The ongoing quest for my persimmon trees!

Bark of the persimmon tree; Diospyros virginiana

This evening, my son and I walked down a narrow back-road near our home. The road has an interesting mix of natural features. It starts out on top of a hill in a wooded area and goes down the slope to a valley with a small stream. Along the way there are woods, pastures and fields along the roadsides.

We noticed several persimmon trees growing along the roadside in the valley, so this might be a good place for me to dig up a seedling or get a cutting of persimmon root.

I will actually need to acquire several persimmon trees because they are not self pollinating, according to the nursery catalog that I was reading a few days ago. I guess I'll have a little persimmon grove.

There's a black walnut growing fairly near the place where I want to plant some persimmons, so I was a little worried about that. Black walnuts emit a chemical called juglone which is poisonous to some plants. However, the West Virginia University Extension Service and various other reputable internet sites say that persimmons are tolerant of juglone, so I guess I don't have to worry about that!

I also learned that I can get a bundle of 50 persimmon trees from the Kentucky Division of Forestry for just $30, but that's approximately 45 more persimmon trees than I want. Even if I plant 10 and half of them die, I'd still have 40 extra persimmons. I suppose I could try to give them away.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry's order form can be downloaded as a pdf document (574 K.) It lists about 30 species of native tree seedlings that are available. (All are native except the Chinese chestnut.) Prices are good through March, 2007 -- just a few more days.

Related post: I want a persimmon tree!