Germination temperature
About 21 °C (70 °F) after stratification.
Visit deodar-seeds.in Fruit tree growing guide
Persimmon seed needs two to three months of moist cold before it will sprout, and the seedlings make vigorous rootstocks. For a known fruit variety, graft it onto your seedling once the stem is pencil-thick.
About 21 °C (70 °F) after stratification.
Cover lightly, about as deep as the seed is thick.
Slow and uneven; only 25-35% of seed usually sprouts.
Not needed to germinate; light shade for young seedlings.
Cold-moist stratification at about 7 °C (45 °F) for 60-90 days.
Sow in deep pots or boxes; line out at 15-20 cm (6-8 in) tall.
Take seed from fully ripe fruit in autumn. Wash off all pulp, rinse well and do not let the seed dry out; fresh seed is best.
Not needed. Persimmon seed has a hard-looking coat, but cold stratification, not scratching, is what releases it to germinate.
Required. Mix the clean seed with damp sand, peat or vermiculite in a bag or box and keep it at about 2-7 °C (35-45 °F), for example in a refrigerator, for 60-90 days. Check monthly that it stays damp but not wet, and remove any moulding seed.
Not needed beyond keeping the seed moist. Seed that dries out after cleaning germinates poorly.
After stratification, germinate at about 21 °C (70 °F) in boxes or pots. In India, stratify over the winter and sow in early spring; on the plains a refrigerator replaces the missing winter cold.
Lay the seed flat and cover with about its own thickness of compost or sand. Seeds can also be sprouted on moist paper and potted as soon as the root shows.
A free-draining potting mix in deep pots or boxes; persimmon seedlings form a long main root, and heavy, wet compost causes root rot.
Keep evenly moist but never waterlogged.
Light is not needed for germination. Shade young seedlings from strong sun, which scorches the leaves.
Slow and irregular even after stratification. Only about a quarter to a third of the seed usually sprouts, so sow several seeds for each tree you want.
Move seedlings to a nursery row or larger pots in spring once the soil is above about 13 °C (55 °F), at 15-20 cm (6-8 in) tall; transplanting at this size helps them form more side roots.
Grow the seedlings on for a full season with steady watering and light shade at first. They usually reach grafting size by the following winter.
Graft while rootstock and scion are both dormant, before buds open. The rootstock should be at least 8 mm (1/3 in) thick; use scions 7-13 cm (3-5 in) long with 2-4 buds, joined by a whip-and-tongue or wedge graft.
Cause: seed dried out after cleaning, or it was not stratified long enough. Fix: keep seed moist from fruit to fridge, and give it the full 60-90 days of cold.
Cause: medium too wet or pulp left on the seed. Fix: wash seed thoroughly, use only damp medium and remove affected seeds promptly.
Cause: strong sun on tender young leaves. Fix: give light shade during the first weeks.
Cause: seedlings do not reproduce the parent variety. Fix: graft a known variety onto the seedling; persimmon is sensitive to salty soil, so also avoid saline water.
Persimmon has a low chilling need, about 100-200 hours below 7 °C (45 °F), so it suits mild subtropical areas and hills. Hot lowland tropics without any winter cool are a poor fit, and young shoots are damaged by late frost.
Well-drained sandy loam with pH 6.0-7.0. Avoid low frost pockets and salty soils or water.
Allow about 4-5 m (13-16 ft) between trees, as the legacy guide says; orchards use about 4.5 m (15 ft) in the row and 6 m (20 ft) between rows.
Plant with the root collar or graft union at or above soil level, water well, mulch and water two to four times a week while the tree establishes.
Prune in late winter before growth starts: form a strong framework in the first years, then remove weak, damaged and crowded branches to let light into the crown.
Stratify persimmon seed over winter and raise your own vigorous rootstocks for grafting.
Not reliably. Seedlings vary and take longer to bear; growers use them as rootstocks and graft a named variety on top.
You can sow it outdoors in autumn and let winter stratify it, but results are better if you keep the cleaned seed moist in a refrigerator for 60-90 days and sow in spring.
It needs some winter cool, about 100-200 hours below 7 °C (45 °F), so it does better in hills and the cooler north than in hot, humid lowlands.