Where and how to grow persimmon - interesting about the healthy fruit

The tree on which the persimmon grows can reach a height of 25-30 meters, there are also low, dwarf varieties. The taste of the fruit varies from astringent tart to rich sweet. Well ripened pulp can be eaten with a spoon, but there are those that remain firm even after ripening. There are about 300 species.

Quite often on forums you can meet the question - what is the name of the tree on which persimmon grows? The answer is waiting and prosaic - persimmon! Both the tree and the fruit are called in one word.

Persimon belongs to the Ebony family, wood in any class is distinguished by its density, dark color. Parquet, furniture, billiard parts, sports accessories, musical instruments, and tableware are made from it. Foliage is used to make tea, for example, Kamipchha or Knochchavon.

People often ask the question - what is a persimmon, is it a fruit or a berry? Opinions are often divided, because the large size of the fruit, as well as the size of the tree, allude to the fruit origin. However, juiciness, the presence of multiple large bones tells us that this is a berry.

Fruit on a tree, photo:

According to the botanical definition, persimon is still considered a berry, however, many people call it a fruit. This is not such a serious delusion, after all, the fruits grow on a large tree, so both definitions have the right to exist. These sweet fruits and berries are consumed fresh or dried. They make jams, sauces, confectionery, compotes, marmalades, even alcoholic beverages.

How the persimmon is blooming

This is a dioecious culture, its flowers can be male and female. There are both self-fertile and parthenocarpic varieties that do not need pollination. The flowers are quite inconspicuous, often have a yellowish-green shade, hiding in the leaf crests.

How persimmon blooms, photo:

Buds

Flowers

Ovaries

In nature there are both edible and inedible varieties. It is quite unpretentious, frost-resistant, despite the fact that it comes from countries with a warm climate. It is worth noting that some species can safely tolerate lowering the temperature to -20ºС and below. If we compare this culture with the other fruit representatives, then it begins to bloom later than all the others and only with the arrival of late autumn yields fruits.

It is not only tasty, but useful, contains vitamins, proteins, glucose, fructose, carotene, iron. Persimon is low in calories, therefore it is an excellent dietary product.

Many of us at least once asked the question: why does persimmon knit your mouth? Cellular juice of this fruit contains a large amount of tannins - tannins, which are characterized by a pronounced astringent flavor. By the way, it is immature or unripe fruits that contain tannin, in the well-ripened fruits this taste is absent. Some species, for example, the kinglet, practically do not contain tannins. If you get a knitting fruit, place it for a couple of days in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator - its tastes will improve significantly, the characteristic taste will go away.

Where does the persimmon grow, in which countries?

Persimon grows predominantly in warm lands - India, Italy, Spain, Georgia, Tajikistan, China, in France, Turkey, Africa and other countries. It is cultivated in Brazil, Algeria, Palestine, Afghanistan, Australia, Israel, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the USA.

China is considered to be the birthplace of this solar fruit. But he won the hearts of our compatriots. On the territory of the former post-Soviet space, persimmon is also grown and cultivated. Today, we most often sell the fruits that were brought from Abkhazia, North Ossetia, the Crimea, Georgia, and the Caucasus.

Where does the persimmon grow in Russia? It grows predominantly in the Krasnodar Territory, the Volgograd Region, North Ossetia, Crimea, and the southern part of Dagestan.

Despite the fact that cold weather also occurs on the Black Sea coast, it only improves the taste of the fruit. Mostly frost-resistant varieties are grown in our country. They can withstand very low temperatures( -25. .- 30 ° C), naturally, if these cooling periods are short-lived.

The taste characteristics of a persimon depend not only on the variety, but also on the place of growth, soil type, humidity level and, of course, temperature indicators in the region.

Photo - How Persimmon Grows:

The very first frost-resistant cultivar was bred by scientists of the Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences( Nikitsky Botanical Garden).Breeders crossed two varieties( eastern with Virginia), thereby creating a fruitful, frost-resistant cultivar, which was called "Russian".

The Nikitsky variety became the second brainchild, which also was distinguished by its resistance to cold, giving juicy, sweet fruits of bright burgundy hue.

Persimmon varieties

They differ not only in taste, but in appearance: rounded, elongated, flattened, like pumpkin, similar to a heart, and some of them are so miniature that they resemble cherries in size. Fruits can be bright yellow, orange, brown, red, brown, even green.

Eastern persimmon

It is also called: kaki, Japanese persimon, Chinese persimmon - this is the most common form, on the shelves of shops, markets, most often it is sold. This specimen is a decorative deciduous tree, which can reach ten meters in height. The fruits are removed at the stage of coloring in yellow color, at room temperature, they can reach the state of full ripening. The weight of the fruit is about 50-100 g. Oriental variety Persimon can be frozen and stored for a long time( about 6-7 months).

Oriental persimmon, photo:

Oriental

Oriental delicacy - dried persimmon is most often made from this variety. Bark, foliage and fruits can be used for medicinal purposes. It is a frost-resistant culture, which can safely survive lowering the temperature to - 17 ° C, but dies at - 23. .- 25 ° C.It does not touch the ground, likes moisture( but not waterlogging, for example, swampy soil).The tree blooms around May or to the beginning of summer; it bears fruit in the fall - by September-November.

