Tree of the Month: Persimmon Tree

The American persimmon is a unique tree that we appreciate for both its delicious fruit and its hardy and robust form. This southeastern native thrives in and around Nashville, where its specialized characteristics and generalist adaptations allow the persimmon tree to be a happy addition to any local garden or landscape.

What Does a Persimmon Tree Look Like?

The common persimmon is an understory tree species that, when younger, has a stout, bushy appearance with winding, waving branches and a long, slim form as it matures. While it’s not widely planted in neighborhood settings, wild persimmon trees grow naturally across the southeastern US in a range of environment types (making them a great choice for urban areas, where environmental conditions, such as soil type, landscape features, and moisture content vary from parcel to parcel). 

These trees will grow in both well-draining soil with some sand and soil that holds water, like clay, allowing a persimmon to tolerate some flooding. They will also grow in either full sun or partial shade. Persimmon trees have a particularly high drought tolerance, with a root system that reaches deep into the ground for moisture. 

The oval leaves of a persimmon tree are two to three inches long, and in the spring and summer, they have a shiny, dark green color with a pale underside. The springtime flowers of a persimmon tree are light yellow-green (which are important colors for local pollinators like bees and moths). In autumn, the foliage develops a brilliant copper coloration in concert with the bright orange of the tree’s late-season fruit, which grows over summer and ripens in the first few frosts of the fall.

After the leaves and fruit drop off the tree, the slender trunk and branches are exposed during the winter and offer a striking visual. The bark of the persimmon tree is particularly distinctive; its thick, square scales have the pattern of alligator skin.

How Fast Does a Persimmon Tree Grow?

American persimmon trees reach a mature height between 30 and 60 feet, taking on one or two feet per year. These trees live for many decades when well cared for, during which time they will contribute to canopy ecosystem service production. As a fruiting tree, persimmons require good, regular pruning as they grow in order to develop a sturdy form that can support a healthy fruit crop from year to year. Strong, well-spaced branches permit air and sunlight to penetrate the inner crown (which keeps fruit dry and reduces the potential for mold), while a firm structure prevents drooping under the weight of seasonal production.

How Long Does It Take for a Persimmon Tree to Bear Fruit?

After an American persimmon sapling is planted, it should take three to five years to begin producing fruit. Persimmon berries start out in the summer as small, green bulbs and acquire the orange color of the mature fruit over the summer and into fall, reaching about an inch or two in diameter. 

The unripe fruits contain tannins that create an unpleasant, dry-mouth feeling, but ripened persimmons that have experienced a couple of frosts lose their tannins and develop a sweet, juicy pulp that can be used to make ice cream and pudding, among other sweet treats (the first part of the persimmon tree’s scientific name, Diospyros virginiana, means “divine fruit” in Greek, while “persimmon” is the native American word for the tree’s large berries).

In the canopy ecosystem, persimmon fruits are very important sources of food for wildlife. Mammals like deer, squirrels, opossums (persimmon trees are sometimes called possumwood), birds such as wild turkeys, crows, jays, and waxwings, and some insects rely on the fruits in late fall when other sources of food have already retreated for the season. In addition to sustenance, these trees provide shelter for wildlife of all kinds throughout the year.

Embrace the Persimmon Tree in Your Canopy

Visit the listing for the American persimmon tree through the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps’ tree sale! If you don’t have space to plant, consider joining our volunteer reserve for planting and maintenance events, or donate a tree for us to plant! We also welcome financial donations, which make our work possible. Subscribe to our newsletter and check out our Linktree to stay connected!