Persimmon Tree, No FruitWhy isn't my persimmon tree bearing fruit?

Persimmon

Persimmon-Hachiya

Kate H of Santa Cruz County Writes about Persimmon Tree:

I am a backyard gardener in Santa Cruz County with a 9 year old Fuyu persimmon that has never borne fruit, nor indeed effectively bloomed.  Last year it had two blossoms for the first time, this year there are none.  It seems to get adequate sun, water, and I have fed it for the past three years at the suggestion of our local nurseryman. Other than not blooming it is a beautiful tree. When I planted it I cut off the terminal trunk at four feet off the ground, well above an apparent graft six inches or so above ground, in an attempt to get the tree to crown at a lower height.

My question is; should I just tear the damn thing out at this point and try with a new tree?  Could I only have root stock on this thing.Is there anything you might suggest to encourage blooming?  I recognize the non-showy flowers, and do not think it is a case of nonpollination, but would planting another fuyu help?  Any suggestions you can give would be welcomed.

Thanks much!

Hi Kate, thanks for your message!
All fruit trees should bloom and give fruit by at least nine years of age if not sooner.  It sounds like your tree may have bad genetics.  Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to force the tree to bloom. If you know anyone (maybe a Master Gardener?) good at grafting, or want to try it yourself, here’s a link to a publication that may help. It would seem a shame to pull out such a beautiful tree. I’m curious where you purchased it. Usually local nurseries do a great job of providing high quality trees. However, if you did decide to pull it out and replace it, you’d have a tree producing persimmons in the first year or so, and after a few years a large crop of fruit.

I planted a fuyu persimmon tree just two years ago, and last year harvested about 35 persimmons. Writing about persimmons makes me wish for winter again! I can never get enough.

I hope this information helps, keep me posted!

Anne

Comments

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31 Comments

  1. I too have a 6 year old Fufu that only produces one piece of fruit a year. The tree has beautiful leaves and is about 10 ft tall. How often do you water and prune? I live in California zone 7-9, tree gets full sun. Hope you can help.

    • Hi Linda, I love fuyu persimmons, yum! Sorry to hear you aren’t getting much fruit. It’s important to water your tree deeply each month, especially during the dry season (May-September). To water deeply, use the tree canopy as a guide for where to set drip irrigation or a hose. Water for several hours each month. (Sprinkler water isn’t enough to reach deep roots).

      Major pruning should be done when the tree is young to help create branches that have adequate spacing. However, fuyus can withstand fairly heavy pruning, so you can still create some structure in your tree (maybe you already have). Prune after you’ve harvested the fruit (December/January). Keep 3-4 main branches with wide angles that are spaced around the tree like the spokes of a tire. Each of these main branches can have 2-3 smaller branches. Prune everything else off carefully, making sure not to wound the tree. You may want to pick up a pruning book on the topic. I wish I had some photos to show you…and I hope this helps!
      Anne

  2. Hi, we have a similar problem: now in our 3rd year and each year the tree only had 1 or 2 fruit–and they all dropped off while about 2 inches in diameter and very green. For 2 years I’ve given it fruit tree pound-in fertilizer stakes out on the drip line. Also, it is in the front yard and gets maximium sun exposure.
    WHAT CAN WE DO TO MOTIVATE FRUIT PRODUCTION?
    Harry

    • Hi Harry, often persimmon trees won’t bear until about 5 years of age. In the meantime, make sure to water the tree deeply. They need at least 48″ of water each year. Fertilizing is best done when tree shoots start to grow but before they reach 12″ long, avoid over-fertilizing, because too much nitrogen can actually cause fruit drop. If you follow the fruit stake directions you should be fun. If you live in a very hot climate, it could be that the tree needs a bit of shade. Persimmon trees can live for over 50 years, so your tree is still young. Hopefully in the next two years you will see some fruit. Keep me posted!

