View Larger Persimmon

Planted at Mount Vernon

Planted at Mount Vernon Fruit Garden & Nursery

  • Fruit Garden & Nursery

  • Hardiness Zones

    4 4 5 5b 6 6b 7 7b 8 8b 9 9b USDA basemap

    Average annual extreme minimum temperature 1976-2005

    map legend 4 4b 5a 5b 6a 6b 7a 7b 8a 8b 9a 9b

    Persimmons are an unusual American fruit that can colonize in abandoned fields and open woods. Female trees bear astringent orange fruits that become fully ripe after a frost.

    Latin Name

    Diospyros virginiana


    Family

    Ebenaceae


    Type of Plant

    Trees Trees
    Fruits Fruits

    Bloom Season

    May - June


    Seasons

    Fall Fall

    Specifications

    Max height Max Height: 60'
    Max spread Max Spread: 35'

    Uses

  • Edible
  • Rain Garden
  • Naturalize

  • Sunlight Exposure

    Full Sun Full Sun
    Part Shade Part Shade

    Tolerances

  • Air Pollution
  • Clay Soil
  • Drought
  • Dry Soil
  • Shallow-Rocky Soil

  • Colors


    Native Range

    Eastern and midwestern United States


    History

    George Washington's loyalist friend and neighbor Jonathon Boucher wrote to him in 1784 regarding the newly formed American government, "Many of the Speculations which the late unsettled Times have given Birth to, resemble your Persimmons before the Frost: They are fair to the Eye & specious; but really disgusting & dangerous."


    Bartlett Tree Expert Company has been working with Mount Vernon Estate since 2011 providing expert arboricultural care and GPS mapping for the estate’s historic trees, as well as support from their research facility.   Mount Vernon is proud to partner with Bartlett Tree Experts and appreciates their sponsorship of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Plant Finder App.

    Bring Washington's Garden Home

    Purchase our historic seeds, collected from plants grown at Mount Vernon and plant them in your own garden.

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