Persimmon bonsai??
- Thread starter Adler
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barrosinc
Masterpiece
Princess persimmon are very much used. The other types can be used but you will need to make a large bonsai.
Steve Kudela
Shohin
They are no more difficult than anything else in my experience. I've got a younger one, no issues so far.
augustine
Chumono
I think the issue is you need a male and female for flowering/fruit. Bark can be beautiful, leaves are large. Therefore imo the assets are bark and flowers. If it doesn't work out put it back where you found it.
Giga
Masterpiece
google will be your friend here
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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Persimmon are in genus Diospyros. Many species, at least half are good for bonsai.
D rhombifolia, princess persimmon is good for smaller trees.
Diospyros virginiana is excellent for medium size to large bonsai. It has wonderful coarse checked bark, fruit is smaller than kaki, bigger than princess and better tasting in my opinion. Leaves reduce very well, surprisingly well in my experience. D kaki, biggest fruit, better for medium to large or very large bonsai.
The many tropical Diospyros are worth exploring, too many to list, I only tried one or two. Lost them to my errors.
All Diospyros seem to do better when repotted summer or autumn. Spring repotting frequently kills them.
Pruning is usually done in autumn. Spring pruning of branches frequently results in branch die back. Not always, but often enough that in Japan they only prune in late summer, through end of autumn.
Hope this helps
D rhombifolia, princess persimmon is good for smaller trees.
Diospyros virginiana is excellent for medium size to large bonsai. It has wonderful coarse checked bark, fruit is smaller than kaki, bigger than princess and better tasting in my opinion. Leaves reduce very well, surprisingly well in my experience. D kaki, biggest fruit, better for medium to large or very large bonsai.
The many tropical Diospyros are worth exploring, too many to list, I only tried one or two. Lost them to my errors.
All Diospyros seem to do better when repotted summer or autumn. Spring repotting frequently kills them.
Pruning is usually done in autumn. Spring pruning of branches frequently results in branch die back. Not always, but often enough that in Japan they only prune in late summer, through end of autumn.
Hope this helps
GGB
Masterpiece
I just passed up a common persimmon this morning in favor or a pitch pine. Diospyros virginiana is high on my list of trees I "need". Assuming you live where these grow wildly I'd also keep an eye out for American hornbeam, Carpinus carolinia (I think?). They seem hard to identify IMO, but they have great branch structure and nebari potential.
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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@Adler - what is your location? Is the persimmon you saw growing in the wild? Planted landscape? Or is it nursery stock? Knowing your location ( general, not trying to violate privacy) helps when we offer advice. You can edit your profile to include location.
@GGB - east of the Mississippi River, there are only 2 trees native that are commonly called hornbeam. Carpinus caroliniana & Ostrya virginiana. The Carpinus is called variously blue beech, muscle wood, ironwood, and loose flowered hornbeam. Bark is smooth. Ostrya is called ironwood, and hop flowered hornbeam, it has a somewhat rough bark, definitely not smooth. And seed capsule is tight, much like a hop used in brewing. The two are easy to tell apart by bark and seed structure.
The leaf shapes of Carpinus, Ostrya, Fagus (beech), elm, & hackberry all are superficially similar, it takes a while to get familiar, but in reality all have different leaves. So I get the confusion.
Yes, I think North American persimmons should be used more than they have been in the past, they are native to all of USA east of Mississippi River and southern & Eastern Canada, so they are more hardy than the Asian species.
@GGB - east of the Mississippi River, there are only 2 trees native that are commonly called hornbeam. Carpinus caroliniana & Ostrya virginiana. The Carpinus is called variously blue beech, muscle wood, ironwood, and loose flowered hornbeam. Bark is smooth. Ostrya is called ironwood, and hop flowered hornbeam, it has a somewhat rough bark, definitely not smooth. And seed capsule is tight, much like a hop used in brewing. The two are easy to tell apart by bark and seed structure.
The leaf shapes of Carpinus, Ostrya, Fagus (beech), elm, & hackberry all are superficially similar, it takes a while to get familiar, but in reality all have different leaves. So I get the confusion.
Yes, I think North American persimmons should be used more than they have been in the past, they are native to all of USA east of Mississippi River and southern & Eastern Canada, so they are more hardy than the Asian species.
GGB
Masterpiece
@Leo in N E Illinois thanks for giving me credit to that degree haha. deciduos trees are not my specialty so to me hop hornbeam looks like american, looks like slippery elm looks like american elm, seems like another few years before I can dig one confidently
