funderburk wrote:**UPDATE**
So, I wanted to chase this thing down. And I did
First, I called the Forestry Association. They had no idea but told me to call the local Ranger District for my area of public land. So I called them...and they had no idea. They suggested I call the State Botanist. BRILLIANT! I called her...and she had no idea. She said, “Well, persimmon trees are everywhere.” But she then called someone she knew (not sure who it was), and gave me the exact WMA land code, road name, and landmark where I could find fruit-bearing persimmon trees
Nerd Win of the century, but hey...I’m trying to think outside the box
I was thinking originally you may not find anything out from the government. These days if a tree isn't a "money maker". Most forestry departments don't pay much attention to them. Other thing is alot of the old groves have died out or become too mature. Alot of the old timers that knew about them have died. At least for apples and the like.
When I was a kid. There was a small apple tree in the marsh on a neighbors land. Most years it sat in such a low area that. The blossoms froze out in the spring. The years it produced the deer never hit the apples hard until after the first frost at the tree. They didn't last long after that.
You may have to check the legal aspects of it. But I always thought if you found a really secluded fruit tree. You could turn it into a preferred tree. By fertilizing it at the drip edge of the canopy. In the spring.
