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pezzuti9

persimmon died - any chance of come back

pezzuti9
9 years ago

Hi, I had this persimmon tree in in my yard growing going into it's 4th year in Northeastern, PA.
It looks like it froze out during the winter months. It was a GRAFTED variety suitable for this climate.

Now I see a shoot sprouting out from near the base of the tree where the graft looks like it may have been performed. I took the photo attached. Can any of you tell me if there is any chance if left alone this sprout might grow up to be the grafted tree I started with or should I just pull it off of the tree and give up?
Thanks loads
Lou

Comments (8)

  • ampersand12
    9 years ago

    Looks to me like that's the rootstock budding out. The rootstock will probably grow into a tree, but it's probably either D. lotus or D. virginiana, not at all like what you lost.

  • forestandfarm
    9 years ago

    I'd simply let that grow. If the top leafs out, you can prune it. If the top dies, the new growth will keep the rootstock alive. Next spring you can bark graft it with a variety of your choosing.

  • creekweb
    9 years ago

    This appears to me to be coming from the base of the graft rather than from the rootstock, and although it's hard to tell at this point it appears to be a kaki sprout. I would recommend that you let it grow and remove any other sprouts that later appear lower on the trunk, which is likely to occur. If the tree is a kaki grafted on a virginiana, it should be easier to tell for sure once the foliage matures; if uncertain, you can post a picture later on and we'll be able to help you with it.

  • Scott F Smith
    9 years ago

    I had the same thing happen with one of my trees a few years ago - by the leaves I could tell it was a kaki and the whole tree grew back from one sprout at the base.

    Scott

  • pezzuti9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Good advice---thanks guys
    There where our suckers sprouting up from the very base of the tree. The leaves on those suckers look nothing like the leaf sprouting at the graft level as shown on my photo. Not sure if that means anything. I sure hoped it might be the branch from the grafted variety I originally wanted and planted.
    Thank you

  • swampsnaggs
    9 years ago

    Those leaves appear to be the grafted variety, not the rootstock. The rootstock shoots, if they are the native persimmon, will have a darker tinge to the stem and leaves.

    Same thing happened to my young persimmons during the brutal winter we had. This year I will be painting with 50/50 interior latex paint and water to help prevent southwest injury to the young tree trunks. The only one that didn't just about die back to the roots was shaded with black plastic deer netting, which I may use instead of the paint.

  • Scott F Smith
    9 years ago

    Thats an interesting idea swamps - protect the trunk to above the graft and you at least will save the graft.

    This last winter about halfway through my figs were starting to look unhappy (they looked more like end of winter stage in mid-winter) so I mounded up dirt around the bases of some of the younger ones. I didn't think much about it, just kicking a bit of dirt. But, those ones are coming back from the roots and the ones I didn't kick dirt on to seem to be dead. That one minute of work appears to have saved the figs.

    Scott

  • alfred
    9 years ago

    Lou, could you tell us what variety of kaki it is? And do you have any idea how cold it actually got? We all know it was the coldest winter since 1994, but these specific details will help us learn about the cold hardiness of this variety and even for kakis in general.

    Thank you,

    Al

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