I’m trying to decide where to locate my new jujubes. One location where I’d like to put 1 tree is under a fairly high electric line (on regular utility poles, not a high-wire transmission line). I don’t have to worry about them spraying or mass clearing under the line like some utility companies do in some places. In my area all the do it just cut the tops out of trees once they get into the lines. I’m terrible at estimating heights but I’d guess this line is about 35-40 feet high.
Can anyone tell me approximately how tall a Honey Jar and Sugar Can jujube will be at maturity. Also, are either one of these 2 trees shorter than the other so I can at least put the shorter one under the line? Thank-you.
hj’s are slower growing in las vegas compared to sc’s, which is why was surprised that you received your with the hj being bigger than sc. Here, jujus also tend to slow down in growth at about 10-15 height, and start producing permanent canopies, as the upright stems start getting droopy(upright stems are generally perennial). HJ’s tend to get droopy at a lower height than sugarcane, even under full sun conditions. Sugar cane stems seem to be so much stiffer, so it is our preferred interstem. SC also seems to produce more upright growth per unit time, which is excellent if you have plenty scionwood and prefer to graft them on perennial stems.
a 40 feet tall juju in america is almost unheard of, even in relatively moist fort worth, tx. The 45 foot tall juju in forth worth botanical garden is supposedly 45 feet tall, but it is primarily because it is very old.
FWBG happens to be the oldest botanical park in tx.
Thanks Raf, that was a big help. Sounds like I wouldn’t have much to worry about if I plant either one under the utility wires. I’d prefer not to, but by doing so I can plant them in the most visable area (to the road) of my property. From what you’ve said, these are the kind of trees I’d want to show off, right?
apart from their aesthetics, their longevity and disease/pest- resistance are worthy of consideration. Have made them the delineation trees and centerpieces on our property. As for conventional species, we planted them at the least visible areas of our yard, or just left them potted. Our location is infested with borers which often result in sad looking apples and peaches, so growing conventionals on one’s front yard won’t be advisable.
and if they die within a few years(being disease- or pest-ridden and not particularly long-lived), the dead trees would be an even worse eyesore, and will have to be removed right away else one’s neighbors start complaining. And once removed, the gaps result in asymmetry on one’s front yard. There’s just no sense of permanence. And loads of uncertainty
as trees, hj looks nicer than sugarcane. Sugarcane appears more lanky and sparse due to its smaller foliage, especially when grown in full sun.
agree with @k8tpayaso that contorted is so much nicer to look at, be it with leaves-- or without!
no need to buy a contorted now though, since there are so many of us here who could provide you with scion wood next year
Actually, if he is looking for ascetics, maybe buying a Contorted isn’t a bad idea. I’m not sure how pretty a multi-graft would be, with just a portion of it made up of Contorted. At least to the average person- all multi-graft are beautiful to me.
Maybe Burnt Ridge would be a good place to get it? The pic posted in this thread seems pretty nice. Maybe not quite as nice as the (more expensive) one you could get from CA (DWN through Sanhedrin or L.E. Cooks through Bay Laurel), but pretty good and it is still in stock. Also, they have Chico in “Large”. I think Raf (and at least one other poster) like the flavor on that one.
You could also check with Edible Landscaping to see if they have any. I think Englands also has it, with a name of “So”.
That’s possible, but I hope not, as I planted one last year and have another coming from BR soon.
From Richard Ashton’s article:
The better varieties for fresh use are ‘Honey Jar,’ ‘Sugar Cane,’ ‘Li,’ ‘Shanxi Li,’ ‘Sherwood’ and ‘Chico’ (‘GI 7-62’). Of these the largest is ‘Shanxi Li’ and the smallest is ‘Honey Jar.’ ‘Honey Jar’ is the juiciest. ‘Chico’ (‘GI 7-62’) matures in mid to late season and ‘Sherwood’ is the last of these to ripen in early October. ‘Li,’ ‘Shanxi Li,’ ‘Honey Jar’ and ‘Sugar Cane’ ripen in August and early September.
