Persimmon: growing from seed at home, description of varieties, care and reproduction

Trees and shrubs from the Eben family live for hundreds of years, differ in appearance, shape and shade of fruits. Although the Chinese were the first to cultivate persimmons, varieties grown in South America surprise with the largest berries. In the countries of the Caucasus and Greece, trees with miniature fruits weighing less than 50 grams are planted. Israeli breeders have created a seedless Sharon. Growing persimmons is not so difficult if you know the characteristics of the selected variety.

Description and external parameters

Trees from the Ebony family reach 15 meters in height, shrubs - 5.The oval persimmon leaves, which are pointed at the ends, fall off every year. They are shiny on the outside and matte on the inside. The diameter of the fruit in some varieties is only 2 cm, in others it reaches 15. The berries hang on the tree when there are no leaves at all, which turn bright red before falling off, but without them the plant remains for a short time.

What a fruit looks like depends on the stage of ripening and on the variety. In a ripe fruit, the skin acquires a reddish tint, and the pulp becomes like jelly, loses its tart taste. Berries have 5-7 seeds, but hybrids may not have seeds.

Varieties and varieties

In autumn, sellers fill the stalls with orange fruits. Most often they bring Sharon and Korolek. The inedible tart persimmon is found in the wild, but hundreds of cultivars have been created with a pleasant taste.

Russian

Almost 60 years ago, Crimean breeders bred a persimmon hybrid, which is adapted to growing in climates where winter frosts reach 35 °C.A low tree of the Rossiyanka variety blooms in June, does not require the neighborhood of pollinators. Fruit appears the following year after planting:

round shape;
yellow-orange;
weighing about 50g;
hard pulp.

Berries have a tart taste, after ripening they become softer and tastier. The variety has several subspecies with different shades, without grains and with stones.

Eastern

Japanese persimmon tree grows up to 15 meters high. On brown pubescent shoots are oval shiny leaves that turn red in autumn.

In place of yellowish-white flowers, berries are formed weighing up to 0.5 kg.

Oriental persimmon shoots freeze at 20 ° C below zero, but next year buds are laid, an ovary is formed. The tree does not take root in wetlands, demanding on heat. Ripe fruits turn sweet and orange.

Korolek

The berries of this persimmon variety ripen from male flowers on trees 8 to 12 m tall. The underside of the leaves has a light green tint. In May, Korolek releases single burgundy buds. By autumn, fruits ripen that are different:

ball-shaped;
chocolate color;
sweet creamy pulp.

Berries are rich in pectin, fiber, vitamins, used to make jams, molasses and beer. Roasted seeds make a coffee-like drink.

Caucasian

The tree of such a persimmon has powerful roots, the trunk looks like a column. Oval leaves form a beautiful and lush crown. In summer, greenish flowers appear, the diameter of ripe berries is only 20 mm. The tart fruits of the Caucasian persimmon contain up to a dozen grains, the bark contains tannins, the leaves are rich in quinine.Up to 20 buckets of bright yellow berries with a low calorie content are harvested from one tree.

Virginian

In North America, in the countries of the Mediterranean, in the Caucasus, a variety of tropical crops is grown, which participated in the breeding of the Rossiyanka hybrid. Persimmon Virginia is pollinated by bees and wind, taken from the stone, but it is better to purchase a seedling. The fruits have juicy pale yellow flesh, weigh up to 500 g, the diameter of the berry is about 6 cm.

Nikitskaya burgundy

Persimmon hybrids were created in the Crimean botanical garden. When pollinated by the Russian woman, bred by Ukrainian breeders, and the Eastern variety of tropical fruit, a new variety was obtained, which was called Nikitskaya burgundy. A low tree is distinguished by a pyramidal crown, withstands frosts up to 25 ° C. The berries ripen in early October, individual specimens weigh 120 g.Sweet fruits are covered with a purine coating and have a burgundy hue. One plant yields up to 7 buckets of fruit.

Velvet

Among the 500 varieties of culture from the Eben family, there are those whose fruits differ in their appearance from the most common persimmon varieties. Evergreen Mabolo trees grow slowly, but reach a height of up to 20 meters, do not shed their leaves, are found in the Philippines. The berries have a velvety surface, are yellow, red, purple.

Green fruits smell damp, but when they ripen, the flesh becomes juicy and fragrant.

Chocolate

Europeans who came to Central America were attracted by trees with decorative light green leaves and spherical fruits. Ripe berries of Chocolate persimmon are brown in color, sweet pulp surprises with fragrant aroma.Trees bloom very profusely, attract insects, easily tolerate heat, but are demanding on humidity.

Darakhti

This kind of persimmon is grown in Tajikistan and other countries of Central Asia on irrigated lands, cultivated in India. Orange fruits ripen on low trees, when ripe they have a sweet taste and delicate aroma.

