For oriental persimmons we grow Suruga and Fuyugaki, although fuyu gets borers in trunks. For native persimmons we grow Meader and John Rick.Very good quality fruit

Thank you! That's a great place to start. I'm just down the way from you, in Tampa, what works for you shouldn't be too off for me.

wish this URL will help you:
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/persimmon.html

here in Zone 9 in New Orleans in what I'd consider harsh conditions (bordering a parking lot.)
Want some?

Have you read the "Low Chill fruits" thread over on the Florida forum? There are a couple of great links with info on persimmons. One is the UF EDIS page. You can find a paper there called "Oriental Persimmons in Florida." The other is a nursery called "Just Fruits." Sorry, I haven't learned how to create links yet, but you can check them out over on the Florida forum, if you haven't already.

"Ruby" is a very large (for a native) delicious native persimmon and at least seems to be self-fertile (many are not). Its leaves are quite attractive, almost as if half way between a Japanese and American persimmon, though the fruit is definitely an American type. Whether it will chill properly there I don't know. I bought (Edible Landscaping in Virginia) what is supposed to be a Russian hybrid between the American and Japanese species, but it is in its first year so I know little yet.