Persimmon, the kaki tree

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Orange-red fruits shaped like tomatoes cling to the bare branches long after the leaves have fallen, turning the persimmon (Diospyros kaki) into what looks like a giant clementine tree from afar. The kaki is edible and among the richest tree fruits for provitamin A — give it full sun, summer heat and freely draining soil, and it will fruit.

It’s remarkable thanks to its famous kaki fruits that look like large orange tomatoes.

Planting persimmon

Best is to plant your persimmon in fall in good garden soil which you can blend all-purpose or planting soil mix into.

You can plant it in spring but you’ll have to increase the watering over the 1^st months.

This tree grows rather slowly, so indulge and purchase larger specimens from the start.

• Persimmon loves sunbathed locations to produce nice persimmon fruits.
• To produce the kaki, the persimmon tree requires heat in summer.
• It can’t bear stagnating water, so it will need soil that drains extremely well, especially during its first few years.
• Stake the tree properly upon planting to ensure it stays upright in case of gusts of wind. This will help root development by stabilizing the plant.

Caring for and pruning a persimmon tree

The kaki tree requires only little care, even though certain practices will certainly help spur growth and fruit formation.

Watering the persimmon tree

• Water often, especially in case of elevated temperatures, during the first years that follow the planting.
• Adding fertilizer isn’t necessary.

Pruning persimmon trees

• In winter, prune dead wood and fragile branches.
• Remove in-growing branches that shoot out from the base.
• Ensure the center of the tree receives proper light and warmth.

• Mulch the root zone with organic matter, keeping it clear of the trunk itself.
• Leave most branch tips intact, because the kaki carries its fruit on new shoots growing from the previous year’s wood.
• Persimmon wood is brittle, so thin crowded fruit clusters or prop up the lowest laden branches before they snap.

Good to know about persimmon, the kaki tree

Whether people look up to it intrigued or puzzled, this tree never goes by unnoticed by persons who haven’t yet seen it before.

Indeed, the remarkable fall-born fruits catch the eye: the kakis are magnetizing in that respect.

Even after the leaves have fallen, the fruits are still attached to the tree. These famous kaki fruits are orange-red in color and look like tomatoes from up close but make the tree look like a giant clementine tree from afar.

Kaki is edible and actually is very interesting when used in cooking:

• It bears high levels of glucose
• It is one of the richest tree fruits of all for provitamin A.
• You’ll also absorb lots of carotene and vitamin C.

Landscaping with persimmon

An excellent tree to pair with older constructions: stone masonry, wood cottages, and other ancient buildings will look even nicer with this heirloom fruit tree growing nearby.

In modern homes, it will look surprising as well, since the bare tree keeps its fruits in winter, giving it a somewhat abstract appearance many find appealing.

<!– Cooking: delicious recipes with kaki as an important ingredient.–>

Which persimmon variety to plant

Persimmon cultivars split into two camps: the non-astringent ones you can bite into while still firm, and the astringent ones that must be blet or dried before they are palatable. The table below compares the varieties most often offered by fruit-tree nurseries and garden centres.

Which persimmon variety to plant

Variety	Astringency	Fruit	Harvest window	Best use
Rojo Brillante	Astringent	Large, elongated, glossy orange	Late	Blet, or firm once treated
Hana Fuyu (Giant Fuyu)	Non-astringent	Very large, flattened	Mid to late	Dessert fruit, eaten firm
Fuyu	Non-astringent	Medium, flattened tomato shape	Mid to late	Eaten firm, sliced raw
Jiro	Non-astringent	Large, squarish, flat-topped	Mid	Crisp slicing, salads
Izu	Non-astringent	Medium, rounded	Earliest	Fresh eating, short seasons
Hachiya	Astringent	Large, acorn-shaped, pointed	Late	Blet, purée, baking
Saijo	Astringent	Small, oblong, very sweet	Mid	Drying, spoon fruit
Tanenashi	Astringent	Large, conical, seedless	Mid	Purée, drying, ornament

Harvesting and keeping kaki or persimmons

The kaki fruit can be harvested when the epidermis of the fruit loses its green hue and turns orange.

However, don’t eat it immediately because the fruit must still mature and ripen before being ingested.

• To ensure it ripens well, set it out to dry in the sun for a few days, or store it together with apples in a dry and ventilated place.

If you don’t wait, you’ll cringe because of its astringent taste, which disappears after a time of maturing. The kaki is ready to eat when it is soft, actually beyond ripening: this is called bletting.

• When simply ripe, they keep for a few days in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator.
• If the fruit is already blet, its keeping is much shorter, about 1 to 2 days.

From picking to eating: the four stages of a kaki

A persimmon that is ready to pick is not yet ready to eat. The table below follows the fruit from the tree to the plate, with how long it keeps at each stage.

From picking to eating: the four stages of a kaki

Stage	How to tell	Can you eat it?	Keeping
Ready to pick	The skin loses its green hue and turns orange	No — it must still mature	Goes on to ripen off the tree
Maturing after picking	Set out in the sun, or kept with apples	Not yet	A few days in a dry, ventilated place
Simply ripe	Astringency has gone, flesh still firm	Yes	A few days in the vegetable drawer
Blet	Soft, beyond ripening	Best eating stage	About 1 to 2 days

Waiting for that soft, blet stage is what turns an astringent fruit into a sweet one.

Smart tip about kaki or persimmon

The kaki is a fruit that is very easy to cook, you can find a great many recipes that are very healthy!

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Images: own work: Rosalyn & Gaspard Lorthiois; Pixabay: Дарья Яковлева, 刚 吴, Heung Soon, ihadlock50