Where and how does persimmon grow?

Bright fruits of rich orange color appear every year on the shelves in late autumn. However, it is impossible to see them in the gardens of central Russia.

Persimmon is the birthplace of subtropical regions of Asia, this culture is widely distributed from the Caucasus to China and Malaysia. Nevertheless, scientists say that it is possible to grow tasty persimmon in the central part of our country.

The plants of the persimmon family are very tall trees, which in favorable conditions can reach 8 m in height. This is a long-lived tree, whose age at home approaches 500 years. The plant is characterized by a sprawling crown and long branches, located as if in a drooping position.

Leaves ovate-heart-shaped, elongated, color - pale green. As they develop, their shade changes and darkens, the lamina is very smooth with a network of pronounced veins. With the onset of autumn foliage turns yellow and gradually falls.

The culture is characterized by the presence of female and male plants, so in order to get a harvest on the plantation it is necessary to plant several seedlings of each sex so that they can cross-pollinate each other.

Female-type persimmon blooms with single flowers with expanded sepals and a corolla about 3 cm in size. Male flowers are placed on shoots rather crowded, usually in inflorescences, collected in 2-5 pieces. Their shape is narrowed, in appearance resembles wine glasses, petals of a light yellow hue.

Depending on the growing area, the flowering of an adult persimmon can begin at any time from mid-March to May.

Fruiting begins in November, which is why most often the persimmon appears in stores at the beginning of winter, it is almost impossible to find it in spring and summer.

Probably, many have seen photographs in which absolutely bare trees are covered with orange fruits. The point here is that the fruits continue to ripen even after the leaves are completely falling off, and the first frost begins outside.

Persimmon has a high yield. As a rule, up to 80 kg of fruit can be harvested from a single tree, and in favorable growing conditions this figure can reach 250 kg.

People have appreciated the rich taste of ripe persimmon for a very long time. Today, this plant is cultivated in those countries where this is favored by natural and climatic conditions.

Thanks to the work of breeders, frost-resistant hybrids were bred, after which persimmon significantly expanded its growing area.

Fruit trees with a long growing season can be found in the gardens of Europe, as well as in North America, Australia and even Japan. Orange fruit comes to the counters of Russian stores most often from Israel, Turkey or the Caucasian countries - these trees have been growing there for centuries, adapted to the climatic features of these places.

At the very beginning of the 20th century, persimmon was grown in the Crimea, and research began on the creation of varieties adapted to the conditions of the Russian regions. Among the main achievements of scientists can be called the variety "Rossiyanka", as well as "Burgundy Nikitinskaya" - they rather abundantly bear fruit on this peninsula, freeze temperatures of up to 25 degrees without any damage.

The natural conditions of persimmon growth are climatic zones, in which the warm period lasts most of the year. Due to the breeding of varieties resistant to frost, the northern limit of crop cultivation was pushed to the southern regions of our country - the Rostov region.

Conducting observations on the development of trees in the Crimea, in Belarus, as well as on the Black Sea coast and in North Ossetia, it was possible to identify the key factors affecting the development of a tree and its level of productivity.

It should be noted that on open soils trees grow in areas well lit by sunlight and protected from wind gusts. A plot of land should not be located in a lowland, where snow and meltwater lie for a long time, but neither should trees be planted in areas where the groundwater is high.

Persimmon is quite unpretentious to the composition of the soil, however, with the over-application of organic fertilizers it can react by dropping the formed ovary and, accordingly, by the lack of harvest.

In countries and regions where persimmon is grown, trees begin to bloom during the warmer months, and the fruits fully reach maturity and ripen before the onset of severe frost. Therefore, if persimmon is grown in the northern territories and in Siberia, the plant should be protected from frost, but as for only those crops that are grown for ornamental purposes, fruit trees do not survive there.

You will learn more about the places where persimmon grows by watching the following video.

The fruit of the fruit tree has orange or orange-red fruit, while the flesh is lighter. The mass of each of them reaches 0.5 kg. The shape of the fruit is round or oval-cordate.

Each fruit has a high content of beta-carotene, so that persimmon is considered to be a particularly valuable food. Due to the high concentrations of tannin, the fruit has a characteristic astringent taste, however, to the great joy of all lovers of persimmon, the viscosity weakens significantly with aging.

