How to Grow Persimmon Tree

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How to grow persimmon tree well starts with three decisions made before planting: which kind of persimmon you want, how much room it needs, and whether its rootstock suits your soil. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, the University of California Cooperative Extension and Purdue University Cooperative Extension each cover those decisions. Their advice mostly agrees, and where their numbers differ, this guide shows both.

The rest is routine: water deeply through dry months, prune lightly, feed modestly, and pick the fruit at the right stage. The sections below follow that order.

Quick answer

• Choose the kind before you buy. Purdue says native American persimmons need both a male and a female tree to fruit, while Texas A&M says Oriental types must be grafted onto American rootstock in Texas.
• Plan the spacing from the guide you follow. Texas A&M gives 15 to 18 feet between trees in rows 20 feet apart, and Purdue gives about 20 by 20 feet.
• Water deeply through the dry months, because Texas A&M says growth problems, including drought, can make seedless fruit drop.
• Prune lightly. Shape young trees early, then mainly remove dead, crossing, diseased or broken wood.

Choose the kind of persimmon first

Persimmon trees fall into two groups that the guides treat separately. The native American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, grows wild over much of the southeastern United States and southern Indiana. Purdue says it can reach 40 to 50 feet and describes “a round topped head and a spreading form with often pendulous branches.” Its fruit is round or oval and usually orange, ranging to black. The Oriental persimmon, Diospyros kaki, is the species that nursery catalogs frequently advertise, and Purdue is blunt about it: “The oriental persimmon, Diospyros kaki, is not native to Indiana and is not adapted to Indiana conditions.”

Texas A&M takes a more hopeful view for its own state. Its guide opens by saying “Persimmon trees are small, easy to grow, and adapted to most of Texas.” Read regional claims as regional. The UC guide, written for Stanislaus County in California, says the trees “are easy to grow and relatively pest free,” which is a statement about care rather than cold tolerance.

Rootstock is the choice that matters most in Texas. Texas A&M says “The best rootstock for Texas is the common American persimmon,” and that “It is critical that all Oriental trees be grafted or budded onto the common persimmon because root rot is prevalent where the tree can grow.” The same guide says the American persimmon “makes excellent rootstock” for Oriental types in the southern United States. Purdue adds that improved varieties come from grafting, because seedlings do not reliably match the parent tree.

Sex matters for the native type. Purdue explains that “The persimmon is dioecious, that is, each tree produces only either male or female flowers.” It adds that “This means that both male and female trees are necessary to produce a crop of fruit.” If you plant seedlings, “it may be many years before they can be identified as male or female.” Purdue recommends buying “budded or grafted trees from a reliable nurseryman” to be sure of the type you get.

Buy a healthy tree at the right time

Texas A&M notes that “Persimmon trees are usually purchased in early winter as bare root plants.” It advises ordering early, because “To ensure that the varieties you want are available, order plants well in advance of the planting season.” Container plants from retail nurseries are an alternative, and their planting date is more flexible. Bare-root stock needs a hard prune at the start: “If you plant bare-root stock, remove at least half the top.”

Plant at the right depth and spacing

Texas A&M gives the planting instruction plainly: “Plant the tree to the same depth it grew in the nursery and water it thoroughly.” The guide adds that “Even if the soil is wet at planting, the tree needs to be watered to settle the soil around the root system.” For spacing it says “Plant the trees every 15 to 18 feet in rows that are 20 feet apart.”

Purdue uses a wider figure. “For best growth, the trees should be spaced at about a 20 x 20 feet distance to provide ample space for the tree to develop.” It also notes that in home gardens the trees “can be grown as multiple stem plants” and look attractive that way. The two figures differ, and this guide does not choose between them.

The tree’s size and form should guide where it goes. Texas A&M says “Mature trees can reach 40 feet high; some remain as shrubs less than 10 feet tall.” Purdue notes that the fall color “is not really attractive but ranges from the yellows to browns with the leaves falling quite early.” Decide on the spot before you dig, and keep the mature size in mind.

Soil, water and mulch

Texas A&M says the common American persimmon “thrives in sands to bottomland as long as the soils do not stand in water.” The same guide calls the Oriental persimmon highly susceptible to root rot, which is one more reason to start from a grafted tree rather than a bare seedling. Keep the planting site free of standing water.

Water is the other half of the job. The UC guide says “Trees must receive deep, infrequent watering.” It describes the method: “Use drip irrigation or a hose set on low and leave it until soil has been penetrated to a depth of several feet.” As the tree matures, it advises that you “use the tree canopy as a guideline for where to place irrigation.” During the dry season, May through October, it says to “water trees deeply each month.”

Texas A&M adds timing: “Supplement rainfall with irrigation during the spring growth flush and during summer, especially if the soils are shallow.” It also says that “heavy mulch and appropriate water are essential to reduce fruit drop.” To judge soil moisture before each watering, see our guide to soil moisture meters for the garden. For a timer that runs the hose on a set schedule, see hose timers for the garden.

Feed lightly and on time

Purdue keeps feeding simple: “Fertilization is not usually necessary, other than the fertilization which would normally be given to a lawn.” Texas A&M gives a number for orchards, a general recommendation of 40 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre per year. For a single home tree, the useful part is the timing. Fertilizer goes on “as the new shoots emerge in early spring,” and the guide says to “fertilize less” if “shoots grow more than 3 feet.”

