Cold Hardy Persimmon tree

Last April I planted 2 persimmon trees. (actually Mom and Nathaniel did the digging while I watched because I was too crippled to hardly walk) We planted 1 Rosseyanka Persimmon, wich is a cold hardy Asian X American cross from Nikita Botanic Garden in Yalta, Ukraine. It is supposed to be hardy to zone 5, minus 25F, and a vigorous grower to 20 ft high and 12 ft wide, a heavy producer of 2.5 inch diameter fruit that is astringent and asian flavored. The tree is said to be like American, and the fruit like Asian Persimmon. We also planted a Saijo Asian Persimmon which is supposed to be zone 6 hardy to minus 10F. The Saijo is supposed to be vigorous grower to 15 ft high and 12 ft wide, and is supposed to be a heavy producer of medium size, very sweet when soft, asian persimmons. I planted them in a good location, with the big metal shop to the north, and a good tree row with cedar and elm to the south and west. These factors block the Kansas wind, and seem to provide decent shelter. I hope to be picking tasty Asian persimmon fruit in a few years. As of August they both look decent with a foot of growth. I ordered the one gallon size from Edible Landscaping in Virginia. I am seriously thinking of also ordering a Hokkaido Persimmon from www.nuttrees.net in Kentucky, because they seem really cold hardy and produce huge fruit!! We will see!!

Late Bloom Almond tree

We planted Alenia Prima Almond and Dessertniy Bounty Almond April 2010. They are both late bloom, cold hardy Ukrainian types from Nikita Botanic Garden in Yalta. They are supposed to be hardy for up to zone 5, and reliably produce large crops of large, sweet, soft-shelled, nuts. They are supposed to be much better than the Halls Hardy Almond, and were brought to this country by One Green World, and are also sold at Burnt Ridge Nursery in Washington. They should do good here in Kansas zone 6. As of August, Prima looks good with over a foot of vigorous growth and Bounty looks sickly with 4 inches of new growth, but I think they are both going to make it. Bounty was real late to leaf out. Dad packed water to them when I asked this summer and I hobbled along sometimes with my crutches when I felt up to it. We will see how they take a Kansas winter. I plan to mulch them.