Persimmon (Asian), Coffee Cake, Bare Root

Coffee Cake Persimmon (Diospyros kaki ‘Nishimura Wase’)

Coffee Cake is an earlier-ripening Asian persimmon whose best-known eating qualities depend on pollination. Properly pollinated fruit develops brown flesh and a sweet, spicy flavor that can be enjoyed while still firm.

Key Characteristics

Flavor and texture depend on pollination

Pollinated fruit develops brown flesh around the seeds and loses astringency earlier. Without adequate pollination, treat pale or puckery fruit as astringent and allow it to become fully soft.

An earlier place in persimmon season

Coffee Cake commonly ripens ahead of Fuyu types. This helps broaden an autumn harvest where the season is long enough for both.

Plant the pollen source it needs

Coffee Cake is mainly a female-flowering cultivar and should not be expected to pollinate another tree. Chocolate is a useful 2027 partner because it can supply compatible pollen.

Pollination Partners

Plant Chocolate nearby for the pollen needed to develop Coffee Cake’s characteristic brown flesh and firm-ripe eating quality. A second Coffee Cake is the same cultivar and does not replace that pollen source. Cross-pollination depends on overlapping bloom, not matching harvest months.

Rootstock and Mature Size

Plan for approximately 15–25 feet at maturity, depending on site and pruning. The offered variant identifies the rootstock; keep the graft union above soil level and remove rootstock suckers.

Product Details

• Sun: Full sun to light partial shade; full sun is best for fruiting.
• Soil: medium to medium-dry, well-drained soil; avoid standing water.
• Mature height: Approximately 15–25 feet; see rootstock and pruning guidance above.
• Bloom: Late spring; small cream to white flowers.
• Fruit: Orange-skinned fruit with sweet, spicy brown flesh when pollinated; unpollinated fruit can be astringent.
• Uses: Fresh eating when properly pollinated and ripe, drying, and desserts.
• Ripening: September–October
• Chill hours: Approximately 200 hours.
• Pollination: Plant Chocolate as a pollen source; firm-ripe eating quality depends on pollination.
• USDA hardiness: Zones 7–10.

General Persimmon Orchard Guidance

A good start

Choose well-drained soil and enough room for the mature tree. Water consistently while roots establish, mulch with space around the trunk, and keep vigorous grass and other competitors away from the young root zone.

Fertility and fruit-tree guilds

Use a soil test to guide lime and fertilizer rather than feeding heavily by default. Our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend is an optional planting supplement; keep concentrated fertilizer away from bare roots and avoid excess nitrogen.

Interested in permaculture and stacking functions around your fruit trees? Explore our fruit-tree guild guide for ideas on combining plants for flowers, ground cover, and mulch while giving your tree room to grow.

Practical pest and disease care

Water young trees consistently and avoid overfeeding; vigorous growth or heavy crops can encourage fruit drop. Prune lightly for structure, remove damaged fruit, and monitor for scale, leaf spots, and browsing. Protect young trunks and support heavily loaded branches as needed.