Too much feed causes its own trouble. Texas A&M lists too much fertilizer among the stresses that make seedless fruit drop, so a light hand matters as much as the schedule.

Shape the tree with light pruning

Texas A&M describes shaping young plants “by pruning the shoots during the first few seasons,” aiming for “a pyramid shape with three to five main limbs at about 1-foot intervals on the trunk, beginning at about 3 feet above ground level.” Mature trees need less. The guide says to “Prune mature plants during the winter,” and to remove “crossover, shaded, diseased, and broken branches.” It also advises opening the canopy to “prevent self shading.”

The UC guide uses a different method, an open-center shape. It says to “Choose 3-4 main tree branches (called the primary scaffolds) that are attached at wide angles,” and that “The lowest scaffold branch should be 12-18 inches above the ground.” Its warning for the first year is short: “Avoid over-pruning young trees during the first season.” Purdue sees little need for cutting at all: “Pruning is not usually needed, except to limit tree size, and to correct faults such as dead or broken limbs.” Pick the method your guide uses and stay with it.

Bearing years and thinning

Purdue warns about alternate bearing: “Occasionally if an extremely large crop of fruit is born there will be a very sparse crop or none the following year.” Its remedy is early thinning: “To thin, remove half or more of the developing fruit within a month after bloom, which usually occurs in June.” It also says that “On larger trees, thinning becomes impractical,” and it says early thinning helps “especially on small or young trees.”

Texas A&M describes a related problem in seedless fruit: “Persimmons typically produce seedless fruit, which tend to drop before full maturity, reducing crop yield in some years.” It adds that thinning can help the fruit that stays on the tree grow bigger.

Pests, wildlife and harvest

Texas A&M says that “Few insect pests attack persimmons,” and that “Persimmons are largely free of serious diseases.” The guide names crown gall and anthracnose as the disease problems that have “occasionally caused problems.” Its wildlife warning is more practical: opossums, raccoons, birds, deer and rats are all drawn to the fruit. Watch the tree as the fruit ripens, because “these predators may eat the fruit before it is fully ripe.”

Leave the fruit on the tree as long as you can. Texas A&M advises that “The fruit should be allowed to hang on the tree as long as possible unless varmints are an issue; then remove the fruit with a gentle pull when they develop a vibrant orange color.”

Ripeness, freezing and storage

Texas A&M says most persimmons are astringent, except Fuyu and Izu, and that astringent fruit “must be fully ripe and soft or the astringency will really pucker your mouth.” The UC guide offers a shortcut for astringent types: “One way to hasten this process is to put the fruit in the freezer for 24-48 hours.” Non-astringent types can be eaten when crisp or soft, and the same guide says persimmons “can be refrigerated for at least a month, or frozen for 6-8 months” for long-term storage.

How we chose

We chose three university extension publications that cover planting, spacing and care for persimmon trees, and opened each one with curl on 2026-10-23. They are a Texas A&M AgriLife guide that covers both American and Oriental types, a University of California guide written for Stanislaus County, and a Purdue guide on the native American persimmon. We kept statements that each fetched page makes in plain words, and we checked every quoted sentence against the fetched text. Other extension pages returned errors or did not respond, so they are not cited.

What we could not verify

What the sources do not say

None of the three guides says how many years a tree takes to bear fruit, and none gives a yield for a home tree. None gives a cultivar that suits every region. Texas A&M calls Eureka “the best commercial variety in Texas,” and Purdue lists Indiana selections, but neither says which one a gardener in a different climate should buy. The UC sheet is dated August 2008 and the Purdue sheet was reviewed in September 2001, so some practical details may be out of date. The guides also differ on spacing and on training method, and this guide reports both without choosing.

Frequently asked questions

Does a persimmon tree need a second tree to fruit?

It depends on the kind. Purdue says native persimmons need both sexes to crop, and it notes that “In only rare instances are trees self-pollinating.” Texas A&M describes some Oriental varieties as self-fruitful, including Eureka and Fuyu, so check the variety name before you buy a second tree.

Why do young persimmons drop before they ripen?

Texas A&M says that seedless fruit “will drop if the tree experiences growth problems from too much fertilizer, excessive heat, cold, water or drought.” The same guide says heavy mulch and appropriate water reduce that loss, but “this problem cannot be eliminated.”

How far apart should persimmon trees be planted?

Texas A&M gives 15 to 18 feet between trees in rows 20 feet apart. Purdue gives about 20 by 20 feet, and says that spacing gives the tree room to grow. The sources do not say which figure fits a given yard, so measure your space against both before you dig.

How often should a persimmon tree be watered?

The UC guide says to water deeply each month during the dry season, which it defines as May through October, and to wet the soil to a depth of several feet. Texas A&M adds irrigation during the spring growth flush and through summer, especially where soils are shallow.

Can persimmons be eaten before they are fully ripe?

Astringent types pucker the mouth until they are fully ripe and soft, Texas A&M says. The UC guide says astringent types such as Hachiya are ripe when they are soft, and that freezing them for a day or two can hasten the process.

Sources

• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, “Persimmons” (E-611): https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Persimmons.pdf (opened 2026-10-23)
• University of California Cooperative Extension, Stanislaus County, “Persimmon Care” (August 2008): https://www.ccfruitandnuts.ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2011-06/111656.pdf (opened 2026-10-23)
• Purdue University Cooperative Extension, “Persimmons” (HO-108-W): https://www.arboretum.purdue.edu/explorer/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/HO-108.pdf (opened 2026-10-23)