No fruit yet, but the cuttings are doing great. Congratulations on yours that looks like a nice crop of seeds!

Regards,

Matt

I too traveled to Japan and purchased some persimmon seeds. There seems to be no one growing persimmon bonsai in the Enslish speaking world.

I found your article very interesting. I was impressed with the trees and the quality of work the Japanese have done with these trees. However, finding information on cultivation on them has been difficult. The seed took a very long time to germinate. Any additional information you have on growing these trees will be greatly appreciated.

> How cold do you allow them to get in the winter?
> Have you tried to raise any for bonsai from see or do you prefer the
root cuttings?
> Do you fertilize much?
> do you allow the seedlings full sun?

Appreciate you time.

Persimmonman

> How cold do you allow them to get in the winter?
They seem to be more resistant to cold than some of the larger fruit varieties. I haven't been protecting mine, but it doesn't get much below 25 degrees F here. So they can take frost but I don't know about hard freezes.
> Have you tried to raise any for bonsai from see or do you prefer the
root cuttings?
I have. It was suggested to me to sand or nip one end of the seed to let moisture through the seed coat. I did and had over 50% germination but I did not compare. They are slow to develop and spend a long time growing roots, saving up energy I think to push harder after 4 years. I've put some in the ground and they are over 4 feet tall.
> Do you fertilize much?
I've been using organic rapeseed fertilizer for potted trees. In the ground I've used some WoodAce fertilizer briquettes and osmocote. You need a lot more fertilizer in the open ground.
> do you allow the seedlings full sun?
They can tolerate a lot of sun as long as they don't dry out. I think they prefer not to have full sun in the hottest part of the day. At the seedling stage though I kept them in a green house with the doors open, so it was warm but also humid.

Regards,

Matt

Dear all,

Can anyone advise me if the seeds of princess persimmon (diospyros rhombifolia) must be cold stratified before sowing ? And what about diospyros armata ?
Thank you very much.

Stanik

I don't know. I did not stratify mine but the seed coat is very hard so I nipped through one end with some small concave cutters. I had only about 50% germination the first year and 25% the second from the same lot.