Persimmons from seed?

[Camp]

I've got some persimmon seeds from local trees that I collected about 3 years ago. They've been in the house ever since. I've heard they need some type cold treatment and some say must pass through digestive system to germinate.

NO I'm not going to pass them! ;)

So, can I plant them with any success or should I just wait and buy some seedling this fall?

If I could get them started I wanted to hold them over here in 1 gallon containers to develop a good root system. And then plant them in the woods later.

Thinking that would be better than planting bare roots this winter.

Waste of time?

 

[TNDeerGuy]

Camp, you have a PM

 

[JWW4]

I pulled some seeds out of a pile of poo I found in the woods a year and a half ago. I planted them in wet potting soil and put them in the fridge for 12 weeks. When spring came I moved them out side. Three of the 5 germinated and 2 survived the winter. They are still in pots and doing good. I'll probably transplant them to the yard this fall.

 

[Bayou Buck]

It cant hurt to try to plant them. You can soak them in water a couple days and then plant them in potting soil. If you notice the seed swell up a little then it will probably germinate when planted.

 

[Dr2kill]

Go ahead and try them. I don't think that they will germinate but you never know. The next time you get some seed place them in a container with some damp sand in it. Then put it in the frig for at least 3 months take them out and plant them. This is a process called striation(sp?) it helps to break down the seed coat so the seed will germinate. Also remember that when you plant them put them in something that is tall. The first thing that they do after germination is send out a long taproot to get established before the actual tree breaks ground. I have planted well over 100 persimmons on the 2 properties that I hunt using this method and it has paid off. Good luck...

 

[TS_13]

Hey Dr2, how long did it take then to bear fruit?

 

[TNDeerGuy]

It cant hurt to try to plant them. You can soak them in water a couple days and then plant them in potting soil. If you notice the seed swell up a little then it will probably germinate when planted.

I do the samething every year and I have about a 80% germination rate most of the time. I have never put them in the fridge.

 

[fourwheeler431]

A friend of mine pick up several persimmons at our lease and carried them home. He just planted the whole fruit in a flower pot beside his front porch and now has 8 trees growing.

 

[spitndrum]

Bucks love em, used to have a couple trees on my old lease!

 

[PickettSFHunter]

It is a good little project to sprout them out, Ive done it with some seed I collected in South Mississipi on a Army base because they were much larger fruit than the native American persimmon in our area. But if I just wanted some American Persimmon and wasnt trying to propogate from a particular tree for certain reasons, I guess I would just pay the 1 or 2 dollars apiece for some 12inch seedlings. The method Dr2Kill mentioned is the one I used with the addition of taking a file and lightly scarifying the seed to simulate passing through a digestive tract. The seedlings got from 10-14 inches the first year. Ill probably transplant from my nursery to the woods this Fall.

 

[Camp]

Thanks for the info!

These came from a niative persimmon that had EXCEPTIONALLY large fruit. I picked the well ripe ones off the ground from under it.

 

[Dr2kill]

Hey Dr2, how long did it take then to bear fruit?

They haven't produced fruit yet they are only about 5 years old.. It may take them awhile I have read some articles that said it could take anywhere from 10-15 years to produce fruit..