I have never ordered from Fast Growing Trees but they seem to be overpriced. I would get one from a local nursery, I payed $15 for mine and it fruited the next year. Mr Jacks Farm web site lists them but I have never been there. A lot of trees will not fruit the first year no matter the size because of transplant shock and trying to grow roots. I am in Santee, SC a little warmer than you but mine has not been damaged the last two cold winters. Ichi-Ki-Kei is a non-astringent variety that is supposedly a little more cold hardy that you may want to try.

Elizabeth,

Sorry to hear about your tree. I have not heard about a tree insurance before. All the reputable fruit tree nurseries I have bought from or heard about, do not require insurance if a tree dies in a year.

I checked Fast-growing tree nursery aka Empress Tree nursery, the review is mixed. When you want to find out about a nursery, Google "Scoop on..........." such as Scoop on Empress Tree nursery, the review on Dave's Garden Watchdog will show up. It'll give you some idea about that nurseries. Stay away from those that have a lot of negatives.

The two nurseries from the top of my head for persimmons are England's Orchard and Nursery in Kentucky and Edible Landscaping in Virginia. Look them up and learn what varieties of persimmons they offer. Both are reputable nurseries. Almost if not all persimmons can grow well in your zone, Fuyu included.

Persimmons are not cheap compare to other fruit trees. If you can find it at a local nursery, it'll save you shipping and handling fee. Otherwise, prepare to pay $40-50 for a potted tree shipped to you.

E-
Fuyu persimmon is a pretty hard one to kill. Something went wrong, my bet is that it died in summer. I grew up in Charlotte, now live in the Durham area (a little north of there). My fuyu's grow like weeds. They don't have any natural threats because they are from Asia, they require no sprays. I got mine from Bay Laurel for what its worth. Try another one! Sometimes you lose a tree and there is just no explanation, just have to chalk it up and move on.

Question: Did the tree have a beautiful and full set of green leaves in late Summer, followed by gradual color change, and slowly dropping off as late Fall came along?

They should be pretty tough. They grow wild here localy in Japan and do beautifully. I don't like the taste myself. I could send you some for free but I'm sure they wouldn't be allowed through customs.

No wisdom to share other than I bought 2 bare root and one potted with fruit fuyu persimmons and all three hV died. I'm in z9a and feeling very inadequate as everybody says it's hard to kill and yet I've killed three. I hV a small fruit orchard and hV not killed anything else

We purchased a home with an existing tree. It must have been planted by the previous owner because she told us she watched one fruit turn orange and the next day it was gone! LOL! So when it was our chance, we covered the tree with bird netting attached to a 3'tall chicken wire fence surrounding the trunk. We were successful in harvesting lots of delicious fruit. Our tree is on a drip system in well drained soil. Our zone is warmer than yours in winter and a little cooler in summer with no humidity. I really don't know why yours died. Do your neighbors grow them? I will say that my prune happy husband pruned that tree so hard, it had zero fruit last year. Seems like it will fruit this year again. Good luck with your next tree.

There are a couple of guesses I have re. why your tree died. It could be they sent you a wrong tree (not compatible to your zone) or grafting failure.

When I was a novice, I bought a Red Haven from some roadside stand in the spring, planted it, and it grew well all summer. After the first winter, it was winter-killed. If it was a real Red Haven, it would not died in my zone (6a) but I was duped. Lesson learned.

If you like a fuyu, buy it from a reputable nursery. Edible Landscaping is close to you. They sell trees in pot so it's bit pricey. It will grow well in your zone.

I've grown many types of fruit trees, and if there's one that likes to die without a reason while young, it's a persimmon.

I agree with the comments to buy from a known nursery next time, it eliminates a variable

I'm in Raleigh and my Fuyu's haven't shown any signs of life yet. I would wait until next month before I chopped it down - just in case. I have purchased my trees locally and they took a few years to reach fruiting size. They do seem to take a bit longer to settle in compared to other types of fruit trees.

John,

Among fruit trees, persimmom is known to leave out very late. I planted my bare root last spring in April, it took a month or more before leaving out. As long as under the bark is green when you scratch it, it will be fine. It takes its sweet time to wake up.

It's also worth noting that the flowers follow the leaves, and hardly look like flowers at all.

Well, here it is April 9th and no signs of life on my persimmon. I'll give it more time, but I think it's dead. Scratching the bark reveals nothing but brown. I won't buy from Fast Growing Trees again - I agree the tree should be replaced by the nursery if it dies the first year. I will try a local Nursery and if I can't find one, I will buy from a nursery suggested in this thread. (Thanks for the tip about googling "scoop on..." and looking at Dave's garden for reviews. Regarding the leaves turning in Fall. The leaves all fell off when they were still green in late summer/early Fall. No leaves left on the tree to show Fall color. I agree that it died during the summer for some reason, Not sure why - I planted it well and watered on a regular basis. :(. I will try again. Thanks everyone for the help. Liz

I found a company that looks interesting. It is "Useful Plants Nursery" in Black Mtn, NC. It is in the "Earthhaven Ecovillage". Is anyone familiar with them? I could not find any info on Dave's Garden or by doing a general google search. Anyway, they have a Persimmon called "Hana Fuyu". It is a dwarf (a plus for me) and they claim it ripens earlier that Fuyu. They say it has a wonderful flavor. It's 2 1/2 hrs from Charlotte. That would be a nice weekend drive. They also deliver. I'm not sure of the cost. Black Mtn has colder winters than Charlotte, so if my tree did die over the winter, this may be a good choice for me. Edible Landscaping has some varieties that sound good, but it's a 5 hour drive and the shipping is expensive. At Useful Plants, a 5 gallon costs $39. I think that sounds pretty good.

I wanted to update - I did get a credit for the persimmon that didn't make it. However, Fast Growing Trees has no persimmon availability. That's probably a good thing- I will try my persimmon luck elsewhere.

I got excited today after noticing all this growth from the base but then it occurred to me that my tree might be grafted. I will find out Monday when I call the nursery

All the Asian Persimmons I've ever seen for sale were grafted and often the root stock sprouts. It is sometimes the native American Persimmon but other times its the Date-Plum Diospyros lotus (also a persimon). You're supposed to snip those sprouts off to make your tree stronger.

It's April 22 in Greenville SC and my chocolate persimmon just started to put out leaves while the Fuyu is still basically dormant. Don't give up too soon.