OT: Persimmon bare root advice wanted

[drphil69]

I just got 2 persimmon trees, saijo and fuyu. They are bare-root trees, 5 ft tall. There is very little root mass.

How much do I trim off the top?

[Wisner]

With very little root mass I would probably cut off 1/3 to 1/2 of the height. Are you planning on putting them in the ground now? You could pot them and grow them for a year and then plant them after they have established themselves good in the pots. I've done that with seedling trees and it gives them a better chance of surviving.

[drphil69]

You guessed my plan! I do plan to grow them out a bit in pots and put them in ground in the fall. They look so big with a short root section, as long as it won't hurt I would do half or even more.

[Kelby]

Good luck! I understand persimmons aren't as touchy as pawpaws, but still dislike being barerooted.

I have a TamKam coming (potted) next month.

[drphil69]

Thanks Kelby.

[King Fig]

Your plan is a good one. Just fyi, I grow Fuyu, Fuyu Imoto, Suruga, Hachiya, Tanashi, and Saijo.

Dan
Semper Fi-cus

[drphil69]

Dan, your description of Saijo is why I bought it!

[jerrybrother83]

What I'm wandering is if you just got them. Or they already top pruned before the were shipped. If if so you shouldn't need to prune again. If I were going to pot them anyway i would just pot it and let it go. Just assuming watering won't be an issue in the heat of summer. All that being said I would throw that sucker in the ground. It is set back now as barefoot and will be set back again next year. If you plant it now it can be recovered and in great shape to take off next spring.

[drphil69]

I just got them yesterday, delivered by FedEx. I typically expect bare root trees to be top trimmed by the nursery but for some reason these weren't.

[jerrybrother83]

Just my opinion but I will baby a newly rooted fig cutting but not a 5' tall persimon. Let it be a tree.
good luck

[drphil69]

Thanks Jerry.

[drphil69]

In case anyone is interested, here are photos of the trees as received through re-potting. I decided to go with "about half" off the top... maybe a bit more. I sealed the tips with tree wound sealant and secured the trunks 3 ways by drilling holes around the top of the buckets and tying with paracord, to keep the roots stable on windy days. Those are six (6) gallon buckets in the photos, same diameter as 5 gallon but about 15% taller. I plan to put in ground in NC in the fall. I will cut the bottom off of the buckets and bury them with 2-3 inches above grade. This is to provide some protection against RKN, which is prevalent in coastal NC and evident in my yard there, as well as to limit disturbing the roots further. I do not know if persimmon are susceptible to RKN but I planned to do it this way anyway.


Edit: sorry about photo order, I couldn't figure out how to change it.

[Wisner]

Good luck with them. My fuyu tree has been in the ground 4 years and I am hoping this year to get some fruit. I got to taste some fuyu last year from a friend and they were great.

[Wisner]

This is my Fuyu from about a month ago just leafing out. I also have a Eureka,Hashiya, and a Tani Nashi. The wire around it is to keep the cows from damaging it.

[drphil69]

I like it! I know I have a long wait. We had a wild persimmon tree growing in a patch of woods on a nearby farm as kids. I remember my first taste... tricked into trying it before ripe. For a long time I thought that's what they tasted like. Then I remember delight tasting my first full tree ripened persimmon! They were really small, barely a mouthful each but delicious. While I'm waiting I'll have figs!

[Charitup]

Phil my experience is that I would of done the same with no more roots than that whack them back a lot. Which is what you have done. The bare root trees are a lot slower taking off than potted trees. I planted a fuyu bare root last year and it took forever to leaf out and grew hardly any the first summer. This spring it is already leafed out and coming on strong though. Hope they all live for you.

blessings'
goss

[drphil69]

Thanks Goss. Good luck with yours as well.

[indestructible87]

Ive had no luck getting bareroot persimmons to survive, ive planted three of them over the years all were very large, over 8 feet with small roots. After a few months they would be completely dead. If they wouldve grew it wouldve been a great deal as it was $25 or so each. Maybe it was my fault though, I hope you have better luck though Phil and keep us posted.

[Wisner]

The thing about a bareroot tree is, after you plant it in the ground and water it in good, you need to make sure to water it if it doesn't rain every week. If the roots dry out the tree will quickly die. That is why I recommended potting them for the first year and planting them with an established root ball that will take off growing with more roots when it is planted in the ground.

[Kelby]

I work at a garden center, we get persimmons that were barerooted on the west coast, sent east and potted by a nursery in MD who grows them for a year. They always do really poorly and are seldom well rooted.

[drphil69]

Looks like I have my work cut out for me. That's ok, I enjoy a challenge. With it being potted I can baby it. And if it they do poorly this year I can wait to put in ground another year. I'm glad figs provide fruit quickly.

[Snaglpus]

Getting bareroot ones to strike is a challenge. I bought 4 different varieties 2 years ago. I soaked the roots in Fertilome's root stimulator for an hour, then planted them in the ground. They all survived and are now 7' tall. The 4 I got are Hachiya, Saijo, Honan Red, and another I can't remember at the moment. I got lucky planting mine. And I planted them just after the last frost. Should have plenty to eat this year.

[drphil69]

What does 'to strike' mean? Congrats on your success. I have some fertilome so I will water with it until it gets going.

[Wisner]

" To strike" means for a tree to take root and establish itself growing.

[drphil69]

It's been 6 weeks and no sign of life in my persimmons yet... AND I just noticed the dreaded fungus gnats at the holes in the bottom of the planters. They are in 5 gallon buckets (pics above) and on drip irrigation with my figs. I hit them a couple of times with fertilome root stimulator, as well as MG.

[drphil69]

Time to mix up a big batch of gnat nix!

[Wisner]

IMO, I don't think you need them on drip irrigation at this point. I would think you need to let the pots dry out some between watering, maybe water after a few days.

[Kelby]

Persimmons are weird plants, don't be surprised if it's another month til they wake up if they've been barerooted.

[drphil69]

Thanks Kelby. Hopefully they are still alive.

[Pino]

Phil,
I planted a couple of bare root persimmons in ground a month or so ago and they took a good month to start to leaf out. They are starting to grow now so I have my fingers crossed.

I notice in your 1st photo the roots are black. Is this normal for persimmon or does it indicate the roots on plant 1 are damaged?

[Wisner]

Pino, I think it is normal. One of mine looked like that and it is growing good.

[Kelby]

Wisner is right, persimmons are odd and have black roots. They are in the ebony family.

[Pino]

Thanks Kelby and Wisner! That's good to know!.