Persimmon care guide: when & how to prune, fertilize and spray

When: 3–8 weeks before the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Mar 15 – Apr 19
• zones 6–7: about Feb 18 – Mar 25
• zones 8–10: about Dec 31 – Feb 4

Light yearly pruning keeps a strong framework, keeps fruit within reach, and stops the tree from overbearing and breaking limbs.

1. Remove dead, broken, crossing and inward-growing branches, plus water sprouts and root suckers.
2. Train young trees to a modified central leader or open center with 3–5 well-spaced scaffold branches at wide angles.
3. Shorten a few of last year's longest shoots by about a third. Persimmons fruit on new growth from last year's wood, so don't remove all of it.
4. Cut back long, whippy limbs that would bend or snap under fruit.
5. Lower the height so you can harvest from the ground or a short ladder.
6. Remove no more than 20% of the canopy in a year.

Tools: Bypass pruners, Loppers, Pruning saw

When: 7–10 weeks after the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Jun 28 – Jul 19
• zones 6–7: about Jun 3–24
• zones 8–10: about Apr 15 – May 6

Persimmons often set more fruit than the brittle branches can carry, then bear little the next year. Thinning heavy crops gives bigger fruit and steadier yields.

1. Only needed in very heavy years.
2. Leave about one fruit per shoot, removing the smallest and any that are damaged.
3. Prop up heavily loaded branches with a forked pole.

When: from 2 weeks before to 2 weeks after the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Apr 26 – May 24
• zones 6–7: about Apr 1–29
• zones 8–10: about Feb 11 – Mar 11

A small feeding as buds break supports growth. Mature trees growing well need little or none.

1. Young trees: scatter a balanced organic fertilizer at half the label rate around the drip line and water it in.
2. Mature trees: top-dress with compost and skip fertilizer unless shoots grew less than 6 in (15 cm) last year.
3. Never feed after early summer. Late nitrogen causes fruit drop.

What to use: 🌿 Finished compost or composted manure · 🌿 Organic tree & shrub food (e.g. Espoma Tree-tone 6-3-2) · 🌿 Balanced organic granular fertilizer (e.g. Espoma Plant-tone 5-3-3)

When: 2–6 weeks before the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about Mar 29 – Apr 26
• zones 6–7: about Mar 4 – Apr 1
• zones 8–10: about Jan 14 – Feb 11

Smothers overwintering scale and mealybugs before they hatch. It's the lowest-toxicity insect control you can do all year.

1. Pick a calm, dry day between 40°F and 70°F (4–21°C) with no freeze forecast for 24 hours.
2. Mix the oil at the label's dormant rate.
3. Coat every branch, crotch and bark crevice until it drips.
4. Spray before buds open. Oil on tender green tissue can burn it.

What to use: 🌿 Horticultural / dormant oil (e.g. Bonide All Seasons Oil)

Caution: Don't use within 2 weeks of a sulfur spray. Don't spray blue spruce or other blue conifers; oil strips their color.

When: 2–6 weeks after the last spring frost.

• zones 3–5: about May 24 – Jun 21
• zones 6–7: about Apr 29 – May 27
• zones 8–10: about Mar 11 – Apr 8

Mulch keeps roots cool and moist, suppresses weeds and slowly feeds the soil. Applying it after the soil warms lets roots wake up first.

1. Spread 2–3 in (5–7 cm) of mulch over the root zone.
2. Keep mulch 2–3 in (5–7 cm) away from stems and trunks. Mulch piled against bark invites rot and rodents.
3. Don't go deeper than 3 in (7 cm) in total. Too much mulch suffocates roots.

What to use: 🌿 Shredded hardwood or pine bark mulch

When: from 4 weeks before to 4 weeks after the first fall frost.

• zones 3–5: about Sep 3 – Oct 29
• zones 6–7: about Sep 27 – Nov 22
• zones 8–10: about Nov 3 – Dec 29

Timing depends on type. Astringent persimmons are mouth-puckering until fully soft.

1. Non-astringent types (Fuyu, Jiro): pick when fully orange and still firm. They can be eaten crisp like an apple.
2. Astringent types (Hachiya, most American persimmons): pick when fully colored, then let them ripen indoors until jelly-soft. Only eat them then.
3. Cut the fruit with pruners, leaving the green cap on. Don't pull it off.
4. A light frost doesn't harm the fruit, and many say it improves flavor. Pick before a hard freeze.

Tools: Bypass pruners

When: from the first fall frost to 4 weeks after.

• zones 3–5: about Oct 1–29
• zones 6–7: about Oct 25 – Nov 22
• zones 8–10: about Dec 1–29

Spores of leaf spot overwinter on fallen leaves and splash back up in spring. Removing them is the single best way to prevent next year's outbreak.

1. Rake up and remove fallen leaves and dropped fruit from under the plant.
2. Bag diseased material or put it in the trash. Don't compost it unless your pile gets hot (140°F/60°C+).
3. Cut out any dead or obviously diseased twigs you can see.

Tools: Rake, Bypass pruners