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nafex - Re: [nafex] Getting a Chocolate kaki to make more female flowers

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  • From: Anton Callaway <marillen@earthlink.net>
  • To: nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [nafex] Getting a Chocolate kaki to make more female flowers
  • Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2012 09:42:46 -0400 (GMT-04:00)

Scott,

My 'Chocolate' persimmon bore extremely heavily for several years. Because
it was producing more than we could eat and give away and the tree was
getting rather large, I pruned it heavily two years ago. When it leafed out
following this heavy pruning, it flowered very late (about 6 weeks later than
usual) and though it flowered even more prolifically than usual, it produced
only male blossoms. Last winter, I pruned it moderately and it was only
about a week late, with about 5% female blossoms. I believe every one of the
female blossoms set, so it still will make a good crop.

I don't know how common this is or whether there is any cause-and-effect to
the pruning & blossoming, but I've found it interesting.

Best regards,

Anton


-----Original Message-----
>From: Scott Smith <scott@cs.jhu.edu>
>Sent: May 30, 2012 9:40 AM
>To: nafex mailing list at ibiblio <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
>Subject: Re: [nafex] Getting a Chocolate kaki to make more female flowers
>
>Jerry, I did put some compost, fertilizer, and bark mulch on the tree this
>spring (and every previous spring) so I the soil should be good. The flower
>types do seem to cluster by branchlet. I wonder if older branches are more
>likely to turn to male flowers and I need to let the tree send up some new
>shoots which will start female? When the flowering is done this year I will
>give parts of the tree with no fruits a strong pruning and see what that
>does for next year.
>
>Scott
>
>On May 30, 2012, at 7:03 AM, Jwlehman@aol.com wrote:
>
>> In a message dated 5/29/2012 8:38:40 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
>> scott@cs.jhu.edu writes:
>>
>>> My Chocolate persimmon has been making almost exclusively male flowers
>>> for the last couple of years. It used to be more balanced male/female
>>> and I
>>> would get a tree load of fruit. Is there something I should do to change
>>> the balance? I haven't pruned it much at all so I would not be surprised
>>> if
>>> that had something to do with it.
>>>
>>> Scott
>>>
>>
>> Good Morning Scott,
>>
>> Interesting, very interesting. I have never head this complaint before.
>> I've heard of persimmon trees effectively switching sexual expression,
>> your is
>> the first first hand account.
>>
>> I know of only one D. virginiana cultivar that bears both pistillate and
>> staminate flowers, Szukis. It is unstable and switches sexual expression
>> when
>> grafting.
>>
>> Question, were the pistillate and staminate flowers intermixed on the same
>> branchlets? Or were some branches male and some branches female? If the
>> later is the case would pruning out the branches that are bearing the
>> staminate
>> flowers bring the tree into balance? I doubt if just pruning limbs
>> randomly
>> would bring back the female flowers.
>>
>>> From what you wrote the tree has been there quite a few years. What about
>> soil nutrition? Has the tree depleted the soil of what it needs? Then
>> what
>> to feed it? Do you have a good supply of compost? Enough for maybe in inch
>> ground coverage under the tree and beyond the drop line. Or some low
>> nitrogen
>> fertilizer, something like 0-20-20.
>>
>> I admit I'm just guessing.
>>
>> Jerry
>>
>>
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