Question
Hi,
-In the woods around my home there used to be a few wild persimmon tress when I was a kid, and I liked to eat them, when they got fully ripe of course.  Since that time houses have been built and the trees have disappeared.  I own some land still in the area and would like to plant some more.  I found some wild persimmon trees with plum sized fruit a few hundred miles away, but on the same latitude.  Can the trees be propogated from seed, or from cuttings?  Should I start a bunch of them in dixie cups then plant them?  Guidance?
-Similar question--except about sassafras which doesn't have a fruit or seed that I've ever seen.
Art  

Answer
Hi Art,
Thanx for your question.  You can start wild persimmons from seed but it will take many years to get fruit.  You might want to try cuttings taken fresh in the late spring (green growth not the brown woody growth).  Make sure you get about 8 inches per cutting.  Make the cuttings at a leaf axil (where the leaf meets the stem) and dip in a rooting hormone which should be available at many nurseries.  Stick the cuttings into a soil less mix which is damp but not soggy.  Seal inside a plastic bag and keep warm (70-75 degrees F).  Rooting should occur in 8 weeks but could take several months.  You can check by using a pencil to dig around the cutting looking for the white root threads.  You may be able to find some persimmon saplings in the area.  Dig real deep and transplant immediately.  Put manure and peat in the hole for the sapling.  Water once a week if no regular rain.

Sassafras trees usually have suckers growing around the mother tree still attached to the roots.  Dig deeply and detach from the mother tree.  Water and fertilize as above.  I hope this helps.
Tom