I have a young Saijo persimmon tree, has not borne fruit. It is 7 feet tall. I have a young Nikita's Gift, has not borne fruit. It is 3 feet tall. It was just a twig when I planted it.

According to Raintree website, the only Asian persimmon that bears in Western Washington State, where I live, is Saijo. I don't know if they tested Nikita's Gift, so it is a long shot. The growth is very sturdy looking, anyway, but not super fast.

These two are on D. lotus rootstock.

What I am wondering, if I can find scion, is whether I can graft American persimmon onto branches of the Saijo tree. That might give more variety and a chance for something different. It might mean needing to graft a male variety too. Doing that, if there were seeds in the Saijo fruit, I assume they would be American/Asian hybrid since it's unlikely there are any male Asian persimmons around here. Just thinking about that.

Assuming I do it right, might they take? I only know whip-and-tongue, cleft, and T-budding.

Would grafting onto Asian persimmon possibly dwarf the American persimmon?

Mostly just daydreaming. But if I find some scion, it would be interesting to try.

Yes you can graft Kaki to D.Virginiana or D.V to Kaki. This is how the Ukranian came up with the hybrids Nikita's Gift and Rossyanka. You can balance the graft by pruning. Bark, Wedge, or W&T graft will do.

Tony

I have been browsing catalogs. Starks has Yates and Prok, and Burnt Ridge has some too. I might have room for one. They start very small.

i sent Burnt Ridge an email about their scion. I have a feeling that will bear, before the small freestanding trees will bear.

I grafted pollenizing varieties of plums onto self sterile ones, for better fruit production. I've thought about growing those seeds. So I could see that working like you describe for the Ukranian varieties. Seems like a clever method!

Thank you again for the reply!

Daniel