Bass - you mentioned the D. virginiana rootstock is better for the north than D. lotus. What about zone 7a in Maryland - would either of these be suitable? I thought I read somewhere that the D. virginiana is better for clay soils - has anyone heard this?
Speaking of seeds, two years ago I planted Chocolate, Saijo and Maekawa Jiro and got the first fruit off of the Chocolate last Fall. I'm hoping my other two trees will fruit this year. I liked the fruit although it had seeds. Around the same time I got some fruits off of a Fuyu type from a friend which did not have seeds. The Fuyus were fantastic and I found that I really like not having to deal with seeds. From doing some research, it sounds like fruit from all three varieties will have seeds due to the fact that the chocolate has male flowers. I didn't realize this before. I'm now weighing whether to remove the chocolate and replace it with a Fuyu type or live with the seeds. I have also heard, however, that the seeds influence the flavor in a good way - at least the Japanese think so. I suspect my Chocolate will get better with age. Do you all think the enhanced flavor is worth the seeds? Mine were a little under-ripe so maybe that caused the seeds to be more difficult to remove as I sliced up the fruit and ate it.