So, if he has Honey Jar in Aug/Early Sept and I have it in mid-late Sept, stretching into early Oct, it sound like I (and probably you) are about 3-4 weeks behind. That means that if Sherwood is early Oct and last, then Chico is probably mid-late Sept for him.
Based on that math, I’m guessing that Chico will first ripen around mid-Oct and stretch into November. The question is how well jujube’s hang on the tree once the cold hits. I know apples aren’t really damaged until you get to the low 20’s (maybe lower with some). Jujubes high sugar levels should analogously protect them. But that doesn’t mean that the tree won’t drop them along with the leaves once the cold hits. I’m encouraged by the pic on the Bay Laurel site which shows a Contorted tree with no leaves and just fruit. BR has a similar pic of a Li.
We normally get our first frost around Halloween, so I’m guessing that at least part of the crop will ripen. I’m more worried about Sherwood and Winter Delight. I’ve got a tree of Sherwood and a graft of WD, so hopefully I’ll know soon.
Once you get Chico to fruit and can confirm its ripening date, I’ll see if I want to grow it. Hope you don’t mind being a guinea pig, I mean, a trailblazer
While I’m practical in that I want fruit, I’m also interested in seeing what will happen. I’ve planted enough trees that I shouldn’t be lacking for fruit (hopefully soon), so it’s no hardship to try out some less-tested options. I’m also planning to raise some seedlings (longer horizon…), which are even more uncertain.
just found the 5 inch tall hj jujube i got from Mr Meyer years ago.
was peeved and somewhat insulted that anyone would send anybody a ‘bare-root tree’ that is 5 inches tall.
but i guess he wasn’t lying, as the 5-inch tall specimen proved itself a ready-to-fruit ‘tree’, and on the same year i planted it
btw, this took about 4 years to reach ~10 feet tall, despite our long growing seasons
So…I’ve just been watching some videos on my new interest: Jujubes. Really neat stuff. Now I want to try tea, deserts, etc. But here is what surprised me most: I’ve been reading about jujubes on this site for 3-4 years, and I even own two now, and it never occurred to me that it was pronounced any way except “JEW-JUBE” with silent e (rhyme with tube). Turns out most videos I saw pronounced it Ja-JUBEY with the first part sounding like only the litter j and the second part rhyming with “doobie” (no doobie jokes, it was that or use a “b” so I tried to pick the most g-rated!. Also feel like I should apologize for using “jew” in this context but I don’t know how else to explain sound and certainly mean no offense)
So, is it actually pronounced “Jew JUBE” (rhyme with YOU TUBE) or is it “J-ju-bee” with a quick J then Jew-BEE with emphasis on Bee
If it is the later, does this surprise anyone but me? Guess I should have watched a video before. Having only seen it written, I was surprised! ha. Now, how about the tea? +/- ?
I normally call it “Jew Jew Be”, just like the candy. I haven’t worried about it too much though- nobody I talk to has ever heard of it before no matter what name I use.
Actually, a few Chinese people I’ve spoken with have known what it is, but none had grown it. And they usually knew it by the Chinese name (Zao, which is pronounced something like “Sow”). I say “something like”, because that is what it sounds like to me, even though my pronunciation is evidently nothing close.
There is no accepted pronunciation in English. I agree with Bob - Potato-potahto. The Chinese do not call it jujube so it doesn’t matter how they pronounce the word jujube. Asking the Chinese how they say the English word jujube would be like asking them how they say the English word watermelon. It’s completely irrelevant.
Like you all say, doesn’t matter how you say it since no one I know would know anyway!
Hey…I planted mine today, and after I got them into the ground I got a little worried. I planted them about 15 feet from a very large cedar tree. Since jujubes are often described as apple-like in taste and since I didn’t ask, I got worried that perhaps they have something similar to CAR? Is there any reason I shouldn’t have planted them close to a cedar tree? Thanks.
Well, add another person to all the Honey Jar hype. I just placed my order in from EL. Look forward to it’s arrival. It’s been high on my wish list and very happy to have it ordered it. The size shown by cityman is just ridiculous. Wow!! Great find!! Thanks for sharing.
