Persimmon · Karaj, Alborz Province, Iran
When to plant persimmons in Karaj
Main outdoor window
27 Oct - 17 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
1 May
In Karaj, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Oct - 31 Dec
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Karaj
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the tree
27 Oct - 17 Apr
Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.
Harvest
1 Oct - 31 Dec
Persimmons through the year
Against the frost risk in Karaj
Why these dates
Plant dormant. Fruit is picked late, often after leaf fall, and the astringent types are left until they are almost jelly-soft before eating.
Persimmons are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Karaj is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.
Karaj sits in zone 6b, which is colder than this crop is rated for, so it will need winter protection or a container that can be moved under cover. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 4, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Karaj
Other fruits to time
Growing persimmons in Karaj
When should I plant persimmons in Karaj?
Aim for 27 Oct - 17 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 9 Oct - 3 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will persimmons be ready to harvest in Karaj?
Expect to start picking around 1 Oct - 31 Dec, based on 150 to 180 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.