  3. I am a backyard gardener and planted 2 persimmon trees about 20 years ago. Same location, exposure, watering, fertilizer treatment (manure/bedding from our sheep). The first tree got fruit after a few years. We did not prune correctly and halve of the tree split. I took about 5 more years before I got fruits. Most year the fruits are large and sometimes the fruits are small like a golfball. The second tree never gave any fruit and about after 19 years I suddenly had about 15 fruits, they were large and beautiful. The birds beat me to them I think I got 2 fruits. The next year the tree was loaded with large fruits. It took 20 years to get fruit and because I have acreage I never thought of pulling the tree out. It grew, looked nice but no fruit. This year I pruned a little late (buds showing) and I cam curious if I will get fruit from now on on a yearly basis. I am in zone 9 (Santa Rosa, CA towards Sebastopol) but my place usually gets the fog and cools down in the early evening. Enjoy your tree even without fruits it is a beautiful and bugfree tree.

    • Hi Irene, does your tree have fruit? I apologize for not writing earlier, I was locked out of my website for a while. I’m not as tech savvy as I need to be!
      Anne

  4. I just planted my persimmon fuyu tree and gave it deep enough ground 3x the size of the roots I heard and twice or more as wide in Full Sun according to the directions living in the Urban south of Ga our climate is hot and off and on dry in summer but damp in August plenty of green blooms and buds tree was about 6ft tall when I got it.Wondered and heard do you need to plant two at a time to get lots of fruits?and how many years will it take thanks!Does it need to be covered in frost winter?

    • Hi Phyllis, it sounds like you might live in USDA Zone 9? If this is correct then you shouldn’t need to cover your tree in the winter. It usually takes Asian persimmon trees (like Hachiya and Fuyu) 2-3 years to begin bearing fruit.

  5. We have to Persimmon trees for 5 years now. One started to flower this year, but then they all fell off. Any reason why? I have never seen them grow so I do not know if this is normal?
    Thanks

    • Hi Steve, has your tree ever produced fruit? some fruit and flower drop is normal with trees and is the way they naturally “thin” themselves to get rid of extra fruit. If you’ve never gotten fruit, it could have to do with the way you are watering. Deep water is the best for any kind of tree. Place a soaker hose around the base of tree, 2-3 feet away from the trunk and water for several hours. You can do the same thing with a garden hose, leave it at the base of the tree for several hours each month. this will help the tree stay healthy.

  6. Our persimmon tree is in full sun. It’s probably 7 years old. This year it’s looking very sad. The leaves are turning in and droopy. What do u suggest. I had 6 pieces of fruit last year, and this year there are two. We live in so ca. Granada hills.

    • Hi Rose Ann, how often are you watering the tree? Is it in a lawn? Drooping leaves are usually a sign of not enough water. The best way to water a tree is to give it “deep water.” You can do this by putting a garden hose underneath the tree and turning the water on low for several hours. Or use a soaker hose and place that around the base of the tree about 2-3 feet away from the trunk. You may need to do this every month during the dry season. Also, don’t fertilize your tree. Persimmon trees do not require much fertilizer. Hopefully the tree leaves will show signs of recovery. If not, continue the monthly schedule and by next spring your tree should show signs of improvement.
      Anne

  7. I have about 6 yr old Persimmon tree.
    On the 2nd year after I planted, I got about 100 friuts. After that ,I am getting less and less each year. 20 fruits, then 5 fruit and that 2. I gave 10-10-10 last fall and this spring and I had unusually more flowers which turned many many little fruits. They pretty much all dropped and I have about 3 friuts this year.
    Soil is well draining, I live in NY and we get a lot of rain in spring and summer.
    I confess I didn’t prune much ( because I was afraid of cutting branches)
    Anything else I should do ??

  8. My persimmon tree is over 10 years old. It bears lots of fruits but it never grows to more than a dime in diameter. The fruits grow almost on each leaf of a branch. Please help … I love persimmons.

    • Hi Catherine, I apologize for my late reply. I’m sorry to hear about your persimmon tree that bears dime size fruit. I’ve heard about a Texas persimmon tree that bears small fruits like what you describe, however they are a dark brown color. Do you know which variety you have?