Bullheart

The trees of the self-fertile variety are distinguished by a dense crown formed by dark green leaves. The weight of ripe orange berries reaches 300 grams. They have dense pulp, are well transported. The bull heart is grown on an industrial scale, requires regular watering, does not like drafts, and tolerates cold snaps down to -25 ° С.

God's gift

The variety withstands Siberian frosts, pleases with fruits in the third year after planting, the weight of individual specimens approaches 120 grams. Ripe berries are not orange, but burgundy in color. God's gift pollinates other crop varieties, as it has 2 types of flowers.

Small blue

Persimmon, growing wild in Dagestan and Western Georgia, is a tree up to 10 meters high. The fruits are spherical in shape, their diameter rarely exceeds 5 cm, the berries are dark blue, almost black in color.

Mid

Trees of this variety reach 15-18 meters in height, withstand frosts over 30 degrees, can grow and bear fruit in middle latitudes. Mider persimmon berries are shaped like a flattened ball and are valued for their delicate taste and refined aroma. Astringency is absent even in unripe fruit, there are no seeds in it either.

Mini

Many years ago in China they began to plant plants in containers, creating a real art. Any interior will decorate a tree with amber-colored fruits. A miniature persimmon looks amazing in a tub. It is planted as an ordinary houseplant, watered and sprayed abundantly in summer, taken out in winter to a room with a temperature not exceeding 10 ° C.

Mountain

In the gorges and broad-leaved forests of the Caucasus grows wild date or persimmon. Trees reach 30 meters in height. The wood is used to make furniture, and vitamin tea is brewed from the leaves. The flowers serve as honey plants and attract wild bees. Mountain persimmon berries are less than 2 cm in diameter, when ripe they become almost black, covered with a purine coating.

How to grow persimmons

In a temperate climate, a tropical crop will not please with high yields of large fruits, even when picking an early variety, but if pruned annually to form a crown, the southern plant will perfectly decorate the garden.

From the bone

Lovers of indoor flowers plant persimmons in tubs and flowerpots. It takes root well if you pick up quality seeds.You can prepare seed material yourself from a ripe and he althy fruit. Germinate the bones in a wet cloth, wrapping them in cellophane. In a warm place, sprouts appear after 2 or 3 weeks.

The seed is planted in a pot, next year the bush can be moved to a site that is lit by the sun all day, closed from drafts.

From seedling

The second method is suitable for those who are going to grow a crop in the open field. In order not to get a wild game, a young tree must be bought in a nursery. Planting is carried out in the spring, the root neck should be deepened by about 10 cm by grafting to the south side. The earth is lightly tamped, watered, poured mulch.

Rules for growing a plant

In the garden, low trees are placed according to the 3 x 3 pattern, 7 meters are left between tall varieties. When buying a quality seedling, persimmon can please with fruits already in the third year, if you create all the necessary conditions for it.

Outdoor Growth

In order for a tropical culture to perform not only decorative functions, but also flourish, reward with a harvest, a place for planting a tree is chosen on a site where a piercing wind does not blow, there are no drafts. Any soil is suitable, except for marshy soils and s alt marshes. In a temperate climate, frost-resistant early varieties normally take root, trees are planted in spring. For several years they will have to be carefully covered for the winter.

Which areas can be grown

Persimmon feels good in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, in the North Caucasus. Breeders have created hybrids that bear fruit in the Moscow region, in the Belgorod region. In central Russia, the frost-resistant Virgin persimmon grows normally - a variety of American selection that can withstand minus 35. The Rossiyanka hybrid is also adapted to temperate climates.

In the Urals, a tropical crop can only be planted in a heated greenhouse, and not grown in a garden. A tree in a harsh climate lacks the sum of high temperatures.

In room conditions

Having selected seeds from ripe persimmon fruits, they can be planted at home in a pot. After stratification, the grains are deepened by 1 or 2 cm into the soil prepared:

from humus;
turf land;
wood ash;
bone meal;
coarse sand.

The container is covered with glass, aired regularly. After the emergence of sprouts, the seedlings are transplanted into other pots and left on the windowsill.

Features of seasonal care

The southern plant will develop well if you create optimal conditions for it, know how to care for a tropical guest.

Irrigation

In addition to heat and sun, the roots and leaves of the tree need a lot of moisture, but it should not stagnate. It is useful to spray persimmons with warm water, and it is better to do this in the evenings. How often to water a plant in the garden depends on the weather. In a dry climate, irrigation will have to be done every day, loosening and mulching the ground in the near-stem circle.

Feeding

When planting a tree, a bucket of rotted manure and a glass of superphosphate are brought into the pit, mixed well with the ground. After a couple of months, the plant is fertilized with a liquid solution of biohumus. Chicken manure, wood ash, compost, slurry are suitable for feeding. The first years, nutrients are brought into the near-stem circle.

