During my first trip to Japan about seven years ago, I arrived in the late fall and was able to enjoy a couple of bonsai shows. I was enchanted by the Princess Persimmon (Diospyros rhombifolia) that I saw on display and in the growing area.

Here's one of the Persimmons I saw on display in half-cascade:



The fruit comes in different forms and colors, from the familiar orange-red through a darker red color, black speckled fruit, and a couple of different shapes (elongated or round) I brought back a few dozen seeds of different types. The persimmon is dioecious, which means that there are separate male and female plants. I suspect that the fruit shape and color depend on the characteristics of the male plant as well.

I was told it would take a few years for the plant to set fruit. I believe that was optimistic. I saw the first fruiting at 5 years, and it was a single small fruit on one plant. This could be due to the maturity of the male plants, too. The first fruit was tiny and not visible until after leaf-fall in February.

After two years growth, I planted the trees out in a growing area across the street. Last week I moved the plants back to containers, and this is a report on that repotting operation

Some of the trees had reached 5' in height and a caliper up to 7/8 inch. The transplant time was not optimal, but had to clear the way for construction on a neighbor's property, so I cut the larger plants back to two feet.

Here is a first batch of transplants

Attached Images

persimmon_group1.jpg (46.1 KB, 161 views)

__________________

Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today!

bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!

And the entire group of about 40 plants. About 90% of the foliage was removed in this out of season repot. This will ensure their success despite the fact that the timing isn't great

Attached Images

persimmon_group2.jpg (61.0 KB, 81 views)

Another secret for persimmon training is to have a mix that contains about 30% soft akadama. This is an unfired clay from Japan that does a great job of holding moisture. Akadama's natural form is pellet sized clay balls. I used two sizes small and medium along with a mix of fir bark, lava rock and pumice to mix up my transplanting mix.

Attached Images

persimmon_soil.jpg (42.0 KB, 59 views)

Here are the tops of all of those collected trees. Several years ago, I would have taken quite a few of these these and made a number of cuttings. Persimmon cuttings are often successful.

If I had more warning about the need to clear the growing area, I could even have done some air layerings... but I have found a better way that will provide all the plants I need!

Attached Images

persimmon_tops.jpg (46.7 KB, 92 views)

A couple of things I have found about persimmon. The wood is very hard (used to make golf clubs a long time ago) and the roots are black. The trees sucker readily and the plants can be divided easily.
Planted in the ground, persimmon appears to be growing very slowly at first, but it is putting its energy into creating thick roots. Then growth begins in earnest.

Here are althe larger roots I trimmed away after harvesting the plants and cutting back to a compact root system. You might be tempted to throw these away; however, another fact is that the roots will quite easily sprout after being separated. Usually this takes a matter of months.

Attached Images

persimmon_cuttings1.jpg (26.6 KB, 86 views)

So if we can propagate thes interesting roots every time we transplant, we will soon have any number of plants! When I remove the roots, I cut them in a special way so I know which end originally was the apical end.

I cut the tops straight across and make a diagonal cut on the base of the root. Usually roots taper, and branch in a downward pattern, but this is not always the case with persimmon, which may twist several times and even experience inverse tapering.

Be sure to keep the roots moist. I soak them overnight in water and then spray them periodically as they are being prepared for transplanting. Once they are planted they should be watered thoroughly!

The trick in planting these root cuttings is to keep a lot of cuttings of different lengths upright in a small space, and have the tops all about even! Here's how I did it:

After cutting the roots to length (about 3/4 the length of this 3-gallon container) I fill it out about fourth with my soil mix, and sort the roots out by length. Pushing in the longest roots first, I bring all the tops to an even level. Then another 1/4 soil and stick in the medium length roots arranging their tops at the same level as the first. Finally another 1/4 soil and the last batch of shortest roots. They all end up at the same height!

I made three pots of root transplants for a total of about 70 new plants.

The final soil level should be just slightly (1" or so) over the top of the cuttings. This keeps the roots moist. The large grain akadama holds water but lets the shoots pass through quite easily as they grow.

I expect the first shoots to show in September. Many of the roots may overwinter and be appear in the late spring. Here's the pot before the final soil is added.

Attached Images

persimmon_rootcuttings.jpg (44.8 KB, 83 views)

Here's a look at some root cuttings I took 2 years ago. Yield was about 50% for these small cuttings taken in spring, planted in a shallow container of 100% akadama. I expect better results with these much larger root cuttings taken this year.

These cuttings are ready to be separated and planted out individually in the fall. They are also ready for wiring!

Attached Images

persimmon_2years.jpg (39.8 KB, 126 views)

Here's a close up of a couple of the cuttings, you can see (among the weeds) some unique root shapes. Often the roots are more interesting because they grow in interesting patterns as they are influenced by obstructions in the soil or container.

The roots themselves can even be wired if they are thin enough, and exposed over time to create some twisting shapes.

Attached Images

persimmon_transplants.jpg (37.6 KB, 110 views)

Root cuttings will be placed in close to full sun to promote growth. There isn't much concern with dehydration as there is no foliage load.

Developing plants should be put under cover or a little 15% shade cloth to protect them. Persimmons have considerable thirst in the hot weather, and if the soil goes dry, they will wilt quickly.

Regards,

Matt