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Tamopan Asian Persimmon Tree

Diospyros kaki 'Tamopan'

Tamopan Asian Persimmon Tree

Diospyros kaki 'Tamopan'

This product is currently out of stock and unavailable.

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How are the heights measured?

All tree, and nothin' but the tree! We measure from the top of the soil to the top of the tree; the height of the container or the root system is never included in our measurements.

What is a gallon container?

Nursery containers come in a variety of different sizes, and old-school nursery slang has stuck. While the industry-standard terminology is to call the sizes "Gallon Containers", that doesn't exactly translate to the traditional liquid "gallon" size we think of. You'll find we carry young 1-gallons, up to more mature 7-gallons ranging anywhere from 6 inches to 6ft.

How does the delivery process work?

All of our orders ship via FedEx Ground! Once your order is placed online, our magic elves get right to work picking, staging, boxing and shipping your trees. Orders typically ship out within 2 business days. You will receive email notifications along the way on the progress of your order, as well as tracking information to track your plants all the way to their new home!

Why are some states excluded from shipping?

The short & sweet answer is: "United States Department of Agriculture Restrictions." Every state has their own unique USDA restrictions on which plants they allow to come into their state. While we wish we could serve everyone, it's for the safety of native species and helps prevent the spread of invasive disease & pests. We've gotta protect good ole' Mother Nature, after all.

About Me

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The Tamopan Japanese Persimmon is an attractive deciduous shade tree, with leathery green leaves that turn vibrant reds, oranges and golds in fall. When the leaves fall they reveal large, grapefruit-sized orange fruits, with a unique shape like a beefsteak tomato wearing a cap. These hang on the tree as they ripen, through October and November. They can also be brought inside and kept until fully-ripe, when they become sweet, aromatic and delicious. Eat them fresh, or use them in muffins, breads and preserves.

  • Very large orange fruits in October and November
  • Beautiful tree with leathery leaves
  • Amazing fall colors of red, orange and gold
  • Fruit hangs on the tree after leaves fall, and ripens
  • Easy to grow and a very ornamental tree

Hardy from zone 7, the Tamopan Japanese Persimmon is easy to grow in any well-drained soil. Enrich the ground with organic material, and water deeply during dry spells. Free of pests and diseases, this tree needs no fancy pruning, and it is very easy to grow successfully. This variety is self-fertile, so it produces a big crop without needing a second tree nearby. Long branches can be trimmed to keep your tree more compact.

Plant Hardiness Zones 7-9
Mature Width 8-10
Mature Height 12-15
Sun Needs Full Sun, Partial Sun
Zones 7-9

Whether you describe it as cantaloupe, peach, or even pumpkin, the unique taste of the Japanese persimmon, often called ‘Kaki Fruit’, is delicious and addictive. Very sweet and soft, children love it, and its aromatic flavor makes it a favorite with adults too. These fruits are only rarely available in stores in most areas, and they are always expensive, so growing your own tree makes a lot of sense. The tree is an attractive ornamental, making a good shade tree, and the leaves color beautifully in the fall. When they drop the big fruits are revealed, and they hang on the tree through the winter months, ripening, until you are ready to pick them. For a unique look, and a wonderful flavor, we recommend the Tamopan Japanese Persimmon, whose large fruits look like a yellow tomato wearing a cap, or an exotic miniature pumpkin.

The Tamopan Japanese Persimmon grows quickly into a medium-sized spreading tree, reaching 12 to 15 feet tall, with a crown spreading 8 to 10 feet across. In time, without trimming, this tree may grow larger, up to 30 feet, and it will give you lots of shade in summer, plus all the persimmons you can ever need – with almost no effort from you. The large leaves are rounded ovals, with a leathery texture and a glossy, rich-green upper side. The lower side of the leaf is covered with a soft, light-brown velvet. In fall the leaves turn wonderful shades of orange, yellow and red, making a gorgeous show, and earning this tree a prominent place in any garden. In spring unusual-looking flowers form, which are white or pink. White flowers make fruits, and on this variety they do that without any need for pollination. This means you don’t need a second tree, so it is ideal for a smaller garden. It also means that few if any seeds are formed in the fruit, so it is easier to eat. The high price of Kaki fruit is because they are fragile, and hard to ship without bruising and damage. It is not because they are hard to grow – in fact this tree is very, very easy to grow.

When the leaves fall the fruit is suddenly revealed, and even if you never ate them they are incredibly ornamental. They are 5 inches across, like a smallish grapefruit, and a beautiful glowing orange-yellow. They are round, like a beef-steak tomato, but with a protruding upper part, making a ‘cap’ over the main part of the fruit. The green stalk is large, and it holds the fruit firmly to the tree while it finishes ripening.

The Tamopan Japanese Persimmon ripens in October and November, and normally stays hanging on the tree, although when you have an exceptionally heavy crop some fruit may fall. This variety needs to be fully ripe and soft before eating, or it will have a sharp, astringent taste from the high tannin content. The fruit can be left on the tree or brought inside and placed in a warm spot until it is completely soft. It is fully ripe when it is a rich orange-red color, and the flesh has the consistency of jello. At that point it will be sweet and delicious, with a lovely aromatic flavor. It is ideal for eating fresh, and it can be baked into delicious muffins or fruit beds, as well as making unique and tasty preserves.

Plant the Tamopan Japanese Persimmon tree in a spot that is sunny or partially shaded. You can grow it out in the open, or train it to grow up against a sunny wall, where it will take up almost no space, look beautiful, and ripen the fruit better outdoors. Enrich the soil with organic material and also use it as a mulch in spring every year or two. Cover the root-zone but keep mulch clear of the trunk. Water deeply during extended dry spells, although this plant is moderately drought resistant, and needs little attention. Unlike most other fruit trees, which often need regular spraying for pests and diseases, this tree is free of any such problems, and it doesn’t need fancy pruning either – just plant it and harvest a bumper crop of those big fruits.

The Japanese Persimmon (柿), Diospyros kaki, is a relatively new fruit in the West, but it has been cultivated in China and Japan for thousands of years. It is also called the Asian persimmon, or the Kaki Fruit. It has a local relative, the American persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, which grows wild in the eastern states, and that tree is used as the roots for our plant. Trained growers take stem pieces of the variety called ‘Tamopan’, and they attach it to seedlings of the American persimmon. They fuse to form a single plant, and the vigorous American roots ensure your tree grows well. This variety was introduced from China by the US Department of Agriculture in 1905, and it remains a consistent favorite with growers. Within 3 or 4 years your tree will be carrying lots of fruit, and you will have perfectly ripened fruit to enjoy at its peak, without paying outrageous store prices. The demand for these trees is very high, because Kaki Fruit has become very popular in recent years. We have a limited supply of excellent trees, so order now, as trees of this popular fruit are in high demand.

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Tamopan Asian Persimmon Tree

Diospyros kaki 'Tamopan'