Size: Medium
Eat it firm or soft.
Hachiya
The big, acorn-shaped astringent persimmon: harsh when firm, rich and jelly-like when completely soft.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Very sweet and rich when soft · Season: Oct–Nov · Size: Large
Wait until it's very soft. The classic for drying as hoshigaki.
Ichi Ki Kei Jiro · also Ichikikei Jiro
A naturally dwarf, early form of Jiro, good for small yards and large pots.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Sweet, crisp · Season: Sep–Oct · Size: Medium
Non-astringent.
Izu
An early non-astringent persimmon on a small tree.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Sweet, crisp · Season: Sep–Oct · Size: Medium
Jiro
A non-astringent persimmon much like Fuyu, a bit squarer, crisp and sweet.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Sweet, crisp · Season: Oct–Nov · Size: Medium to large
Matsumoto Wase Fuyu
An early-ripening sport of Fuyu with the same crisp, sweet fruit.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Sweet, crisp · Season: Sep–Oct · Size: Medium
Non-astringent.
Saijo
A small, elongated astringent persimmon prized for its very sweet flesh once soft.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Very sweet when soft · Season: Oct–Nov · Size: Small
One of the more cold-hardy Asian persimmons.
Tanenashi
A cone-shaped, seedless astringent persimmon, long a heavy-bearing favorite in Florida.
Origin: Japan · Taste: Sweet when soft · Season: Sep–Oct · Size: Medium to large
Eat only when fully soft.
Pests and diseases to watch for
Scale insects
Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.
What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.
Mealybugs
White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.
What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.
Aphids
Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.
What to do: Spray off with water.
Sooty mold
Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.
What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.
Spider mites
Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.
What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.
Growing persimmons? Let Gardyn keep track.
Gardyn tells you when your persimmon needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.
Request accessGeneral guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.