Planting and caring for persimmons in the open field

Planting and caring for persimmons in the open field is not an easy task. A heat-loving plant is quite capricious and makes certain requirements for growing conditions.

Choosing a persimmon variety for planting

Before planting persimmons on the site, it is necessary to study the popular varieties and choose the most hardy and frost-resistant of them. For cultivation and care in most of the territory of Our Country, several varieties are optimally suited:

1. Caucasian persimmon. An adult tree can reach 30 m in height, blooms in May. In October and November it produces small but juicy fruits with a yellow skin.
   
   

   Caucasian persimmon withstands frosts down to -23 ° С

2. Persimmon virgin. A tree up to 25 m blooms in June, fruiting begins early – in September. The fruits are medium in size, reaching 6 cm in diameter and 500 g in weight.
   
   

   Virgin persimmon, when planted in the middle lane, is able to tolerate short cold snaps down to -35 ° С

3. Persimmon . A hybrid variety up to 4 m tall has a beautiful pyramidal crown with dark green leaves. Brings flattened sweet fruits in late autumn, up to 80 kg of crop can be harvested from one tree.
   
   

   The variety Rossiyanka does not require pollination in the process of cultivation and care.

4. Persimmon Mider. The self-fertile variety produces small fruits up to 50 g in weight in mid-October. The pulp is sweet, fleshy, without astringency. The tree tolerates cooling down to -35 ° С.
   
   

   From the Mider variety, with proper planting and good care, you can collect up to 20 kg of fruit.

5. Nikitskaya burgundy. The frost-resistant variety tolerates cold snaps down to -30 ° C, produces firm red-orange small fruits up to 130 g. It has a sweet taste, yields up to 20 kg per tree.
   
   

   Persimmon Nikitskaya burgundy bears fruit annually without pollination

Cold-resistant plant varieties are suitable for growing and care not only in the south, but also in the middle lane. At the same time, in terms of ripening, it is better to choose early varieties in order to harvest before the onset of frost.

How to plant a persimmon seedling

When planting persimmons in the country, it is necessary to pay attention to the correct choice of site, the composition of the soil and the preparation of the plant itself. In this case, the culture can easily take root in the soil and will please with good fruiting.

Site Selection

Well-lit areas with sandy or loamy soil are suitable for planting and caring for the crop. Groundwater should lie no higher than 75 cm from the surface, otherwise the long roots of the plant will begin to rot.

It is necessary to plant persimmons in open ground so that the tree is protected from strong drafts and cold winter winds. In northern latitudes, you can place a culture under the wall of a building.

Soil preparation

To care for the crop was easy, the soil must be prepared before planting. The selected place is dug up and peat, sand and humus are introduced into the soil to increase fertility.

In wet areas for a fruit tree, drainage is mandatory before planting. If precipitation and melt water accumulate in the soil, this will negatively affect the health of the plant.

Persimmon prefers neutral and slightly acidic soils.

Selection and preparation of seedlings

For planting and care in the country, it is necessary to use young seedlings no older than two years. Usually the plant is sold in a grafted form, the virgin or Caucasian persimmon acts as a stock.

For breeding in the Caucasus and other warm regions, you can choose the first option. For cultivation in the middle lane and in the north, it is better to buy a seedling on the rootstock of the virgin persimmon. It will demonstrate higher frost resistance due to the long tap root and will be less demanding to care for.

Preparation for planting comes down to a careful examination of the seedling. It is necessary to remove all dried and damaged roots from the plant, and sprinkle the sections with wood ash. Immediately before planting, the seedling is soaked in water with the addition of a growth stimulator.

Rules of landing

What time to plant a persimmon on the site depends on the region. In the south, you can transfer the plant to the ground in autumn until November. For the northern regions, spring planting is preferable; it is carried out after the passage of return frosts.

The rooting algorithm looks like this:

1. Three weeks before planting, a hole is dug in the selected area, approximately 1/3 larger than the volume of the root system.
2. Pebbles and bricks are poured into the bottom of the recess, and drainage is covered from above with garden soil in combination with humus.
3. The prepared seedling is placed on a mound of substrate so that the root collar is slightly below the soil level, and the feeding processes are straightened.
4. The hole is covered with the remnants of the soil, and then the near-trunk circle is carefully compacted with your hands.

A support peg is installed next to the persimmon immediately after planting. The plant must be tied up so that the trunk does not bend during care. After that, the seedling is watered with at least 20 liters of warm settled water.

Immediately after planting persimmons, it is recommended to mulch the soil with straw or sawdust

How to care for persimmons in the garden

When growing persimmons in open ground, great attention must be paid to caring for the plant. Culture requires control of moisture and soil composition, it is also necessary to ensure that the crown of the tree does not thicken.

Watering

Additional watering for a fruit tree is required in regions with a hot and arid climate. It is necessary to moisten the culture as part of care during the summer period 2-3 times a month in the evenings. At the same time, it is required to monitor the real state of the soil and stop watering at the first sign of waterlogging of the soil. With abundant natural precipitation, the fruit tree does not need additional moisture.

Pruning and shaping the crown

Rules for caring for a fruit tree recommend pruning annually. The formation is done like this:

1. Shorten the tallest shoots to 80 cm in the first year after planting.
2. All skeletal branches are cut to 40 cm in the second year.
3. In the third year and beyond, thinning of the crown is carried out, removing crooked growing shoots.

