Common Persimmon

Common Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Height: 40 feet Spread: 35 feet Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade Hardiness Zone: 4a Other Names: American Persimmon, Eastern Persimmon
 
Description: The Common Persimmon is a beautiful multi-stemmed fruit tree that can sometimes be single-stemmed. It typically has a round-topped, open, and erect habit. For fruit production, both male and female trees are required. This tree benefits from shelter against damaging winds.
 
Edible Qualities: The Common Persimmon is typically grown for its edible qualities, though it has ornamental merits as well. It produces orange round fruits (technically 'pomes') that are usually ready for picking from late summer to early fall. The fruits have a sweet taste and are most often used for fresh eating and preserves.
 
Features & Attributes:
Foliage: Dark green leaves with grayish-green undersides. The glossy oval leaves turn orange in the fall.
Fruits: Showy orange pomes carried in abundance in late summer. The fruits can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways and may require occasional clean-up.
Bark: The tree's warty gray bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.
 
Landscape Attributes:
Open multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a rounded form.
Average texture that blends into the landscape but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
High-maintenance plant requiring regular care and upkeep. Best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed.
Good choice for attracting birds to your yard.
No significant negative characteristics.
 
Recommended Uses:
Accent
Shade
Vertical Accent
Orchard/Edible Landscaping
 
Planting & Growing:
Grows to about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 35 feet.
Low canopy with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, making it unsuitable for planting under power lines.
Grows at a medium rate and can live for 60 years or more under ideal conditions.
This is a female variety of the species that requires a male selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit.
Can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, though it is usually grown in a designated edibles garden.
Thrives in full sun to partial shade.
Very adaptable to both dry and moist locations and should do well under average home landscape conditions. May require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat.
Not particular about soil pH but grows best in sandy soils.
Somewhat tolerant of urban pollution and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location.
This species is native to parts of North America.