Persimmons break dormancy by heat units, not chill hours. When first planted they go into shock much more than other fruit, and it's not uncommon for them to take until August to leaf out the first year. If you are still worried in a month or two, clip an inch off the top--if it's still green, you'll be fine. (Rarely they can even take until NEXT year, sitting in the soil like a stick)

Carla in Sac

My bare root Fuyu from Dave Wilson was very tall (over 8 ft) - so I cut it to about half the original size upon planting. Not only does this promote low branching, it also helps the small root mass support a canopy of a proportionate size. There are a lot of people who might disagree with this. But, in my case, every single bareroot tree that I pruned has leafed out. I did not prune an apricot and a santa rosa plum and they are dormant still even though the weather is in the 70s here. So, I am severely pruning back those too to see if any new growth does showup.
My Fuyu from DW has been leafing out since january (planted in Dec 09).
Hope this helps.

Thanks, that makes sense.

On one hand, although the tree is in full sun, the ground around is covered in green mulch, so maybe the soil hasn't had time to warm up yet.

On the other hand, the persimmon I got was only 3-4 ft tall with 3 branches, so there was no need to prune it. Come to think of it, I did prune off about half of my peach and santa rosa plum, so maybe that's why they leafed out and flowered about a week ago.

pylot,

i am in zone 9 as well and just bought a dave wilson fuyu on d. lotus and it has been in ground for a month now and is JUST starting the bud out...the buds were swelling S-L-O-W-L-Y...so slow that my husband did not think anything was happening but on monday we noticed the little buds are bigger and turning green...so you not much longer for you. it has been pretty warm this week.

i planted a bunch of fruit trees recently and they all are budding except for the bavay green gage. the other peaches, pluots, plums all had alot of activity with just the fuyu and bavay still dormant.

i also cut all my trees down.

Here is a link that might be useful: planted trees...will update with some pics today or tomorrow

My are still dormant in south texas.

Do you think my trees are OK? I bought five persimmons at a fruit tree sale in January. It happened to be the coldest January in about fifteen years...

I had to replant the trees due to drainage issues a few weeks later. Now, they are sitting there like sticks. Scratching the bark at the top shows green and I pruned back the top quarter after the move.

The Asian pear I planted at the same time is budding beautifully. I didn't move the pear...

Thanks for any advise for a novice would be fruit grower.

Gregg

Not that it matters, but my asian persimmon is also still sleeping (but the wood all looks great!)

~Chills

I am pretty new with the gardening and I have a Fuyu and an Izu planted this spring. The Fuyu started to leaf out about a month ago but all of its few leaves dried out completely after a few days. The Izu has been a bare stick with not even a single bud getting any bigger. I guess the threshold for the number of heat units passed a long time ago here in NC, where we have had 90+ degrees pretty much every day for the last couple of months. Both trees still have green tissue under the bark, and *both* have just started to leaf out *from the rootstock*. I read that all of those leaves should be removed. Is there any other recommendation anyone can give? What could happen with the Fuyu that it has lost all the new leaves and is there still any hope in it? My other new trees seem to feel happy with the same watering schedule etc.

Double check that the rootstock is not buried underneath dirt. If the rootstock is buried then the rootstock will take over and produce the rootstock variety and not the grafted bit (which is what you bought the tree for). Also, send a photo & email (explaining your issue) to your county NC Cooperative Extension agent (or the county Cooperative Extension agent in your state). Your local agent is paid to assist your agricultural needs and they want to. It isn't any problem. They are glad to help you. - Julie Robbins, Toms Creek Nursery & Landscaping.

Thanks for the response, I ended up replacing both trees last year...