Lighting

Tropical guest has a long growing season. If you plant a persimmon in the shade, the leaves will begin to curl, the ovary will crumble.The tree will develop normally only if there are at least 2 thousand light hours, otherwise it will have to be planted in a greenhouse, where additional lamps should be installed.

Temperature

Persimmon loves the sun, in summer it feels great at 20-30 ° C, but it may not survive the cold winter. Even frost-resistant varieties planted in open ground need to be covered, at minus 20 the roots suffer, the shoots freeze.

Pruning and pinching

When the height of the tree reaches half a meter, the formation of the crown begins, the side branches are shortened so as to give it the appearance of a ball. The main shoot is pinched, regular thinning helps prevent thickening, it is better to do it in the fall, summer pruning involves the removal of dried branches.

Vaccination

In order for persimmon to start to please the harvest faster, it is necessary to accelerate the formation of flower buds, for this purpose:

At the base of the strongest shoot cut off the bark in the form of a ring, perpendicular to its growth.
The ring is grafted to the place of the cut with the reverse side.
Fix with cling film to prevent infection from getting into the wound.

Persimmon will be faster to please with berries when it is planted with a cutting of a tree that is already bearing fruit. Knowing what to graft the shoot on, you can significantly speed up the formation of flower buds.

Transfer

If a tropical guest is grown not in open ground, but on a windowsill, the pot becomes cramped for roots over time. Persimmon is transplanted into a new container, 3 cm larger in diameter. In the open ground in the southern regions, the tree is moved in the spring, digging a hole 60 cm deep. In a cold climate, it is better to grow a tropical crop in a tub, and take it out to a balcony or garden in summer.

How to prepare a persimmon for wintering

In late autumn, the tree needs to be watered abundantly. Although hybrid varieties tolerate severe frosts, the first 4 years after planting, the plants need to be covered for the winter. To do this, 3 pegs are hammered around the trunk and the burlap is pulled. The roots are buried with earth, and it is desirable to wrap the skeletal branches with material.

Fruiting period

Summer residents who grow persimmons from the seed should not wait for the rapid appearance of berries. The tree will look beautiful, but there are no big harvests in a temperate climate.

Flowering and pollination

A wildling grows from a bone. To make persimmons happy with fruits, they plant a shoot from a tree or shrub that already had berries. A heat-loving crop blooms in June for the third or fourth year, but in order for the ovary to appear at home, you need to plant a pollinator plant nearby.

Beginning of fruiting

Even with the right place for persimmons, timely watering, maintaining a certain humidity and top dressing, it is not always possible to wait for berries, growing a tropical guest in a temperate climate. The tree begins to bear fruit in the seventh year.

Ripening dates for fruits

Persimmon blooms late, already when warm days come, but the berries have time to fill with juice before frost. In the south of Russia, the fruits ripen by early November.

Harvesting and storage of crops

Persimmon is plucked by hand, slightly scrolling on the stalk. Juicy berries are used to make jams and preserves, to freeze and dry. Fresh fruits are stored at 0 ° C for no more than 3 months, at room temperature - up to a week.

Propagation of persimmons

You can plant several exotic plants in the garden or in the house, they will delight with a decorative look.

Optimal timing

When to propagate persimmons depends on the chosen method. The cuttings are planted as soon as the threat of a return of frost has passed. Bones need to be harvested in the fall and germinated immediately, budding can be done in August.

Ways

In room conditions, persimmons are conveniently propagated by seeds, grafting is done in open ground. If a fruit-bearing tree grows in the garden, green cuttings can be performed.

How to graft a persimmon

To accelerate the flowering of a tropical crop and for its reproduction, they resort to budding, in which young trees are grafted with one bud. The cuttings are harvested before the juice begins to move, placed in wet sand and taken to the basement. One skeletal branch is cut down in the crown, several prepared shoots are inserted into the stump.

Beginner gardeners do not know what to graft a cutting from a fruiting tree, although any of the budding options is used.

Diseases and pests - ways to fight

Persimmon that grows in a pot on the windowsill is sometimes affected by powdery mildew. Airing the tree in the fresh air helps to prevent the occurrence of a problem. In the garden, tropical culture often suffers from root or gray rot. To combat diseases, fungicides "Topsin" or "Impact" are used.

In an unfavorable climate, non-compliance with agricultural technology, branches and young shoots are affected by bacterial cancer, and the tree dies.To eliminate scab, fusarium, persimmons are sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, treated with Fitosporin. Sometimes mites and scale insects start up on the plant, which draw the juice from the leaves and shoots. Insecticides or biological preparations "Boverin", "Gaupsin" help to get rid of pests.