The persimmon tree - an ebony plant native to Japan and China - is a very old cultivated plant. Diospyros kaki grows up to 15 meters high, has elongated oval leaves, yellowish to white monoecious flowers and apple-sized fruits.

The persimmon tree is cultivated as a useful but also as an ornamental and container plant. Its large, shiny leaves turn intense yellow to orange-red in autumn. The berry fruit of the persimmon tree is also called persimmon, persimmon, Chinese persimmon. The fruits are yellow to orange in color and (when fully ripe) very juicy and sweet. When unripe, they contain bitter tannins. One cultivar is the Sharon fruit from Israel, which is smaller and contains no bitter tannins.

Are persimmon trees suitable for planting outdoors?

As a fruit tree, the persimmon is cultivated in many tropical and subtropical areas. The kaki trees are not sufficiently frost-resistant for the Central European climate, but in the mild winter wine-growing regions, cultivation is also possible in Germany. It is recommended to keep the persimmons in the tub for the first 2-3 years and only plant out the older plants in the garden.

What site and soil conditions are required?

The persimmon trees should stand outside as sunny as possible during the warm season. The plants cope well with occasional night frosts as long as they can warm up again during the day. The persimmon tree in the bucket should be overwintered in a dark and frost-free place. The persimmon tree thrives on the neutral and also on the loamy soil. Some horn shavings (€32.93) in the planting hole will give the tree a good start.

propagation

The persimmons can be propagated generatively and vegetatively. There are hardly any seeds in the commercially available fruits, so you would have to buy them to sow them. The ready-grafted plants from the specialist trade are more useful for the yield. Numerous varieties with different degrees of frost resistance and on slow-growing or strong-growing substrates are offered on the internet.

flowering and harvest time

The monoecious kaki tree blooms in May and June. The decorative golden-yellow flowers consist of four sepals, the fruit later develops from the calyx. The fruits ripen in late autumn between October and November on the now leafless tree.

tips and tricks

The persimmon plant can be cultivated as a container plant, on a trellis or as a half-stem and standard.

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Category:

Vegetable garden