I’m running out of space for trees fast but I’d really like to add two jujubees before I cannot squeeze any more trees onto my property. As of now I’m leaning towards an SO contorted and a coco variety. What two would you choose any why? Bear in mind I’m in central PA zone 7.
I have heard others here recommend honey jar and sugar cane. I have those on my list to try next.
I have a Ga866 and Shanx lee… but no fruit yet… in bloom now.
TNHunter
As you are in Pennsylvania like me, I’d recommend honey jar and sugar cane. I am planning on trying SO, and possibly some grafts of Autumn Beauty, Massandra, Black Sea, and Winter Delight to trial based on some of the posts on this forum.
Honey jar was also on my mind but not sugar cane. I was really interested in Ga866 but for how slow and not productive they tend to be I am shying away.
Additionally consider you can graft many cultivars onto one tree and gradually replace any “duds” with those performing better for you. This is what I intend to do as I also have limited space (but 3 jujube trees now).
@disc4tw I completely agree about grafting. I’d just like to come out of the gate strong rather than have to keep going back to the drawing board.
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If you want production, a variety called Bok Jo is very productive. @BobVance has introduced me to it. Bob also likes the taste. Taste-wise, it may not be at the same level as Honey Jar but it performs very well.
The recommendation of Honey Jar and Sugar Cane, if you are in the east coast, is very good one. Honey Jar may taste a tad better but Sugar Cane is larger. I personally prefer Sugar Cane than Honey Jar.
As you may know, jujubes need full sun to produce well. Mine get at least 10 hours of sun a day during a growing season. What often puzzles us is how they set fruit. Each tree can produce thousands and thousands of flowers but the fruit set is small comparing to the amount of flowers it produces. Small flying insects of various kinds and ants help pollinate those flowers so don’t kills those insects and ants on jujubes,
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Sounds about right to me- both first and 2nd tier. One note being that Winter Delight may really be the same as Autumn Beauty (at least from some nurseries), so I might skip that one. Black Sea and Massandra have high-quality crisp fruit. Autumn Beauty isn’t that crisp, but has very large fruit
I’m growing dozens of different varieties (though some are too new to have a good idea about yet) and Bok Jo has been by far the most productive. Quality-wise, it is very good, though just below Honey Jar and Sugar Cane, both of which have reasonably good production (a bit better for HJ, SC’s fruit is larger). But Bok Jo isn’t sold by any nurseries (unless you get lucky and England’s has it in stock), so you’d need to graft it. Starting with HJ and SC seems like a good idea.
I’d definitely avoid that one if you have limited space and are just getting started. I’ve got a GA866 which is 6 years old and has never produced a single fruit. It doesn’t even flower very much, at least compared to other jujubes.
So/Contorted is supposed to be a bit dwarfing, so it can work well in a limited space. The fruit quality is a bit under HJ/SC, but still very good and it is productive. My 10+ year old So is growing in a large bush form (maybe 8-10’ wide and 8’ tall).
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