Hi peachymono,

What I have red that Amagaki in Japan means sweet non-astringent Kaki persimmon. Most likely Fuyu-gaki. Shibu-gaki are the astrigent type, you have to wait until they are soft before you can it.

Tony

The guy at the farmer's market said that they are a specific cultivar, I speak a little Japanese and I know that 'amai kaki' is sweet persimmon, but descriptive names like that are pretty common (tanenashi = seedless) and my friend has affirmed that he has gotten amagakis from the store that tasted much better than fuyus. I am fairly certain it is a unique cultivar, I know that I can't get a clone from a seed but I'm wondering if there is any chance of getting something even close to as good?

Mature kakis aren't often grown from seed so I don't know that there will be much good info around to answer your question. I do know of a seedling kaki (probably Hachiya) that had grown for many years in a neighbor's yard and bore fruit that looked identical to Hachiya but had clearly inferior flavor and sweetness.

You can go to Fruit and exotic nursery website, they have lots of Kaki. I pretty sure you can find the one close to the one you are looking for. Their persimmon trees are big and healthy when they ship to you.

Good luck.

Tony

I totally struck out growing persimmons from seed I collected last summer. The seeds were always kept moist and were stratified in the fridge a few months. Paw paw seeds were kept in the same way and most germinated. If some one knows how to germinate persimmon I'd like to know.

I get high rates of germination from both American and Asian persimmon and from pawpaw, treating all three types of seeds virtually identically. Once germinated, the requirements for the different species do change, but all are pretty easily grown. Some tips that come to mind:
-keep the seeds moist and cool from the time they are removed from the fruit, but not very damp or wet or they will rot. I use slightly moist peat moss
- stratify for at least 120 days. I keep in the 32 - 36F range
- germinate at 80F in a baggie in the moist peat moss

The germinated persimmon seeds are ready to be planted in a raised bed in full sun this time of year, and I obtain at least pencil thick plants by the end of the season in the case of American persimmon.

Right now I am growing seeds from my Giant Fuyu and my regular Fuyu. I have one regular Fuyu and I think about 10 Giants that have sprouted (very exciting!) and the ones that sprouted first are about 6 inches tall with 4 to 5 leaves on them as of today. I am planning on using them as rootstocks for grafting, and I have no answer to your question about true-ness from seed (wondering that myself!)
I took them straight from the softened fruit in Oct-Dec, washed them, put them in damp paper towels in ziplock bags, and refrigerated them for at least 2 months. Then I planted them in moist potting soil in pots in the sun around Jan-Feb, and they started sprouting about 2-3 months later. The Giants are clearly more willing to sprout (so far)

Carla in Sac

Fuyu-type persimmon seed does not need stratification. Plant the plumpest seeds immediately. They should germinate in a few weeks to a month. I don't, however, know if you can get decent fruit from a seedling. I'm guessing that if the seed is viable, it was cross-pollinated with another persimmon. What persimmon is the question. And what will result is up for grabs. I wonder if a Fuyu type seedling would make an OK rootstock.

A Japanese page that shows kaki varieties: http://foodslink.jp/syokuzaihyakka/syun/fruit/kaki5.htm

The orange bars delineate the groups. The first group is ama-gaki. Second is "incomplete" ama-gaki. The third is shibu-gaki.

Ama-gaki included on this page are: Jiro, Fuyu, Gosho, Izu, Aishuho, Taishu, Soshu, Yubeni, Yoho, Shinshu, Kitaro, and Kishu.

It looks like Taishu and Shinshu are sweeter than Fuyu.

I don't know if you can get these kaki varieties in the U.S., though.

ottawan_z5a

did you stratify your fuyu seeds? are your trees alive and did they fruit