Persimmon can be considered a high-calorie product - 70 kcal per 100 g of the product, while the content of useful trace elements exceeds, for example, their content in apples is two to three times.

Persimmon fruit is a self-sufficient fruit, most often it is consumed in its raw state separately from other products. But some housewives add pulp to fruit salads, as well as desserts. Many prepare jams from persimmon and even dry it. In some countries, persimmon produces wine and beer.

In this case, persimmon is referred to as dietary products, since it is rich in pectin, which is necessary for the normalization of the gastrointestinal tract and the optimization of digestive processes. It is known that these brilliant orange fruits improve immunity, stimulate the growth of efficiency and have tonic properties.

Proved positive effects of the fruits in the complex therapy aimed at combating hay and intestinal sticks, as well as persimmon helps get rid of Staphylococcus aureus.

Fruits are rich in magnesium, which normalizes nervous activity, and also significantly reduces the risk of developing kidney stones. Vitamin A, which is present in large quantities in the fruit, helps to improve visual acuity.

It’s very easy to become the owner of a fruit-bearing plant on your own personal plot - you only need to purchase a healthy one-year-old cold-resistant seedling, plant it properly and care for it in accordance with the requirements of agricultural technology.

Persimmon is often propagated from the seed of a ripe fruit. However, the seedlings obtained in this way do not retain all the characteristic varietal characteristics, so in order for the fruit to be abundant and the fruits juicy and tasty, the tree will need a graft. It is considered that the best stock will be Caucasian persimmon, which has a high winter hardiness, endurance and is characterized by unpretentiousness to the types of soil. Vaccination is carried out in the spring when the seedling reaches a thickness of 10 mm.

This tree has a fibrous root system, so that the seedling can be transplanted into a larger container without any problems.

Unfortunately, in the suburbs and in most of our country, when planting crops in open ground, they face difficulties because the plant lacks a short summer to fully produce fruits, besides, the May frosts are frequent during flowering, and in winter the temperature sometimes drops much lower than that marks that a young plant can withstand without any damage.

That is why in the central and northern regions of our country persimmon is grown as a pot plant - it grows no more than one and a half meters, it is quite easy to care for it, and with proper care you can even get a good harvest at home.

In the southern regions of persimmon can be planted in open ground, the natural conditions allow it to form fruits and ripen to the desired degree. The first thing to do for this is to get the seeds, then rinse, dry them and plant in a pot with suitable soil.

If you want the first shoots to appear as quickly as possible, seed should be treated with a special growth accelerator before planting - such preparations can be purchased at any store for gardeners and gardeners. After the seeds are buried in the ground, the pot is wrapped in polyethylene and placed in a warm place.

Usually the very first shoots can be seen in two weeks. At this point, remove the covering material and put the pot on the windowsill on the south side. From that moment, the stage of active growth begins, so you need to monitor the size of the young bush. As soon as the seedlings outgrow their capacity, you should immediately transplant it.

Branches must be periodically cut, in addition, do not forget about watering and fertilizing - the plant responds well to nitrogen-containing fertilizers, which are applied every 2 weeks.

It is possible to replant in an open ground one year old sapling. The plant prefers sandy or loamy soils, fertile with a low-lying groundwater level - they should not be located closer to the surface than 75 cm, since the bulk of persimmon roots deepens by 0.5-1 meters.

The area from which the young plant feeds is approximately 25 square meters. m, for an adult plot is much more - 60 square meters. m. The place should be warm, protected from strong winds. Optimally, if there is a barrier around it that will contain drafts.

The plant requires regular watering, but watering should not be allowed, in this case, the active growth of new shoots is stimulated, and as a result of ripening fruits food is supplied much less than necessary.

In regions unusual for cultivation, it is advised to plant a plant on the south side of a well heated building.

If you do not like to grow seedlings on your own, then you can buy them in specialized stores, but it is desirable that the manufacturer be proven. Buying a bush on the market is fraught with deception - often consumers under the guise of persimmon “slip” another plant or wild that freezes in the first winter.

Seedlings are best purchased in the fall, since in this case little time has passed between their digging. Thin persimmon roots are very sensitive to dry air - they die after a couple of hours, so you should pay particular attention to the seedling's root system. If the fibrous roots have died, but the pivotal ones are absolutely healthy, then such a plant is quite viable, it will bear fruit, just the growing season will begin a little late.

