How many years does a black date tree generally need to be planted before it bears fruit?

Black date, scientific name Diospyros lotus, belongs to the family Ebenaceae and the genus Diospyros, with aliases such as soft date, milk date, wild persimmon, clove date, round brain, etc., and is widely distributed in northern China. So how many years does the black date take to bear fruit? And where is the best produced?

A black date tree only bears fruit once it reaches 5 years of age. The black date is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree species, with a total plant height of between 5.5 and 18 m, and an extremely wide distribution range; it can grow in a number of regions in our country, often growing at forest edges, in mountain forests or beside streams, and is also seen in slope grassland or grass thickets, with no strict requirements for its growing environment.

Where is the best black date produced?

Black date is mainly produced in the western Shandong region, and is distributed in Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Liaoning, central-southern and southwestern regions and elsewhere. Among the regions known for black date (also called “wu date”), the main ones are Yanggu in Shandong, Yan'an in Shaanxi, Yixian in Hebei, etc., with Yanggu in Shandong being especially famous.

What kind of environment is suitable for black date

The quality of the soil directly determines whether the Diospyros lotus seedlings grow well or poorly, and also directly determines whether the seedlings grow vigorously. If the soil is very good and the growing environment is very good, then tending them will be much easier, and the quality of the seedlings and their growth speed will also improve a great deal accordingly. Diospyros lotus has very few soil requirements, and can be planted in sandy gravel soil, yellow clay, or residue soil; soil with a high sand content is no problem either. But for raising seedlings, good farmland should be chosen that has soft, aerated soil, rich organic matter, flat terrain and smooth drainage. When summer comes, rainfall increases, and water must be able to drain away as quickly as possible, otherwise it is very easy for seedlings to die on a large scale. The terrain is key and must be conducive to drainage; the soil can just be ordinary, with sufficient light, and Diospyros lotus has relatively good cold tolerance, drought tolerance and waterlogging tolerance.