Growing Plum Tree
Kaki persimmon, also called Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki); common persimmon (D. virginiana). Persimmons are delectable fall fruit for home gardeners in Zones 6-10. Although unpleasantly astringent when hard and immature, a fully ripe persimmon is soft and sweet, with jellylike flesh.
The kaki species is especially tasty. These persimmons are heart-, plum- or tomato-shaped. 2 to 4 inches in diameter and golden red, yellow or orange in color; the flesh may be yellow or brown. The trees grow 20 to 30 feet tall with an equal spread; they are especially beautiful in autumn when their leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow and red. Good varieties are Chocolate; Eureka; Fuyu, also called Gaki or Fuyugaki; Hachiya; Tamopan; and Tane-Nashi. Japanese persimmon trees are usually self-pollinating and can be planted alone.
The following varieties of European plums are recommended; all will grow in Zones 5-7, and Burbank Grand Prize prune will also grow in Zone 8. All ripen in midsummer: Blufre prune, blue; Burbank Grand Prize prune, purple; Green Gage, also called Reine Claude, greenish yellow; Stanley prune, purple; and Yellow Egg, bright yellow. Green Gage, Stanley and Yellow Egg are self-pollinating and will bear fruit if planted alone. Plant Blufre and Burbank Grand Prize (or other European varieties) together, for pollination of one variety by the pollen from another is usually necessary for the trees to bear fruit. Damson plums are generally too tart to eat fresh unless very ripe, but make excellent preserves.
French Damson and Shropshire are two varieties particularly recommended. Both have small purple-skinned, green-fleshed fruit that ripen in late summer.
Persimmon trees grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0. For fruit within three years, buy one- or two-year-old trees. Set out container-grown trees at any time, but plant bare-rooted trees in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked. Cut off all but three to five well- placed branches, spaced 6 to 12 inches apart and forming angles greater than 45 degrees with the trunk. Cut these branches (on a bare-rooted tree only) to 6 to 8 inches. Beginning the second spring, apply 1 pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer for each year the tree has been planted, up to a maximum of 5 pounds per tree. Thin out the fruit until the persimmons are 6 to 7 inches apart.
Hybrid varieties created by crossing Japanese and American plums are particularly useful to northern gardeners, for these types grow even in Zone 4 as well as in warmer regions as far south as Zone 8. Recommended varieties are Superior, red, midsummer; Tecumseh, red, early summer; Underwood, red, early summer; Waneta, purple, midsummer; and Kaga, red, early summer. The Kaga variety should be included in every planting. Plum trees will bear fruit for about 25 to 30 years; a mature standard tree yields 1 to 21/2 bushels annually, and a dwarf tree yields 1/2 to 1 bushel annually.
how to grow kaki tree if i have seeds?
my e-mail is ildiko.szekely81@yahoo.com
please write if you know how to grow these fruits, thank you
Good article on planting a plum tree. Thanks for providing tips on where to plant such a tree and paying attention to soil temperature when surveying one’s property.
My Damson Plum tree appears to be sprouting other trees from it’s roots. Can these be propagated?