Q. When will be a good time to transplant a Kaki persimmon tree and
will it do well in Las Vegas?
A. I am curious why you want to use the kaki species of persimmon. It is
considered to have inferior fruit to improved varieties of persimmon.
It will
do as good as the other persimmon. All persimmon are not a desert tree so it
will need to be planted in a spot less damaging than for cactus and other
desert suitable plants. East side or north sides are best. Keep it away from
reflected heat and light. Soil should be heavily enriched with compost at
planting and a wood surface mulch should be used 4 to 6 inches deep keeping it
away from touching the trunk. Kaki is used for rootstock for other better
varieties of persimmon. Fuyu, Giant fuyu, Chocolate, etc have superior fruit.
I contacted my friend Tom Spellman from Dave Wilson Nursery for his comments.
used as a rootstock as well as D. lotus. All growers in the United States
choose to use lotus as it is much easier to bud onto and, contrary to some
opinion, much more comparable and long lived. We have experimented with kaki
rootstock several times and the bud stand is never good enough to even begin to make
a profit.
protect it from the most extreme heat and sunburn.