DaveH

How do you get the stinkin' seeds to germinate? Numerous times now, I' ve extracted the seeds from the persimmon fruits and attempted to germinate them for later transplanting. I' ve tried freezing them for weeks in my freezer, planting them in potting soil and between wet sheets of paper towels in a zip-lock bag. To date, I' ve had ZERO success with it. I have limited access to persimmons since they aren' t common in my area and that' s why I' d like to get some started.

One more thing . . . how long does it take for them to mature enough to bear fruit?

Tree climber

they do seem to be hard to get to sprout.I don' t know why or how to get them up.
as for age to produce,it take a long time.
my " advice" is to go to a farm that raises them and get some tame varity or see if they will sell you some of there wild rootstock.they will produce in a couple of years(wild ones in my area takes a lot of years).one area I hunt there are some large trees with young ones around them.the larget trees have fruit each year,the youngs ones are 7 or 8 years old and have not produced yet.

good luck on getting them up.

timbercruiser

Someone told me they had to pass through a possum before they would sprout, not sure if it is true. I know some seeds benefit from the gastric juices of animals breaking down the exterior of the seeds. You might swallow a few and .....well lets don' t go there. It does take a long time for wild persimmons to produce.

Russ otten

I have two trees in my yard. As was said above, it takes a few years for the trees to mature. The deer, coon and possum all go for the fruits; and some of them leave droppings under the tree. This year I had a bunch of seedlings come up. I had not been waiting long enough to give them a chance to sprout, kept the lawn mowed.
This year I did not mow under the trees, and it took until later May/early June for the sprouts to show. They are easy to spot; very red stems and some may have the seed still on their first leaves. If they can' t push the seed off, it dies. I transplanted with a grass plugger and replanted in different types of areas. The ones planted in very moist, (not wet) soils survived best. My survival rate is only about 30%. So far I have about 20 living from over 60 sprouts. And a long way to go before first frost. After they go dormant I plan to transplant to where I want them to grow. These are totally wild trees, not hibrides. Dan O. has managed to sprout some using a mild acid bath overnite to soften the seed hulls. I have not tried this method.
I can' t say that the seeds that sprouted passed through animals, but they did come up under the parent tree. There was a lot of deer droppings under the trees. A couple of the sprouts have grown to about a foot tall. I will repost after first frost, (about Nov. here in No. Miss.) as to the survival of any sprouts.

Dan O.

timbercruiser and Russ have it right. Soak the seeds in a weak acid solution overnight before planting. This is supposed to simulate an animals digestive tract. Some people say that using sandpaper on the seed works. That is supposed to simulate the digestive system of a bird.

Dan O.

Wooddust

If you werewhere close by you could come dig about 20 sprouts from my place....durn persimmons are a Pest!