American persimmon zone 4 or MN?

Hey all, curious about American persimmon stories in zone 4 or particularly MN or nearby... It seems the super Hardy variety, Meader is very small in size and anything larger with better reviews it's a mixed bag if it says online hardy to zone 4 or 5... There's also a ton of varieties!! Curious if anyone has had any success or stories to share (good or bad) about growing American Persimmons in zone 4, particularly Yates Prok prairie sun or prairie star (claypool) varieties. Are they Really Hardy to zone 4?

Did you try growing persimmon yet?

Meader sprouted some leaves 1st year but no substantial growth (similar to other sensitive trees 1st year sleep, then creep, then leap blabla)...

Maybe due to sensitivity of transplant or stress or a standard zone 4 winter but the whole meader died back to the rootstock which was general American persimmon graft I believe (ordered from OneGreenWorld)... I have 2 huge sprouts coming off the rootstock about 2ft tall right now but I'm assuming will die back to root stock again next spring and just keep repeating.

If it dies back again I'm going to replace it with a hardy pear, if it somehow survives this year due to robust growth from rootstock I may keep it but not holding my breath.

I have a similar situation with citrus.  I don't want a plant I have to coddle through every winter.  Typically the root stock is nearly inedible citrus but I have finally learned to plant my attempts where I don't mind a unproductive bush.  We're right at the edge of viable climate for a lot of small snacking citrus so eventually I'll find a survivor that can provide scion wood.

I planted 4 American persimmons three years ago here in zone 4 in WI and 3 are still growing.  The fourth was fine until my lady mowed it.

I'm in zone 5 near Chicago. My American persimmons had no problems with the -20F polar vortex from a few years back, so at least in milder years zone 4 should be fine in terms of deep winter kill.

Trace and John - which varieties of American Persimmon did you plant that reportedly are working for you?  Are they fruiting?  And if so how many years did it take for them to fruit?

I don't know what variety mine are.  Mine are nowhere near fruiting size yet, they are only about three feet tall.

I’m interested in sourcing and growing cold hardy persimmon as well! Located in zone 4b near the twin cities. The only persimmon I’ve found and heard of that grows in MN and the Dakotas is in Mitchell South Dakota which is also zone 4b so I know it can be done

Here is another cultivar that will grow in zone 4.
https://www.starkbros.com/products/fruit-trees/persimmon-trees/yates-american-persimmon

James Rod wrote:Trace and John - which varieties of American Persimmon did you plant that reportedly are working for you?  Are they fruiting?  And if so how many years did it take for them to fruit?

Thanks to buying packs of 100 persimmons from my state nursery, and scion swapping, I've probably got close to 20 different varieties of persimmon growing. The rootstock were planted in 2017, and I got a little bit of fruit last year, and much more this year. Juhl/Yates and Prok have so far done the best.

I've got Prok in northern Iowa, at the border between 4b and 5a. It was planted in 2019 and is doing great, looks like first crop of fruit this year (hoping they don't abort).