Skip to content
Grow In Backyard
Trees & Shrubs

How to Grow Persimmon: Astringent and Non-Astringent

The variety decides everything. Non-astringent fuyu is eaten firm; astringent hachiya must go jelly-soft or it is inedible. Plus pollination and chill.

By Salma 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
Ripe persimmons branch
Photo: joguldi, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr
On this page

One decision governs everything about growing persimmons: astringent or non-astringent. Get it wrong and you will pick a beautiful fruit, bite it, and never grow one again.

The variety decision

The two kinds, and they are not interchangeable
Non-astringent (fuyu)Astringent (hachiya)
ShapeSquat, tomato-likeAcorn-shaped, pointed
TanninLowVery high until ripe
Eat whenFirm and crispJelly-soft, almost liquid
Off the treeReady to eatInedible
Best forSlicing, salads, eating out of handBaking, puddings, pulp

Astringency is soluble tannin, which binds to proteins in your mouth and produces a drying, puckering sensation strong enough to be genuinely unpleasant. It only breaks down when the fruit is completely ripe.

A hachiya should feel like a water balloon before you eat it. If it has any firmness at all, wait.

If you only want one tree

Grow a non-astringent variety. Fuyu and its relatives can be eaten at any stage from crisp to soft, so there is no timing trap and no disappointed first bite.

Astringent types are genuinely better for baking and have a richer flavour when properly ripe — but they demand patience and they punish impatience hard.

Climate and pollination

Asian persimmon (Diospyros kaki) suits roughly zones 7–10 and needs only modest winter chill, which makes it a good fruit tree where apples and cherries struggle.

American persimmon (D. virginiana) is hardy to zone 4 but is usually dioecious — separate male and female trees — so a female needs a male nearby to fruit at all.

Most popular Asian varieties, fuyu and hachiya included, are parthenocarpic: they set seedless fruit with no pollination, so one tree crops fine. Some produce larger fruit with a pollinator nearby. Check the specific variety rather than assuming.

Planting, and the taproot

Persimmon has a long, brittle taproot and dislikes root disturbance more than most fruit trees. Two consequences:

  • Plant carefully, at the depth it grew in the pot, disturbing the rootball as little as possible
  • Stake for the first two years, because the root system is slow to anchor

Full sun, six to eight hours. Deep, free-draining soil — avoid anywhere that sits wet in winter.

Water deeply through the first three summers. After that it is notably drought tolerant.

Feeding and pruning, both lightly

Feed sparingly. Excess nitrogen produces soft growth and causes the tree to drop immature fruit — one of the most common complaints, and almost always on an over-fed tree in a fed lawn.

Prune in late winter, for structure only. Build an open vase shape in the early years, then just remove dead, crossing and crowded wood.

The reason to keep it light: persimmon fruits on new growth from last year’s wood, so cutting back hard removes the crop you were about to get.

Thin the fruit

The wood is brittle and a heavy crop snaps limbs — a real risk, not a theoretical one.

Thinning also moderates biennial bearing, the tendency to produce an enormous crop one year and nothing the next. Taking fruit off in a heavy year protects both the branches and next season’s harvest.

Harvest

Pick when fully coloured, usually mid to late autumn and often after the leaves have dropped — a bare tree hung with orange fruit is one of the better sights in a garden.

Cut, do not pull, leaving the calyx attached. Tearing damages the fruit and shortens storage.

Then: non-astringent straight to the bowl; astringent indoors, left alone for days to a couple of weeks until it gives completely.

Step by step

Time
P1460D
Cost
70
You need
A grafted persimmon tree of a named variety, Compost, Mulch
Tools
Spade, Secateurs, Tree stake and tie

  1. Decide astringent or non-astringent first

    This single choice determines how you will eat the fruit. Non-astringent types such as fuyu are eaten firm like an apple; astringent types such as hachiya are mouth-puckering until completely soft.

  2. Check your winter chill and minimum temperature

    Asian persimmon suits roughly zones 7 to 10 and American persimmon is hardy to zone 4. Asian types need only modest winter chill, which makes them good where apples struggle.