Velvet persimmon

It is called Velvet Apple or Mabolo. The fruits look very attractive, unusual - their skin is covered with velvet hairs. At the initial stage of ripening, the color of the fruit has a brown color, and then becomes bright red. The flesh is pink, juicy, sweet, but the taste itself is slightly peculiar, with a hint of cheese. Fruit weight varies from 80 to 500 g. Unpleasant smell can be removed by removing the velvety skin and then placing the fruit in the freezer( for 3-5 hours).This variety is often used for making sauces, salads, stewing with various types of meat. The tree can reach 20 meters in height, very productive in terms of fruiting. It is also often used as an element of landscape decoration.

Variety Velvet, photo:

Velvet( Mabolo)

Mabolo is grown on an industrial scale, its homeland is the Philippines, in Taiwan, Malaysia it is widely cultivated.

Persimmon virgin

Wild-growing representatives of this species grow in North America. The tree is similar in size to the eastern variety, but the fruit is slightly smaller( 30-50 g), but twice as sweet. The taste is sweet, juicy, characterized by a spicy rum. In native spaces, this cultivar can withstand short-term drops in temperature to -27. .- 30 ° C.Cuttings of the Virginian persimon are often used as a stock.

The variety Virginsky, photo:

Virginsky

This species is considered the most frost resistant.

Caucasian persimmon

This is the smallest persimmon, its fruits resemble grapes or cherries in size. It grows on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, in Azerbaijan, the Crimea, Central Asia. It blooms by May, and by the end of September and the beginning of October it is already bearing fruit. Small berries throughout repeat their Eastern counterpart, the difference is only in size, but it is significant. The fruit contains a lot of seeds, taste something like a date( at the stage of full maturation).

Caucasus variety, photo:

Caucasian

It is often used as a stock of the Eastern persimon, after which the trees become hardy, more durable.

Persimmon Russian woman

This is a hybrid cultivar species, the brainchild of the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, very cold-resistant. An adult can withstand temperatures as low as -27. .- 32 ° C.In our open spaces, the tree grows up to 4 meters in height, produces rather large yellow-orange fruits( 100-140 g), begins to bear fruit in the third year of life. It is a hardy, “hardened” variety, resistant to many diseases. A special feature is the ability to bear fruit without pollination, since the flowers in Russian women are exclusively female. The tree loves moisture, needs frequent watering, yields a crop around the end of November.

Variety Russian woman, photo:

Russian woman

Fruits are harvested firm, their ripening occurs with further storage, then the fruit becomes especially sweet. This variety has three varieties - the first one has no bones, and the flesh has a light color. The second subspecies has rather small seeds, the third grows in the Crimea, it has no seeds, and the skin has a reddish tinge. The Russian took the best qualities from her ancestors, becoming one of the most popular and leading representatives of modern breeding.

Persimmon Korolyok

This cute name combines several species of persimon, which are similar to each other. She has a soft sweet taste, almost no knitting effect. Fruits with a brownish color of the skin and pulp are called "chocolate crowns", but there is a yellow variety of them - Honey Dirk. Fruits ripen by October, their shape may be rounded, slightly flattened or resemble a heart in its outlines.

Persimmon variety Korolyok in the photo:

Kinglet

While the fruit has not ripened, it contains a lot of tannin, but as it matures, this feature disappears. Kinglet is very tasty, is used to prepare various sweets, as well as alcoholic beverages. Dried, finely milled grains successfully replace coffee, which has a spicy taste, plus more useful.

Chocolate King - chocolate color variety

This is Chocolate Chocolate, with pronounced dark brown color of pulp, it is noteworthy that the darker the shade - the sweeter its taste. According to most, this variety is considered the sweetest of all existing species. This person has a lot of bones, the skin is thin, orange, through it you can see the dark flesh. Fruits grow to the size of a large apple, their weight can reach 600-800 g. A characteristic feature is the color of the fruit itself - if it has been pollinated, then the fruit will differ in sweetness, presence of seeds. If pollination has not happened, then the persimon will have a lighter shade, some viscosity in the taste, no bones. Such different instances may well live on the same tree.

Chocolate-colored Persimon, photo:

Chocolate King

Harvest ripens by October or early November. This variety is grown in the warm regions of Ukraine, Russia, in the Crimea, in the Caucasus.

Black Persimmon or Black Sapod

We used to call brown Korolyok a chocolate variety, but in nature there is another species that deserves attention. This exotic look deserves the name “chocolate” more than any other. This is a variety of Black Sapote, which in the Russian version is called Persimmon Black, Black Apple, Black Sapota. It is also called chocolate pudding, because its flesh is really very reminiscent of this dessert.

Black Sapota, photo:

Black Sapoto

She comes from Mexico and is also cultivated there. Today it is grown in the Philippines, Hawaii, Antilles( Antilles), Mauritius. The skin of the fruit has a rich green color, and the flesh is absolutely black.

One or another sort is the business card of the country where persimmon grows. Thus, Russians can be proud of the Rossiyanka and Nikitskaya varieties, the Ukrainians of the Roman Kosh and Mider varieties, and the Filipinos Mabola( or Velvet).

If you set out to plant Persimon, it is better to stop your choice on frost-resistant varieties. If you know how to grow persimmon, what care it requires, how to cover it during winter, then the chance to grow sweet sunny fruits becomes quite real.