Gardening and Horticulture - Persimmon trees dropping fruit

Hi All,

I put down a couple of persimmon trees and they both put out a lot of blossoms. The problem is that it looks like most of the fruit is dropping before they achieve any size. Has anyone run into this and, if so, is this normal? If not, is there something I can do to fix it before they all fall?

Thanks

How long ago did you plant the trees? There are a number of environmental reasons that can cause premature fruit drop. Lack of moisture. Too much nitrogen. Not enough sunshine. Late freeze can cause premature fruit drop. Depending on cultivar, fruit can reach maturity without pollination, but others require pollination to prevent premature fruit drop or failure to develop fruit.

More info is needed to determine the cause of the premature fruit drop. Please provide a little more history and info re: environmental conditions.

Thanks for the quick response, Twelvepole.

The cultivar is Fuyu Jiro - that is what it said on the card attached to the tree when it was purchased. I actually have 2 trees - one planted last fall and the other planted about 2 months ago. They are about 20' feet apart. I'm in Maryland near DC and we have had a fair amount of rain so far this year. Their location gives them plenty of sun exposure. There was some cold weather after I planted the second one, but no freeze. The second one planted seems to be struggling a bit but the first one looks great, with very healthy growth. I can actually see the tiny fruit (buds ??) turn black and then fall off.

Do they need to be constantly moist (daily watering)? If it's a nitrogen problem, how can I fix that? Or could it be a pollination problem (the decimated bee population??)?

As an aside, I have a fig tree not very far from them, and it is doing great. It did drop the small initial spring crop of figs but it has since generated a lot of new growth (because of all the rain, I guess) and there are lots of fruit which seem to be maturing nicely.

Thanks

I'm no persimmon expert, but we gathered wild American persimmons when I was a kid. First frost brought down the sweet fribrous golden orange globes. I later lived on a property that had a huge old persimmon.

It seems oriental persimmons are prone to fruit drop. What is confusing is that there are the fuyu and then there are the jiro persimmons. Both are non-astringent (not as bitter before ripening as astringent). Fuyu jiro (Diopyros kaki) is a Japanese name, but the variety is native to China. It reaches 20-30' in height and 15-20' in width at maturity.

Your sun exposure is good. Spacing is good.

Late cold snap or frost could have affected buds. Symptoms of struggling after planting is often due to transplant shock. Persimmon roots are fragile and can be easily damaged. Needs for water are moderate. Water new trees once a week deeply to encourage strong roots to go in search of water. Do not water daily! If you see that you are going into a dry stretch, do water, as persimmons can suffer from drought. Soil should be well drained. Too much water or too little water can present the same symptoms. Soil should be moist, not wet or dry.

Too much nitrogen can cause fruit drop. Don't fertilize during first year. (See fertilizer link below.) Too much nitrogen causes a focus on producing green growth and not setting fruit.

Diospyros kaki produces fruit without pollination. Any stress can cause fruit to drop. Heat, cold, drought, standing water or flood. Once well-established fruit drop becomes less of a problem.

You did mention cold weather. You mention you had some fig fruit drop and expressed concerns about too much rain. Sounds like environmental factors for both the fig and the persimmons.

http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi?uid=Diospyros_kaki

Excellent article on oriental persimmons: http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:h6nVkmrS6d8J:msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1446.pdf+persimmon+fruit+buds+drop&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us


Watering fruit and nut trees: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/fruitwatering.html

Fertilizing: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/fgfertilizing.html