Japanese persimmons, ?Diospyros kaki L.,? were introduced into the United States from Japan by Admiral Perry who discovered the fruit growing on the coast of Southern Japan in 1851. Most of the early Japanese persimmon introductions in 1828 were sprouted from seed in Washington, DC, but were unsuccessful, because of the unusually cold winters experienced during that period. The USDA introduced grafted cultivars of Japanese persimmon into California and Georgia beginning...