Every season, sanitary pruning is also performed in the course of normal tree care. During its implementation, all weak, diseased and dry branches are removed. Once every 15 years, a rejuvenating haircut is carried out – the tree is cut almost to the root so that it releases new strong shoots.

Fertilizers for persimmons

A fruit tree develops well on nutritious soils, therefore, when caring for it, top dressing is applied at least three times per season:

1. In spring, the plant is fertilized with nitrogen – urea or rotted manure, which stimulate the growth of green mass.
2. In summer, after flowering, phosphorus and potassium are added to the soil – these minerals improve fruiting and increase persimmon immunity.
3. In autumn, after harvesting, the tree is again fertilized with phosphorus-potassium mixtures to strengthen endurance before winter.

Top dressing during care is best applied in liquid form. You can use ordinary complex minerals diluted in water, or an infusion of biohumus.

In the first three years after planting the crop, fertilizers in the process of care are applied to the near-stem circle within a radius of 80 cm. In subsequent seasons, they already cover 1,5 m of soil on all sides of the tree.

Instead of phosphorus-potassium minerals, you can use wood ash infusion during care.

Persimmon transplant to a new place

An adult plant does not respond well to transplantation, so it is recommended to place it immediately in a permanent place. If during the care process it became necessary to move the tree, then the procedure is carried out according to the following algorithm:

• a suitable site is prepared for the plant and the soil is fertilized with peat, humus and sand;
• carefully dig out the persimmon, trying not to injure its roots;
• plant the plant in a new hole and water it abundantly.

In the Crimea and the Caucasus, it is recommended to carry out the procedure in the fall about a month before the onset of cold weather. In the northern regions, the task is performed in the spring, after the soil has thawed and frost has passed.

Disease and Pest Prevention

Persimmon suffers from diseases and parasites most often when planted on waterlogged and too heavy soils. Of particular danger with improper care for her are:

• powdery mildew – a grayish-white coating forms on the leaves of the plant;
  
  

  Powdery mildew develops in conditions of hot and rainy weather

• root rot – the plates of the tree turn pale, and the flowers and ovaries crumble;
  
  

  Root rot is especially dangerous for persimmons, because it cannot be treated.

• bacteriosis – first, persimmons become stained and leaves fall off, and then the bark begins to fall off;
  
  

  In the early stages, bacteriosis can be cured with Bordeaux liquid or copper sulphate.

• odorous woodworm – reddish-brown caterpillars gnaw through persimmon wood and cause the trunk to dry out;
  
  

  The odorous borer appears on persimmons in late spring

• false shield – the pest feeds on the cell sap of leaves and fruits;
  
  

  When affected by a false shield, yellow or reddish-brown growths appear on the persimmon

• fruit fly – the larvae eat the ripening persimmons from the inside and lead to their premature fall.
  
  

  When affected by a fruit fly, persimmons can appear almost healthy on the outside.

When attacked by pests, persimmon care comes down to spraying with Akorin, Zolon, Bikol and others. Actofit, Topaz and Fitosporin help well against fungi.

The best prevention of diseases and insects is to control soil moisture. When planting and caring for persimmons in the open field in a rainy summer, it is necessary to carry out preventive spraying with fungicides or Bordeaux mixture.

Persimmon propagation

There are two ways to propagate persimmons on the site – by simple cuttings and grafting. Methods allow you not to spend money on the purchase of new seedlings in the presence of adult plants in the garden.

Persimmon cuttings

Persimmon cuttings in autumn are carried out according to the following algorithm:

1. From an adult plant, several shoots with 2-3 eyes are cut.
2. Remove all leaves from cuttings.
3. A drainage layer and a nutrient substrate from garden soil and humus are poured into the container.
4. The cuttings are buried in the soil and slightly compacted.
5. The containers are placed in a well-lit warm place with a temperature of about 24 ° C.

During the winter, persimmon cuttings carry out simple care – they are regularly watered by irrigation from a spray gun and mineral top dressing is applied twice a month. With the advent of the new season and after the formation of young green leaves, the grown shoots are planted in open ground.

It is better to immediately place persimmon cuttings in spacious containers, since the plant does not like unnecessary transplants.

Graft

A popular persimmon propagation method is to use grafting by budding in the spring or in August. The procedure looks like this:

1. In early spring, cuttings of a varietal plant are cut from an adult tree and stored in wet sand at temperatures up to 3 ° C.
2. In the middle of summer, a T-shaped incision is made on the bark on the rootstock.
3. A dormant or germinating bud is carefully separated from a persimmon stalk.
4. Attach the graft to the cut on the rooted plant and press firmly.
5. Wrap the graft with electrical tape or a transparent film for fixation.

The results are evaluated after a month. If the kidney started to grow, then the strapping is carefully removed and the standard care is then carried out for the plant.

You can wrap the vaccine with electrical tape or tape only with the adhesive side out.

Harvesting and storage of crops

It is necessary to harvest persimmons using secateurs. The skin of the fruit is thin, so it is not recommended to cut them off with your hands, the stalks are carefully cut off.

The collected persimmons are placed in wooden boxes on a layer of shavings or sawdust. The first layer of fruit is placed with the stalks down, the second – with the petioles up. Then the persimmon is tightly sprinkled with packaging material. The third and fourth layers of fruits are laid on top of it. The procedure is repeated until the box is full. Harvest can be stored at a temperature of 0-1 ° C for two months at an air humidity of 80-90%.

Conclusion

Planting and caring for persimmons in the open field require special attention from the gardener. But if you follow the basic rules, then a fruit tree can develop without any problems in the middle lane and even in the north.