I'm new to persimmons. I planted Chocolate (from Raintree), Saijo (astringent from EL) and Makewa Jiro (non-astringent from EL) a couple years ago and got the first fruit off of the Chocolate last Fall. I'm hoping my other two trees will fruit this year. I liked the fruit although it had seeds. Around the same time I got some fruits off of a Fuyu type from a friend which did not have seeds. The Fuyus were fantastic and I found that I really like not having to deal with seeds. From doing some research, it sounds like fruit from all three varieties will have seeds due to the fact that the chocolate has male flowers. I didn't realize this before. I'm now weighing whether to remove the chocolate and replace it with a Fuyu type or live with the seeds.

I have also heard, however, that the seeds influence the flavor in a good way. I suspect my Chocolate will get better with age. Do you think the enhanced flavor is worth the seeds? Any tips for how to deal with the seeds as you eat the fruit? Mine were a little under-ripe so maybe that caused the seeds to be more difficult to remove as I sliced up the fruit and ate it.

Oh, for what it is worth the Makewa Jiro is in the front yard and the Chocolate is in the backyard about 150 feet away - not sure if I would still get cross-pollination.

Finally, I believe Raintree lists Chocolate as being astringent but the fruit I had seemed more like a non-astringent type. Does pollination/presence of seeds convert it from astringent to non-astringent?

Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on these issues.

Cheers,
Steve