In the southern regions of Russia, young plants are planted until the end of November, but it is right to do this in early autumn, while the earth is still warm. In northern latitudes, it is better to land in the spring, when the threat of all frosts is completely bypassed.

When planting a young tree should follow several rules:

• during the formation of the landing pit should certainly establish a stake for the support of the bush;
• the seedling is dug so that the inoculation site is located about 5-10 cm from the ground level;
• In order to avoid damage to the fibrous roots during transplantation and subsequent soil compaction, it is better to plant the plant not in the center of the hole, but near the edge, so that the roots can be straightened in the hole, which then need to be pressed down with soil.

In subsequent years, a period of growth of persimmon begins, so you need to monitor the condition of the tree. For the winter, its shtambl and skeletal branches cover, and a reflective coating is applied on top. In warm areas, it can be limited to simple liming, however, if winter cold comes abruptly, without a smooth transition from heat to cold, some varieties of persimmon may begin to peel off with the death of cambium.

Pristvolny circle must be warmed with mulch - most often use needles or sawdust.

When growing persimmon in the open field, many have set themselves the goal of getting the fruit as quickly as possible. However, you should not get involved in this, it is much more important for the development of the tree to form its crown, because if you give branches the opportunity to grow "by themselves", then the fruiting will move upwards in the future and the branches will simply not be able to withstand the weight of ripening fruits and begin to break.

One-year-old seedling should be cut at about 80-69 cm. This is done in spring so that only the central bud and two lateral buds located radially at a distance of 20-40 cm one above the other are left. By the fall of them grow three shoots, which will become the basis of the tree. All other shoots should be pinned as they appear.

A year later, the tree is cut again, while the central branch is cut at 1.5 meters, and 50 cm from the side branches. This is done so that the emerging skeletal branches are located as close as possible to the trunk.

In the third spring, the procedure is repeated, forming another span, after which the central conductor is removed completely with its transfer to the growth of the side branch.

Gardeners note that foliar feeding, which is composed of their superphosphate, potassium sulphate, potassium permanganate and potassium iodide, is very effective. The compositions are mixed in accordance with the instructions, diluted with water and sprayed the plant, starting with high concentrations and gradually bringing them to maximum values.

It is known that fruits tend to accumulate iodine in themselves. In coastal regions, they absorb it from the air, but in more northern latitudes, it is necessary to include this element in the bait.

To help the plant overwinter and increase its frost resistance, it is desirable to treat the trunk and branches with cryoprotectants, for example, with “Vympel”, “Mars” or dimethyl sulfoxide solution.

In areas that are characterized by drying out cold, it is recommended that at the end of the leaf fall, the plant is treated with solutions of PVA glue or latex in a proportion of 50 ml per liter of water.

It is known that persimmon bears fruits only on the branches of the current year, and on old and last year buds form, from which new shoots with fruits will be formed next year. Therefore, it is very important to provide the plant with a full-fledged one-year growth, which largely depends on well-done pruning and the amount of mineral supplements applied.

Strong pruning is carried out once during the formation of the correct crown, and during the fruiting period all work is reduced to the removal of dry branches and thinning. Only branches over 50 cm in length should be shortened with short sprigs abundantly growing on them with a size of not more than 10 cm.

Flowering persimmon begins in June and lasts about 1.5 months. Male flower blooms a couple of days, and the female is ready for fertilization for 4 days.

Over time, the growth of young shoots is suspended and, as a result, fruiting stops. In this case, the plant requires a rejuvenating pruning.

The plot of land on the wheel circle is recommended to be kept in the dark under a black greenhouse along with autumn sideratami, which in the spring are mown or crushed into mulch.

Persimmon is quite resistant to pests that live in the central zone of Russia, however, it is sometimes affected by scab, Fomopsis and gray mold. To rid it of these diseases, it is enough to spray the plant with Ridomil or Bordeaux mixture before and immediately after flowering.

The most dangerous pest is the Californian shchitovka, which eats the leaves, and bacterial canker is harmful for the roots.

Harvesting is carried out with the help of special supports or ladders. Fruits cut pruning shears carefully, as close as possible to the stalk, so as not to damage the thin skin of the fruit.