American persimmon

Value to bees

Nectar

High

Pollen

Moderate

As a honey crop

Minor honey crop — a surplus only locally or occasionally

Which bees, and why

Male and female flowers are on separate trees, so an isolated female fruits poorly or not at all. Bees are genuinely required rather than merely helpful.

Worth knowing

A good nectar source where the trees are numerous.

Flowering

In flower

May to June (northern hemisphere)

A short late-spring flow.

When nectar flows

Generous per tree, though persimmon rarely occurs densely enough for a substantial monofloral crop.

Year-to-year variation

Limited by the tree's scattered distribution rather than by its nectar production.

What it does to the honey

Contributes a rich dried-date and caramel depth that genuinely echoes the ripe fruit.

Growing it

Conditions

Full sun on well-drained soil, and tolerant of poor and dry ground. It has a deep taproot and resents transplanting.

Size

10-20 m tall.

Native range

The southeastern and central United States, from Connecticut to Florida and west to Texas and Kansas.

Suits

Large gardens, Orchard

• Plant a male and a female if fruit is wanted — most trees are one or the other.
• The deep taproot makes it difficult to move; plant it small and leave it.
• Fruit is inedibly astringent until fully soft, which is where the tree's poor reputation comes from.

What it looks like

A medium tree with distinctively blocky, deeply fissured bark like alligator hide, glossy oval leaves, and small cream bell-shaped flowers. Orange fruits ripen in autumn and soften after frost.