North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jay Cutts <orders@cuttsreviews.com>]

Chris, I'm in NM at 7000 ft, so the climate is somewhat similar to 
yours. I have a number of American persimmons here. They are typically 
very late in leafing out. Occasionally the tops are killed completely on 
my plants, though there are many other years when they are so late that 
I'm afraid they were killed but in fact leaf out later.

If the top of yours has been killed and you can't tell where the shoots 
are coming from, you're stuck with deciding whether to keep a plant that 
may be a male or may be a female of unknown quality, or to replace the 
plant.  When I kept facing this decision, I contacted John Gordon and 
asked if it was possible to get named varieties on their own roots. That 
would solve the problem, as I could let the new shoots take over, which 
they always did. In other words the roots never failed to send up 
something, even when the top was killed.

John's first reply was no, that it was too difficult to root them, so 
all named varieties were grafted. But that year when he sent me the 
plants I had ordered, he had a note that the SAA Pipers were on their 
own roots. He apparently had an older tree that produced suckers that 
were rootable.  So now I have three SAA Pipers on their own roots. 
Sometimes some have been killed to the ground but it doesn' t matter now.

Unless you want to risk growing an unknown plant, I'd suggest removing 
the suckers. If the top comes back, you won't need the suckers to 
provide energy to the roots. If the top doesn't come back, you probably 
won't want the tree at all.

Regards,

Jay

Jay Cutts
Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
Lead Author, Barron's MCAT Prep Book
Lead Author, Barron's LSAT Prep Book (2013)
(505)-281-0684
10 am to 10 pm Mt Time, 7 days



On 6/12/2012 9:02 AM, Christopher Kennel wrote:
> I have a three year old Meader persimmon that I'd like to get some advice
> about.  The tree's caliper is roughly 1.5 inches, and so far the bulk of
> the tree is still dormant, and scraping the bark reveals green tissue
> underneath.  I understand this is rather typical for persimmons, especially
> young ones.  I have noticed a few sprouts emerging from the base of the
> trunk, right at the graft union.  Unfortunately I can't determine if the
> sprouts originate from the rootstock or scion.  My question to those of you
> with persimmon experience is: what should I do with these sprouts?  Should
> I leave them to provide some energy to the roots, or should I remove them
> so that they don't compete with the still-dormant upper tree?
>
> Thanks,
> Chris Kennel
> Denver, CO z5b
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