Hello there, I am wondering if anyone has had any luck trying persimmon trees in the Vancouver area. Are the summers warm enough here for the fruit to ripen properly? I saw that someone asked about this in Toronto but I just want to make sure that they'd be fine here too. Thanks, Damien
Both American and Asian persimmons grow and fruit in Seattle, although the American trees often fail to ripen them here. Try to obtain grafted, named cultivars thought most likely to succeed in a cool climate, plant in a hot, sunny position.
persimmons I have seen a few persimmon trees growing in Burnaby, and they are full of ripe fruit. However, I'm not sure what variety they are.
My family has a persimmon tree that gets southern sun. Last year the fruit didn't ripen (I believe we had early fall frost). This year the fruit is more yellow and we're hoping that it will ripen. Is anyone having any success with persimmons?
My sister had a persimmon tree in her Burnaby garden before she moved. It fruited for her quite soon after she planted it. I remember it quite fondly - it had a lovely shape & beautiful foliage. However, it is true that the fruit didn't ripen properly unless we had a nice long hot summer. In certain years, they would just stay green and small. Having said that, I do remember eating some yummy persimmons and the tree is definitely worth having. I'd get one myself if I had room for yet another tree, and if the price tag weren't so high. (I believe it was an Asian persimmon - shaped like a tomato. Many Asian nurseries sell them)
The main obvious differences are the size of the leaves and fruits, those of American persimmon being smaller. It also tends to make a larger, more vertical tree in time. Asian persimmons can be both flattened or pointed, grocery outlets here have been offering both shapes recently.
One thing I did notice - the fruit rarely got all red and perfect like the ones you might see at the grocery store. Often they got to the orangey stage, but if the taste was quite sweet already.
