There are some that have never seen or heard of a persimmon tree. This one was planted in western Virginia sometime around 1986 by my late father. It has not required any maintenance or care since it was planted. Leaves come late in the spring. The leaves are very vulnerable to frost. If a light frost develops after budding, they will shrivel up and die. A new generation of leaves will follow shortly after. During the summer the fruit is almost impossible to see. Immature fruit is small, pale green, about an inch in diameter. Mature fruit will end up being about 1-1/2 inches in diameter for this species.
In September leaves will start falling and the fruit will look bright yellow. Just before the first frost, usually around mid-October, the fruit will darken to orange, like this page background. It is not yet ripe and tasting it will leave your mouth puckered up. The fruit is not ripe until they turn brownish and look wrinkled. All the fruit on the tree don't ripen at the same time. I find that a gentle nudge of a branch will drop ripened fruit. The last of the ripe fruit will be ready by mid-November.
The deer love to feed around it in the evenings and early mornings when the fruit has fallen as seen on the following picture taken in 2001.
Here's some interesting folklore pertaining to the seeds: Weather Prediction
