North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Jay, quoting his persimmon guru, "He had told me at first that you couldn't
get named varieties on their own roots because they were too
hard to make cuttings of".

This baffles me.  Why not just graft it on a hardy rootstock and bury the
graft union or protect it with dirt mounded over it during winter?  I've
read in Tukey's classic book on dwarf fruit trees that early American
growers (educated hobbyists) used to use quince rootstocks for pears in
climates too cold for quince by burying the unions.  This could be done
temporarily over winter or permanently.

Also, I wonder if the graft unions would continue to be sensitive to
extreme cold after a few years.  I can think of no reason they would be. It
is not the same as using a cold sensitive rootstock.

I have a Szukis shoot growing that I grafted on a sucker from a Kaki
grafted to a native persimmon rootstock that died back to the ground.  I'm
protecting the union right now with a mound of soil.  I'm in a relatively
warm Z6, but I'm not taking any chances- it is my first successful
persimmon graft.  I find them quite challenging.