  3. Buy a grafted tree, not a seedling

    Seedlings take far longer to fruit and do not come true to variety. A grafted tree on a named rootstock fruits in three to four years.

  4. Plant in full sun with deep free-draining soil

    Six to eight hours of sun. Persimmon has a brittle taproot that dislikes waterlogging, so avoid any spot that stays wet in winter.

  5. Handle the roots carefully and stake the tree

    The taproot breaks easily and persimmons resent root disturbance more than most fruit trees. Plant at the depth it grew in the pot and stake for the first two years.

  6. Water deeply through the first three summers

    Establishment is the vulnerable period. Once settled, persimmon is noticeably drought tolerant and needs little supplementary water.

  7. Feed sparingly

    Light feeding only. Excess nitrogen produces soft growth and causes the tree to drop immature fruit, which is a common complaint on over-fed trees.

  8. Prune in late winter for structure, not volume

    Build an open vase shape in the early years and thereafter remove dead, crossing and crowded wood. Persimmon fruits on new growth from last year's wood, so heavy cutting back removes the crop.

  9. Thin fruit if branches are overloaded

    The wood is brittle and a heavy crop snaps limbs. Thinning also reduces the natural tendency to biennial bearing, where a huge year is followed by nothing.

  10. Harvest by colour, and ripen astringent types off the tree

    Pick when fully coloured, cutting with secateurs and leaving the calyx attached. Non-astringent fruit is ready to eat firm; astringent fruit is brought indoors and left until it is jelly-soft.

Common questions

What is the difference between fuyu and hachiya persimmons?

Fuyu is non-astringent and hachiya is astringent, and that governs how each is eaten. A fuyu is squat and tomato-shaped, low in tannin, and can be eaten firm and crisp straight off the tree like an apple. A hachiya is acorn-shaped, loaded with tannin, and is inedibly mouth-puckering until it becomes completely soft, almost liquid inside, at which point it turns sweet and rich. Eating a hachiya firm is the single commonest bad first experience of persimmons.

Do persimmon trees need a pollinator?

Most of the popular Asian varieties, including fuyu and hachiya, are parthenocarpic and set seedless fruit without any pollination, so a single tree crops perfectly well. Some varieties do produce better or larger fruit with a pollinator nearby, and American persimmon is generally dioecious, meaning separate male and female trees, so a female needs a male within range to fruit at all. Check what your specific variety requires before assuming one tree is enough.

How long until a persimmon tree bears fruit?

Three to four years for a grafted tree, and considerably longer — often seven to ten years — for a seedling, which will also not come true to its parent variety. That is the main argument for buying a grafted tree of a named variety rather than growing from seed. Young trees often set a few fruit and then drop them, which is normal while the tree builds the structure to carry a crop.

Why are my persimmons bitter or astringent?

Almost always because an astringent variety was picked and eaten too early. Astringent types such as hachiya contain high levels of soluble tannins that bind to proteins in the mouth and produce an intensely drying, puckering sensation, and those tannins only break down once the fruit is fully, softly ripe. The fruit should feel like a water balloon before you eat it. If you want fruit you can eat firm, grow a non-astringent variety instead.

When should you pick persimmons?

When the fruit has developed its full colour, which is usually mid to late autumn and often after the leaves have dropped. Cut rather than pull, leaving the calyx attached, because tearing the fruit off damages it and shortens storage. Non-astringent varieties can be eaten straight away while firm; astringent ones are picked coloured but hard and then ripened indoors until completely soft, which takes days to a couple of weeks.

Are persimmon trees hard to grow?

They are among the easier fruit trees once established, with few serious pests or diseases and good drought tolerance. The two things that catch people out are transplanting and brittleness. Persimmon has a long taproot that breaks easily and the tree resents root disturbance, so it should be planted carefully and staked early. And the wood is brittle, so a heavy crop can snap limbs, which is why thinning fruit matters on a loaded branch.

Backyard Weekly

Know what to plant, week by week

Join the weekly email for seasonal jobs, fixes for what is going wrong, and gear worth buying.

Not ready to subscribe? The planting calendar is free and needs no email.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. Grow In Backyard will never sell your address.

Keep reading