Collected Texas Persimmon

[NaoTK]

you could do a mild "sweat" technique where you put a bag over it to retain moisture. I would use a clear bag and NOT sweat it in the sun, but treat the whole thing like a big cutting.

I have had success doing this with smaller cuttings of persimmon

 

[Goodbrake]

you could do a mild "sweat" technique where you put a bag over it to retain moisture. I would use a clear bag and NOT sweat it in the sun, but treat the whole thing like a big cutting.

I have had success doing this with smaller cuttings of persimmon

Any tips on avoiding fungal problems?

 

[NaoTK]

persimmons generally dont get fungal problems. They have a lot of tannins which are anti-fungal. I suppose you could spray some systemic for damping off

 

[rockm]

Fungal issues will be a problem if you bag it. Bagging it prevents air circulation and traps humidity and heat. While that may protect new leaves and allow the tree to push them the downside is lack of air circulation and excessive humidity

Personally I’d skip the bagging and put the tree in a place that remains humid and protected from wind.

 

[Goodbrake]

Fungal issues will be a problem if you bag it. Bagging it prevents air circulation and traps humidity and heat. While that may protect new leaves and allow the tree to push them the downside is lack of air circulation and excessive humidity

Personally I’d skip the bagging and put the tree in a place that remains humid and protected from wind.

Unfortunately, for now I have a 6 by 8 foot balcony to work with. My wife and I move into the house we bought some time at the end of the month, but I don't want to move my garden there until we're living there full time.

 

[Goodbrake]

For the time being, since it doesn't have any leaves, I've bagged it up and put the whole shebang on the heat pad, since the little extra heat and humidity probably will protect any forming buds and be more valuable than the bit extra light it would get propped up. If it really leafs out, I may have to change my approach. I've given it a preemptive copper fungicide spray to hopefully prevent anything.

 

[Subculture14]

For the time being, since it doesn't have any leaves, I've bagged it up and put the whole shebang on the heat pad, since the little extra heat and humidity probably will protect any forming buds and be more valuable than the bit extra light it would get propped up. If it really leafs out, I may have to change my approach. I've given it a preemptive copper fungicide spray to hopefully prevent anything.

Hello. I'm local to you in the Hill Country. I have thousands of these on my land. Any update? I'm considering getting to grab a few to start then on their bonsai journey.

 

[Goodbrake]

Hello. I'm local to you in the Hill Country. I have thousands of these on my land. Any update? I'm considering getting to grab a few to start then on their bonsai journey.

It's just been stable. Twigs are still green, but there's been no bud movement yet. In retrospect, I probably should have collected it in the late summer or fall, since persimmon apparently rely disproportionately on the nitrogen stores in their root mass to generate bud push in the spring.

 

[Goodbrake]

It's definitely beginning to bud out, finally. Oddly enough it's preferring to bud straight from the trunk rather than pushing terminal buds on the still green twigs it grew last year, but I'll take what I can get.

 

[Subculture14]

Awesome. Thanks for the info. Good luck. Ill follow up if I do dig up any.

 

[Goodbrake]

Awesome. Thanks for the info. Good luck. Ill follow up if I do dig up any.

@NaoTK has a great thread on princess persimmon and why summer collection/repotting might be better for them, which you may find interesting and might be applicable.

Thread 'Summer Repotting of Chojubai and Princess Persimmon' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/summer-repotting-of-chojubai-and-princess-persimmon.61163/

 

[Subculture14]

Thank you sir. I did a quick read through but will go deeper later tonight. At this point I'm more or less experimenting. I have hundreds, if not thousands of these and junipers. I'm planning on taking a few several times a year and experimenting with soil, time, etc.

 

[Goodbrake]

Thank you sir. I did a quick read through but will go deeper later tonight. At this point I'm more or less experimenting. I have hundreds, if not thousands of these and junipers. I'm planning on taking a few several times a year and experimenting with soil, time, etc.

Sounds like a great plan. Feel free to reach out if you ever need a few extra hands.

 

[Goodbrake]

@NaoTK

In your opinion, what signs should I look for to determine when to move this tree out of the sweat bag and into the sun? (Gradually, of course)

 

[NaoTK]

If I think of it as a giant grafted cutting I would gradually remove the bag as the leaf is unfurling. But as you said you do need to transition it to dry air and sun gradually. This was a graft I gradually unbagged in May successfully

 

[Goodbrake]

That's what I suspected. I'm moving house at the end of the month, so I'll have to somehow carefully transport it across the city, but I've been planning on gradually opening the bag up and cutting holes in it as the shoots extend to start slowly reducing humidity and increasing light.

 

[Goodbrake]

Buds have started to extend into stems and leaves. For the sake of record keeping, after it dropped its leaves last august until the heat of fall disappeared, I wrapped the trunk in paper towels which I wetted each time I watered it to help ease stress on it.

 

[Goodbrake]

With the help of a lovely local family, (who own a minivan) the tree is safely relocated to a shady corner of my new house's yard, where it will hopefully live and grow happily.

 

[DeepSouth]

Assuming this tree survives, what style would you consider for it? I have a vaccinium that looks nearly identical in shape and height. Was considering a large Bunjin for it.

 

[Goodbrake]

Assuming this tree survives, what style would you consider for it? I have a vaccinium that looks nearly identical in shape and height. Was considering a large Bunjin for it.

I'm keeping my styling ideas pretty loose for now, because I think the design will depend largely on where and how it branches out. I'm thinking that my styling will be mostly to prioritize fruit and flower display, so it will be more abstract, like what you see with Ume or princess persimmon rather than what you see with non-fruiting trees.