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When Do Persimmon Trees Produce Fruit? (Explained)

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Persimmons are famous for their medicinal qualities and are widely cultivated in warm countries like China, Korea, Japan, Spain, Italy, and so on.

The origin of the particular fruit is said to be in a southern part of China, and not so surprisingly, in recent times, the largest production is in China.

The fruit is edible and is said to have arrived in the USA in 1851 with the introduction of Admiral Perry who found these particular fruits growing on the coast of Japan.

Now, let us know exactly when the tree that produces these fruits starts fruiting and a lot more other tips and information about the tree and its fruits.

When do persimmon trees produce fruit?

Persimmons are fall fruits. The persimmon trees start bearing fruit from September to November and the fruits start ripening in late fall or spring, that is when we can start harvesting. American and Oriental trees, the two variants of persimmon, bloom and bear fruit every alternate year.

Persimmons have two primary variants: the Asian variant—also called, the Japanese or Oriental variant— and the American variant.

These two variants bear fruit alternately, meaning if Asian persimmons bloomed and produced a larger yield of fruit, the next year, the larger yield will be of the American variant.

Seed grown persimmon tree:

Seed-grown persimmon trees mainly fall below the Asian or the American variant.

The Asian persimmon trees bloom approximately 5 years after planting and it is not until 7 years have passed when the tree starts to bear fruit.

On the other hand, although it takes an American variant several years to bloom, it takes almost 10 years for the tree to start bearing fruits.

Besides, both the variants, the Asian persimmon trees, and American persimmon trees bloom and bear fruit alternately.

This means that if one year, the Asian variant produces a large amount of fruit after blooming, the next year, it will bear less fruit while the American persimmon trees produce a larger yield.

Persimmon trees bloom and become harvest capable through fall to spring.

Propagated persimmon tree:

Persimmon trees can be propagated and one of the most famous procedures is grafting.

Grafting is a horticultural technique where a part of one tree is placed into the part of another tree so that the tissues of both trees are in contact and are let to grow from there.

It takes less time for a grafted or propagated persimmon tree to bloom and bear fruit after planting than a seed-grown persimmon tree. Thus, in only 3 to 5 years, a propagated tree will bloom and start producing fruit.

Things to know about persimmon tree fruiting:

There are some fact you need to know about persimmons fruiting. Let’s get to know them.

The months of the year when persimmon trees produce fruit:

The two variants of persimmon trees—the Asian and the American variants yield every alternate year. As a result, only one variant bears fruit one year and that is in fall.

Persimmons become harvest-worthy starting from September and through the entire months of September, October, and November.

Moreover, these fruits are harvested when they are a bit hard and they soften and ripen after they are harvested and stored.

Hence, Persimmon trees start bearing fruits in September and the harvesting can drag on till November or the February of the next year. But, the months in which these trees bear fruit also depend on the variant.

Frequency of fruit production each year:

A single tree of persimmon fruits once a year, and that is in fall. The harvesting season starts in fall and can drag up to winter. The Asian and American variants bloom every alternate year.

This means, that if a tree of one variant produces a large yield one year, then in the successive year, the other variant yields larger.

Since these trees have an average life span of 60 years, the frequency of a large production of one tree throughout its whole life will be approximately 25 times.

Amount of persimmons produced from a tree each year:

The age when persimmon trees start bearing fruit is 7 to 10. Hence, the average annual yield of a 10-year-old tree is 15-20 pounds or 6-9 kg that is 1 bushel.

Then again, the yield of a tree heavily depends on the age, variant, and adaptability of the tree. It also depends on the environment and the weather along with the care taken of the tree.

What causes a persimmon tree not to bear fruit?

Not all persimmons will bear fruit. Let’s get to know why.

Improper planting of the trees:

Persimmons rarely self-pollinate. That’s because they either contain male or female flowers on a single tree. As a result, one tree cannot produce fruits by itself, it needs another tree of the opposite gender.

Therefore, the reason your tree might not bear fruit is that there’s no tree of the opposite gender or it lacks the pollen in itself.

Harsh weather:

Persimmon trees do badly in harsh weather. They cannot bear cold weather where the temperature might fall below 17o Fahrenheit.

That’s why, they cannot also bear hot weather, so if there are conditions like drought, the trees will not bear fruit.

Unfavorable conditions:

Standing water at the foot of the tree can hamper the fruiting of the tree, which is why the plants should be planted along a good drainage system.

Persimmon trees grow best in mildly acidic to mildly alkaline soil that is soils having pH from 6.5 to 7.5. They also grow best in loamy soil and need constant pruning.

Another reason for trees not bearing fruit can be related to inadequate nutrition.

Moreover, Persimmon trees need fertilizers to be applied around February or March and it’s best to avoid nitrogen rich fertilizers since they might be averse to fruiting of the tree.

Tree still too young:

A persimmon tree—depending on its variant—needs 7-10 years before it can bear fruit, shorter time span if the tree is grafted. While an Asian variety might bear fruits in 7 years, the American variety takes almost 10 years to do so.

Bad genetics:

Sometimes, there isn’t any other reason for the tree to not bear fruits other than bad genetics. If that’s the case, no manner of good irrigation or controlled fertilizer appliance can make the tree bear fruits.

Tips for encouraging fruiting on persimmon trees:

But there are ways you can encourage your persimmons to fruit. Let’s check the tips for those.

Gender:

Apart from some oriental variants, persimmon trees tend to grow either a male flower or a female flower on one plant.

Therefore, it’s vital to know the gender of a tree. If we know the gender of a tree, we can find out which gender of plant we need or if we need to plant another tree or not.

Fertilizer and Care:

Persimmon trees need adequate nutrition in order to bear fruit. A normal 10-10-10 fertilizer will do for a persimmon tree along with the use of a fertilizer that’s rich in nitrogen.

That’s because nitrogen-rich fertilizers can have an adverse effect on the fruiting of the tree. These trees also need adequate water and favorable weather—not too hot or too cold— to bear fruit.

Variant:

Different variants bloom and bear fruit at different times of the year.

Again, if one variant contributes a large yield one year, in the successive year, another variant will yield large while the one variant that bore a large yield the previous year would produce a smaller yield.

Therefore, it’s good to know which variant will bloom when in your garden.

Age of the tree:

The key is to be patient. Persimmon trees, although grow after planting, they don’t bloom or bear flowers until they’re 7-10 years of age. And that age also depends on the variant.

While Propagated persimmon trees only take 3-5 years before they’re bearing fruit, it takes Asian variants 5 years to bear fruit, and even longer—about 10 years—for an American variant to start bearing fruits.

Pruning:

Pruning to keep the good shape of the tree will prevent the tree from breaking or bending due to the weight of the fruits once it grows and starts fruiting.

Do you need two persimmon trees to produce fruit?

Yes, we need two persimmon trees to produce fruit. Normally, persimmon trees do not self-pollinate since one tree can bear wither only the male flower or a female flower.

There are some exceptions in the Asian variant where one tree bears both the female and male flowers.

In those cases, we won’t need two trees. But if bought an American variant, we will need two trees of the opposite gender to produce fruit. However, cross-pollination between two different variants, like Asian and American, will not be successful.

Final thoughts

Persimmon trees start fruiting in fall when the ripening starts and they become ready for harvesting. The primary variants, Asian and American, bear fruit in alternate years, therefore, a single tree might not yield two consecutive years. Moreover, a tree has to be 7-10 years old to bear fruits.

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