  9. I have two persimmon trees that are 10 years old and have been giving fruit for several years. This year we had an exceptionally cold winter (St Louis) that lasted longer than usual. When the leaves started to bud we had another hard freeze and as a result we have no leaves, no buds, nothing.

    I am not convinced the trees have died because they are sprouting new branches (including leaves) around the trunk. Could they just be dormant?

    • Hi Leroy, sorry for my late reply. Did your trees begin to bud finally? I hope so.
      Anne

      • The existing branches on my trees did not produce leaves but it did start growing new branchs from the bases. Most of the old branches are dead, but I have hopes some of the larger branches will recover next year. Any advise you can give me would be appreciated.

        • I’m sorry to hear the old branches are dead. They may not recover and if so you’ll want to prune them off the tree. Depending on how large they are you may want to have a certified arborist do so for you. Perhaps you can recreate the tree from the newer branches. Have you thought about contacting your local cooperative extension office/master gardeners? If you aren’t sure how to contact them let me know which city and state you live in and I can look it up for you.

  10. we have 5 persimmon trees we found today . But one we know we have had bears fruit every year . However they were already here in the edge of our woods when we bought our land . They were not purchased at a nursery because the land had always been wooded and we cleared land to build our house in 2000 . The trees are 40 to 50 feet tall. We didn’t know we had the others because they have never had fruit on them. why does one bear fruit and the others don’t. we are in North Carolina . please send suggestions for next year to make the others produce if you ant to help. Thanks Gina Pope

  11. SORRY AGAIN SHOULD SAY ANY SUGGESTIONS THAT CAN HELP THEM TO PRODUCE NEXT YEAR . THANKS AGAIN

    • Hi Gina, thanks for submitting your question. I did some research and apparently there are several different kinds of persimmon trees, and not all bear fruit. I’m thinking the best thing to do would be to take a sample branch of the tree into your local Cooperative Extension Office. I found a link with the counties of NC that should help guide you to Master Gardeners who can better answer your question. I hope this helps, please keep me posted!
      Anne

  12. I also have a fuyu persimmon that is many years old and has (almost) never fruited. It is apx 14 years old and is a beautiful tree. I have gotten one fruit only during each of two growing seasons. That is all. I have never noticed any flowers. I live in Berkeley and have my tree on a drip system and I do fertilize. Others I know have gotten loads of fruit after 2-3 years. It is such a beautiful tree that I am hesitant to give up on it. I did buy it from a very reputable nursery. Should I keep trying or pull it out?

    • Anne

      January 23, 2016 at 7:08 pm

      Hi Anne Marie, I’m sorry to hear about your tree. I came across this article and thought it might help. It has a few suggestions that you may not have tried. Have you tried contacting Berkeley Hort nursery to get an opinion? http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/persimmon/persimmon-tree-not-fruiting.htm

    • Amazingly, after all these years, my fuyu persimmon finally started fruiting this year (my original post is above). I’m getting tons of fruit. I’ve already harvested about 20 fruits and there are probably another 60 or more on the tree. Only certain branches are fruiting. It’s very exciting and I just want to tell others on here, DON’T GIVE UP. If you have a nice looking, healthy tree like I do and it’s just not fruiting, give it time. I’m glad I didn’t pull it out, as some suggested.

  13. I get tons of persimmon fruits every year
    This year the tree is not bearing any fruits
    Do you know why?
    Could it be squirrels
    But there is literally no fruits
    I did not prune it

    • Anne

      October 26, 2016 at 2:05 am

      Hi Fatima, how old is your persimmon tree? Also, what USDA zone do you live in? They do best in USDA zones 7-10, and sometimes heat or cold can affect them.

      Also, persimmons sometimes bear in alternate years and some years may not have as much fruit. The lack of flowers might mean there is not enough phosphorus in the soil. You can try adding bone meal around the base of the tree.

      I hope this helps!

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