Winter Plum Diospyros virginiana

American persimmon is a woody, deciduous tree in the Ebenaceae (ebony) family. It is native to the central and eastern United States and can reach 30 to 80 feet high and 20 to 35 feet wide.  The name persimmon comes from 'putchamin', a phonetic rendering of the name used by the Algonquin tribe of the American Indians.

Persimmons are dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female trees, and you need both in order to get fruit. The persimmon flowers in spring to early summer and produces fruits in the fall. The fruits are very sweet when ripe and are a food source for many birds and mammals. The fruit has a distinctive beak at the base of the fruit.  Persimmon grows best in moist, well-drained, sandy soils in full sun to partial shade. It will tolerate hot, dry conditions, poor soils, urban conditions, and wind. Under poor conditions, the tree may maintain a 15-foot shrub-like appearance. The tree can be propagated by grafting, root cutting, or seed, but a deep taproot makes it difficult to transplant.  American persimmons will not bear fruit right away.  Trees propagated from seeds begin producing fruit in 4-9 years.  Grafted trees need 3 years. It may take as many as 10 years for trees to come into full production.  

Branches do not contain terminal buds. A new leaf forms where a terminal bud usually appears.  That is because this tree never goes fully dormant.  Another distinctive characteristic of this tree is its bark.  It has a thick, dark gray bark that is divided by furrows into square blocks resembling a checkerboard, sometimes called “alligator bark.” Fall leaf color ranges from yellow to orange to bright red. 

It can be grown as an ornamental or fruit tree in the home landscape, or in naturalized areas for wildlife. Thus, it can be placed in many types of gardens: a butterfly, children's, native, nighttime, pollinator, or rain garden.  With spectacular autumn foliage and fruit that extends the harvest late into the fall, they are an excellent addition to an edible landscape.  Fruit can stay on the tree after the leaves have fallen unaffected by freezing temperatures, giving an attractive addition to a winter garden.

Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: Leaf spot may occur.  Fruit drop can be messy.

VIDEO Created by Elisabeth Meyer for "Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Nuts" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.