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Re: More on persimmons

Hi Judy, and all,
Our garden in Berkeley, just above the city Rose Garden, is protected by
the red-tail hawks which nest just above UC Botanical Garden, and the
American Kestrals that seem to be nesting near Hilgard and Euclid avenues.
We watched a red-tail hawk settle on to our neighbor's redwood tree and
begin to dismember a squirrel, causing 12 stellar jays to appear from
somewhere for a piece of the action. The squirrels around are a lot more
careful now, so we hope our persimmons won't be raided by them. Racoons
are still terrible pests, and persimmon branches are brittle, but a wide
sheet of slippery metal around the trunk, or a circle of chicken wire
(which we use to protect the tree from deer, who like to strip bark away
and lick the sap) is helpful (doesn't beautify the garden though).
All the best,
Elly


On Mon, 28 Apr 1997, Judy Houck wrote:

> Hi all,
> That is a truly amazing story!  In Berkeley, Calif.  this tree is very happy
> and tough.  It has wonderful orange fall color.  But, about as soon as I
> begin to enjoy the winter fruit, the squirrels and raccoons climb up, break
> branches and destroy the fruit (in Orinda, also).  We have a serious
> overpopulation of these beasts as they have no preditors.  We can't very
> well have mountain lions or wolves and apparently the dogs and cats we do
> have do not suffice.  In fact we have to protect the dogs from the raccoons.
> I guess wildlife balance is a problem to all gardeners.
> Judy Houck, Berkeley/Quincy, California, U.S.A
> 
> At 10:34 AM 4/28/97 +0100, Alessandra Vinciguerra wrote:
> >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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