Diospyros lotus
Origin: Central Asia (via China)
Improvement status: Landrace
Seeds per packet: ~10
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Dateplum persimmon, often just called "date-plum," is a small-fruited persimmon species native from Central Asia to the Caucasus Mountains, but now cultivated across Eurasia. It was one of the earliest cultivated trees. The fruit are small, around the size of a cherry, but they make up for their small size with a rich sweet flavor, particularly after drying or bletting. When fresh they resemble other persimmons, with smooth yellow-orange skin, but as they dry they become somewhat shriveled and their color changes to blue-black. Fresh fruit are astringent, but bletted and dried fruit tend to lose all traces of astringency. It's believed this is the fruit that ancient Greek people had in mind when they came up with the name now used for the persimmon, Diospyros (Διός πυρός, or Diós pŷrós), meaning "God's fruit."
GROWING TIPS: Soak seeds for 24 hours then cold-moist stratify for 90 days. Start in a pot for the first couple years and then plant in a sunny permanent position. Dateplum persimmon is generally considered hardy in USDA Zones 6-9, though young trees should be protected until they become well established. New growth is also susceptible to die-back following late winter frosts.
