If you look up during the winter, when all the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves, you might spot something still growing up there, tucked in the bare branches.It might be mistletoe, that beautiful parasite that we smooc
06.06.2023 - 18:16 / gardenerspath.com / Kristine Lofgren
How to Grow American Persimmons Diospyros virginianaI’d like to begin by prefacing this article with a warning: I am a huge fan of American persimmons.
I’ll take one of these over an apple or pear – or even an Asian persimmon – any day of the week.
If you’re looking for an unbiased account of American persimmons, head elsewhere, my friend.
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But if you’re a hardcore advocate like I am, a native plant lover, or simply someone who’s interested in adding a new variety of fruit to the garden, then you’ve come to the right place.
D. virginiana hits all the marks for me, and I’m confident that it will for you as well.
They are easy to care for, without all that intricate pruning and frequent spraying that certain other fruit trees (cough – peaches – cough) require. They can grow in just about any type of soil and they’ll forgive you if they don’t get enough water on occasion.
Despite all that appalling imagined neglect, they’ll reward you with stunningly flavorful fruit with a taste that is complex and sweet.
It’s hard to describe the flavor of the ripe fruit exactly, but it’s sort of like if a ripe peach was sprinkled with cinnamon and cloves, and wrapped in caramel. The texture is like the most heavenly pudding you can imagine.
Okay, yes – if you’ve ever taken a bite of an unripe astringent persimmon, you won’t ever forget the cottony, puckery experience of tasting the tannin-filled fruit.
I suspect that’s part of the reason that American or “common” persimmons don’t get as much love as their relative D. kaki, the Asian persimmon, of which non-astringent cultivars are available that are lower in tannins. These have to be
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