Please be aware that our Persimmon trees are seedlings planted in a 1-gallon container, similar to our blueberries. The are not 3′ to 7′ trees like most of our other fruit trees.
Persimmon trees are male and female, and it takes at least one of each to have persimmons. The fruit will grow only on the female tree. Unfortunately, it is not possible to tell whether the tree is male or female when they are this young. You won’t be able to tell until they are 3 to 5 years old. We recommend that you purchase at least 2 trees unless you already have persimmons in the location. However, we cannot guarantee that they will be male and female, so if you have room, more is better.
Persimmons are native to this area, so they are a great native tree to plant. If you do get fortunate enough to end up with a male and a female, and thus one of the trees produces persimmons, they are a good food source for both humans and wildlife.
Did you know that another name for persimmons in “Sugar Plums”? No, it wasn’t a plum that the “Sugar Plum Fairy” was named after. It was a persimmon. Persimmons are incredibly sweet when ripe, but so sour they are inedible if underripe. And, strangely enough, persimmons are not ripe until they look like they are rotten. The skin will be wrinkled and the fruit mushy. If you attempt to eat a persimmon that is underripe, it isn’t toxic, but it will cause mouth and throat dryness and irritation due to a tannin that exits in the fruit before it ripens. Though, the fruit is so sour at that point that it is not likely most people would care to consume one.
Persimmon trees grow 10′ to 30′ tall and can bear fruit for up to 75 years. They begin to fruit at about 4 to 9 years. The persimmon fruits are about the size of a golf ball and will be bright orange.
Fun fact: Persimmon trees can only grow in higher elevations and, thus are well-suited to Garrett County and the surrounding area.
