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Montana Trial Persimmon (Bundle of 5) | Spring 2027
$149.99
Reliable shipping
Flexible returns
Ripening
Will it finish before your first hard freeze?
Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceResists 1 of 1
- 4 Leaf spot : Resistant, 4 of 5
Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.
See it on our unusual fruit disease chart (opens in a new tab)At a glance: Montana Trial Persimmon is a persimmon tree rated hardy to zone 4b in our ratings (winters to -25°F), and dioecious, with separate male and female plants. Sold as a bundle of five seedlings so you almost certainly get both sexes.
| Also called | American persimmon, common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) |
|---|---|
| Hardy to | Zone 4b to 9. The b means the warmer half of zone 4 only (winters to -25°F). Our notes have it taking -20°F. Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator. |
| Chill hours | About 300 hours (150 to 600). Seedlings vary, so this is based on the parent tree. That's low, so chill is never short here, but it can wake early in a midwinter warm spell. Check your chill hours or see our sources. |
| Pollination | Dioecious - Needs Male and Female. Bloom group 4 of 7 (mid), very late spring here. American persimmon trees are either male or female, and only females fruit. Plant all five together so you almost certainly get both sexes. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Pollination Charts. |
| Good for | Feeding wildlife (9/10), pies and baking (7/10), fresh eating (6/10), jams and jellies (6/10), drying (6/10), canning and freezing (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists. |
| Deer | Sometimes damaged by deer. |
| What you get | Five bare-root seedlings, 2-4 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out. |
Overview
These are American persimmon seedlings (Diospyros virginiana), grown out from seed from a hardy Michigan source. We have been trialing these for several winters and they have withstood -20F without any winter injury. This doesn't really say too much. We had a fairly mild winter in 2025 and an incredibly mild winter in 2026 (this description is written as of 2/23/26, in which 2026 winter has not even dropped below zero for us in Western MT). For now we're listing them as hardy to zone 4b (-25°F) until further data is collected.
These are trial trees. Like everything we sell, they're guaranteed to bud out, but there's no guarantee on hardiness or fruit quality. Instead, we will follow up in due time to learn more about how these have done for you. You will be participating in our Montana (or other cold climate) persimmon research to get hardy persimmon varieties.
Image shown is not the fruit from this tree. We have yet to try this fruit. This has overwintered for us for several years, which is our main goal, but the fruit quality of these trees is unknown.
Pollination
American persimmon is dioecious, meaning individual trees are either male or female. Only females fruit, and bees carry the pollen over from the males. Having at least one male nearby as a pollenizer is what gets you a real crop, and one male will serve several females.
These plants are grown from seed, which means there is no fixed male-to-female ratio in any given bundle. In large populations, seed-grown American persimmon averages roughly 50% male and 50% female.
The sex of a seedling can't be told until it flowers, and from seed that usually takes 5 to 8 years (sometimes sooner on a fast-growing tree). So the mix in a bundle of five is random. Each seedling has about a 50% chance of being male and a 50% chance of being female.
To put the odds in practical terms:
The probability that all five seedlings are female is (0.5)⁵, or 3.125%. The probability that all five are male is the same, 3.125%.
That means the probability that a bundle of five contains at least one female is 96.875%, and the probability it contains at least one of each (a female to fruit and a male to pollenize her) is 93.75%.
For comparison, a pair of seedlings only gets you one of each half the time. That's why we sell these in fives now.
A lone female will sometimes set seedless fruit without a male, and once in a while a male will carry a few fruit, but don't count on either. Plant all five near each other and keep every one of them until they flower and show you what they are.
Summary:
Seedling ratio: roughly 50/50 male–female
Odds your bundle of five includes at least one female: ~97%
Odds it includes both a female and a male: ~94%
Current Plant Size
Plants are currently 2-4 ft tall
Questions we get about Montana Trial Persimmon
How cold hardy is Montana Trial Persimmon?
We rate Montana Trial Persimmon hardy to zone 4b, which means winters down to about -25°F. Our notes have it taking -20°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.
How many chill hours does Montana Trial Persimmon need?
About 300 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 150 and 600. Seedlings vary, so that's based on the parent, Michigan-source Diospyros virginiana. American persimmon's chill need is low and easily met here. Winter cold and a short, cool summer are what limit it in Montana. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.
Why is it sold as a bundle of five?
American persimmon trees are either male or female, and you can't tell which until they flower, often 5 to 8 years from seed. With five seedlings there's about a 94% chance you get at least one female and one male. With two it's a coin flip.
What is Montana Trial Persimmon good for?
Our top use scores for Montana Trial Persimmon are feeding wildlife (9/10), pies and baking (7/10), fresh eating (6/10), jams and jellies (6/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.
Is Montana Trial Persimmon disease resistant?
Yes. It's resistant to leaf spot. Our unusual fruit disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.
Will deer eat Montana Trial Persimmon?
Sometimes. Deer browse Montana Trial Persimmon now and then, so protect young plants where deer pressure is high.
What arrives, and when does Montana Trial Persimmon ship?
Five dormant bare-root seedlings, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 2-4 ft. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.
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