Persimon and Medlar (Berries, minor fruits and fruit trees)

Zone 6a minimal. Ideal for pot culture in zone 4-5

Medlars are ornamental, flowering trees with pretty blossom, good autumn colour and fruits which are edible, although not to everyone’s taste. Their fruit is tart if eaten raw, but makes pleasantly flavoured jellies or can be used in desserts. Left to soften the fruit mellows and is a traditional, if unusual, treat.

Mohler American Persimmon.

One of our best native American fruits and hardy to minus 25 degrees F., American Persimmon can be grown in all but the coldest regions of the U.S. Our hard-to-find, grafted varieties produce bountiful crops of delicious, light-orange fruit. American Persimmon fruit is ready to eat when it is soft like a tomato and is great for fresh eating and for making delectable cookies, cakes, and other treats. American Persimmon trees are easy to keep 10-12 ft in height with pruning.

They like full to half day sun and can grow on most soils. Our varieties are partially to fully self-fertile but all will bear heavier crops with a Male tree for pollination. Naturally pest and disease resistant, our American Persimmon varieties can produce 30 lbs. or more of fruit and often begin bearing the 2nd or 3rd year after planting. This cultivar of native persimmon comes to us by way of renowned horticulturalist and rare fruit enthuisiest Lee Reich of New Paltz, NY. Lee likes this cultivar for several reasons; its very early ripening (begins at end of August in upstate New York), its proven to be quite cold hardy, and most importantly has a great flavor when fully ripe.

Latin Name: Diospyros virginiana
Site and Soil: Persimmons like 1/2 day to full sun and well-drained soil.
Pollination Requirements: Mohler American Persimmon is  partially self-fertile and will produce larger crops if planted with a Male American Persimmon
Hardiness: American Persimmon is hardy to minus 25° F.
Bearing Age: 2-3 years after planting
Size at Maturity: 10-12 ft. in height (with occasional pruning).
Bloom Time: June
Ripening Time: Late September
Yield: 30+ lbs.
Pests & Diseases: Persimmon trees are not bothered by pests or diseases.

Another new variety, Prairie Sun ™ American Persimmon produces beautiful, orange-yellow fruit, that is not only early ripening, but also delectably sweet, firm, and delicious. Apparently self-fertile, Prairie Dawn ™ bears abundant crops of large seedless fruit in our orchard. For Pot culture under zone 6