DWN Li Jujube

meant for ‘us’ to be us growing trees in the mojave desert, and not the ‘us’ as growingfruit.org

Of all the jujube I planted this year (14 I think), this Li (I only planted one Li) has grown the fastest. It is over 8.5’ tall. In fact, it got too tall for it’s own good and started bending after a heavy thunderstorm last week. I used a bit of string to give it a hand in straightening up. I also nipped the end of the central leader, hoping that it would send it the signal that it’s grown tall enough and should branch out a bit more (and stiffen up).

After adjustment:

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Way to go @BobVance!

I’ve heard the Li also grows quickly in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California’s central valley.

At the moment I only have some jujube rootstocks I’m growing for grafting in the future but can’t wait to start growing some. This is a photo of some mixed rootstocks, mostly jujube along with 2 in ground Violette Sollies fig trees

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New green shoots emerging from my young Li …

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This year there are fruit sets on every node of every branch. :heart:

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Six weeks later

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Very nice fruits set Richard.

Tony

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which adorn the specimen from head to toe

not sure if @Richard is training it, or if it was obtained that way with the laterals pruned and apical upright bud removed, but his tree clearly indicates resilience of jujus to severe pruning.

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Actually I haven’t pruned any laterals. The top was pruned last summer to promote more side growth. :slight_smile:

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Wow. Has your landscape transformed that much? I recall the last year of so seeing soil for your entire landscape. If so, it’s beautiful.

Dax

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Wow Richard. Your “orchard” looks awesome. Really looks spectacular.

Anthony

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I think the weather is so nice here, I might as well make my home a vacation destination. :slight_smile:

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neat and easier to harvest. And evidently getting enough direct sunlight as shown by the dense fruiting.

for folks growing their jujus in regions with short growing seasons and/or surrounded by tall trees or structures, pruning the apical buds will not have the same results, as attaining height is the only way to max exposure of their “solar panels”

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The tree is very young. I did not prune apical buds, but only the main stalk. Verticals will arise from the shoulders of the druping side branches and become the main upright structures. From this I will control the height to 8-10 feet. This is the backyard orchard training for trees with this growth habit; e.g. avocado, mango, white sapote.

Today’s harvest :slight_smile:

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This year’s crop has equal quantities of small, medium, and large fruits. Here’s an example of the larger ones: 1.5" length, 1.2 oz. The taste is sweet apple plus a hint of cinnamon.

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Pruned it this morning – just a few snips with the pruner.

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Spring growth flush :slight_smile:

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