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More on persimmons

Here persimmons normally come on their roots, and their toughness is
legendary. Two years ago I wanted to move five old, but short (perhaps 8
ft), plants that were growing on the edges of a small and overcrowded mound
of soil, 6 ft high and   planted with two old olives. So we start digging
around the persimmons and prepare a big root ball, 3 ft deep at least, wrap
it with mesh, make all the necessary preparation.  When we tried to pull out
the first plant, with the help of a craned truck, we heard a distinc crak
and realized that actually the trunk had broken at the intersection of the
roots, but this was _below_ the level of our supposed rootball. Further
digging investigations revealed that the trees had been, sometimes in the
past, covered with at least 3 ft of soil, meant to raise the height of the
hill. They had managed  to live with their root system buried  under all
this soil. Therefore, we  had carefully prepared a rootball around  the
trunks. This also explained the persimmon's  short height, as they were
buried for half of their real height. And, the buried trunks were perfect!
No signs of rot, or other sufference: the bark was compact, maybe just a
little paler than the average.  
No one could remember when this had been done, but considering that our
oldest staff members' memories go back to 30 years, we calculated that the
persimmons had survived, and regularly cropped every season, for at least 31
years, half buried in the ground.
How I wish other plants could perform like this!
Did anybody mention that in the winter the bare branches, covered with the
round orange fruits, are one of the happiest sights in the garden? Plant the
persimmons where they can be reached by  late afternoon light.  It enhances
the color of the fruits.

Ciao,
Alessandra
Alessandra Vinciguerra
American Academy in Rome
Via Masina,5
00153 Roma
Tel:0039\6\5846.444
library@librs6k.vatlib.it
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