How to Grow Persimmon in Australia

Updated June 2026

The astringent versus non-astringent split, a climate selector, and variety picks for every region

What it looks like as it grows

A persimmon earns its place twice over. In autumn the leaves turn fiery orange and red, and once they drop the bare branches hang with glowing orange fruit like lanterns, which makes it one of the most ornamental fruit trees you can plant. Then there is the fruit itself, sweet, honeyed and unlike anything else in the home orchard. Diospyros kaki is deciduous, long lived and, once established, close to carefree.

The one thing that trips people up is that persimmons come in two completely different types, and confusing them is why so many people decide they hate persimmons. Astringent types must be eaten fully soft and jelly-like, because a firm one is mouth-puckering with tannin. Non-astringent types can be eaten firm and crisp like an apple. Choose the right type for your climate and know how to eat it, and persimmon becomes one of the easiest, most generous trees in the garden. The selector below makes that choice for you.

Astringent versus non-astringent: the one thing to get right

Every persimmon falls into one of two camps, and they are eaten in completely different ways.

• Astringent (Hachiya, Nightingale, Saijo): usually tall and acorn or heart shaped. They are loaded with tannin until they are completely ripe, so a firm fruit is unpleasant and mouth-drying. You must wait until the flesh is soft, translucent and almost jelly-like, then scoop it out with a spoon. At that point it is intensely sweet.
• Non-astringent, also called sweet (Fuyu, Jiro, Izu): usually squat and tomato shaped. They lose their tannin while still firm, so you can eat them crisp like an apple straight off the tree, or leave them to soften. These are the beginner-friendly persimmons.

A quick way to tell which you have at the shop or off a friend's tree: squat and flat-bottomed usually means non-astringent and ready to eat firm, while tall and pointed usually means astringent and needs to be soft. If you are ever unsure, simply wait until the fruit is jelly-soft, which is safe for both types.

Climate and position

Persimmons want full sun, the more the better, both to ripen fruit and to develop strong autumn colour. They are deciduous and need a modest amount of winter chill to crop well, which is why they shine from warm temperate regions southward and struggle in the tropics. A dormant, leafless tree is genuinely frost hardy, down to roughly minus 12 to minus 15 degrees Celsius, so cold is rarely the problem. The real risk in cold districts is a hard early frost striking the fruit while it is still hanging on bare autumn branches.

Give the tree shelter from strong wind, which can scorch foliage and knock fruit, and a free-draining soil. Persimmons grow happily in large pots, which is a smart option in marginal or frosty areas because you can move the container to the warmest, most sheltered corner of the garden.

Planting

Plant bare-root trees in winter while they are dormant, usually June to August, or set out potted trees in autumn or late winter. Dig a hole the same depth as the rootball and twice as wide, tease out any circling roots, and keep the graft union well above soil level so it is never buried. Water in well and mulch, keeping the mulch off the trunk.

• Space full-size trees about 4 to 5 m apart.
• Dwarf trees and container plants can sit much closer.
• Most persimmons are self-fertile, so a single tree will fruit on its own.

Watering and feeding

Keep soil moisture even, especially while the fruit is sizing up in late summer and autumn. Erratic watering, a dry spell followed by a soaking, is a common cause of fruit drop. Feed modestly with a balanced organic fertiliser in late winter and again in spring. Go easy on nitrogen: excess nitrogen pushes leafy growth at the expense of fruit and is itself a major cause of young fruit dropping.

Pruning

Persimmons need only light pruning. Train young trees to an open vase shape so light reaches the centre, then keep it tidy. Fruit is borne on the current season's growth that springs from last year's wood, so do not shear the tree back hard or you remove next season's fruiting points. Persimmons tend toward biennial bearing and the wood can be brittle, so thinning a heavy crop both evens out cropping year to year and protects limbs from snapping under the weight.

Harvest and storage

Fruit ripens in late autumn, often after the leaves have dropped, which is when the orange fruit on bare branches looks its best. Cut fruit from the tree with secateurs, leaving the green calyx attached, rather than pulling it.

• Non-astringent (Fuyu, Jiro, Izu): pick firm and eat crisp, or let them soften to taste. They keep well in the fridge for a week or two.
• Astringent (Hachiya, Nightingale, Saijo): leave on the tree until jelly-soft, or pick firm and ripen them off the tree with an apple or banana, or freeze and thaw to remove the tannin.
• Drying: astringent fruit is traditionally peeled and hung to air-dry as hoshigaki, which concentrates the sugars into a soft, sweet dried fruit.

Pests and problems

Persimmons are pleasingly pest-light, but a few things are worth watching.

• Birds and possums: the bright fruit is a magnet. Net the tree or bag individual fruit as it colours up.
• Fruit fly: in subtropical and warmer regions Queensland fruit fly can sting ripening fruit. Use exclusion netting, bagging or traps, and clear fallen fruit.
• Fruit drop: usually traced to too much nitrogen, uneven watering, or a young tree shedding a heavy set. Feed lightly and water steadily.
• Sunburn: exposed fruit on a hot, open branch can scald. A little leaf cover or light shading in extreme heat helps.

See our Pest and Disease Guide to identify and fix any issue.

Varieties to try

Region and season note

Across Australia the planting window is winter dormancy, June to August for bare-root trees, with autumn an option for potted stock. Non-astringent Fuyu types ripen most reliably where autumn is warm and long, so they are a safe bet from Sydney, Perth and Adelaide southward into Melbourne. In cooler, shorter-summer districts the astringent types crop more dependably. In the tropics, where winter chill is lacking, persimmon is generally not worth the effort and a custard apple or other low-chill fruit will reward you more.

Frequently Asked Questions

See also: Persimmon in the Plant Library