Grafting Limitations: Why Persimmons Won't Accept Other Fruit Species

The Grafting Compatibility Rule

A Missouri landowner with 40+ wild persimmon trees (Diospyros virginiana) hopes to graft more desirable fruits onto them. They also ask about grafting onto wild cherry (Prunus serotina).

Why Cross-Genus Grafting Fails

Successful grafting requires close genetic relationship—typically within the same genus. Persimmon (Ebenaceae family) cannot accept grafts from apples (Rosaceae), pears (Rosaceae), or stone fruits (Rosaceae). The vascular tissues won't align, and the immune response rejects the foreign tissue.

What Does Work

• Persimmon to persimmon: Named Asian cultivars (D. kaki) onto American rootstock
• Cherry to cherry: Sweet cherry (P. avium) onto wild cherry rootstock
• Apple to apple: Any Malus cultivar onto any Malus rootstock

The "Dog and Cat" Analogy

As the original answer noted, cross-family grafting is biologically comparable to mating a dog with a cat—the genetic distance is simply too great for tissue union.

Better Alternatives

For the persimmons: Plant named cultivars nearby for cross-pollination, or top-work a few trees to improved varieties. For wild cherry: Graft dessert cherry varieties directly. Both approaches yield edible fruit within 2-3 years.