I'm not in England, but am in a place with a vaguely similar climate. For
what it's worth, there are two possibilities in my part of the world:

* Persimmons from the Russian Far East, which are smaller and earlier than
their Chinese counterparts.

* The American Persimmon, Diospyros virginia, which needs less heat than the
Asian Persimmons, and also are quite a bit smaller than Chinese types.

I suspect Persimmons are rare in England. If you have never had one before,
beware that most of them (and all forms of American persimmon as far as I
know) have extremely astringent fruits until completely RIPE. Most of them
turn SQUISHY SOFT when ripe. They also turn slightly translucent; look
carefully for the change, and gently feel them for softness. If you try to
eat one that is NOT completely ripe, you will be in for a most unpleasant
surprise as you mouth turns chalky as if it were full of alum. This is one
reason Persimmons never became extremely popular outside of their native
ranges.

One exception is the variety called "Fuyu", which does not ripen squishy
soft, and is not astringent.

To eat any other kind, you cut them into quarters and scoop out the flesh
with a spoon.

Leave American persimmons on the tree until right after the first frost; it
helps them ripen (some kinds, it doesn't matter).

When fully ripe, they are delicious fresh or in pies, tarts, or jam. Very
sweet, jelly-like consistency, with a peculiar, fruity odor, the Asian
types having crunchy membranes inside the gooey-sweet interiors

Bez wrote:

Hi,

Has anyone had any success in growing these trees in England? How
long
before they fruit and do they need a polynator. Thankyou.

--
Enjoy reading about special plants from interesting parts of the world on my
blog at a href="http://wildestdreamsofkew.blogspot.com""Wildest Dreams of
Kew"/a