I’m interested in Jujube and Persimmon that will grow in SC Kansas. I’m not interested in high maintenance trees or trees that only produce periodically.
I already have a TigerTooth Jujube that I planted a couple of years ago. Really great looking tree! It flowers well after the last frost and is great for pollinators. It has yet to produce more than a single fruit per summer (that always mysteriously disappears before it ripens).
On the persimmon side of things I planted 20 native seedlings this spring from the Kansas Forestry Department. They are going to be slow to produce! I hope to learn to graft improved varieties to them sometime.
What says you all? Anything I should be looking at?
1 Like
Cliff England sells lots of scion wood to graft those seedling persimmons. I would check out his website for persimmon wood.
I’ll do that. How old do they need to be before I can start trying to graft them (nube question but I have to start somewhere).
Congratulations! Being the 1st Kansas jujubee grower to post here, as best I can remember after a glass of wine, you are the Kansas jujube expert!
I’d add a Li jujube. Space permitting, most posters have also had luck with Honeyjar, Sugarcane, Chico, Autumn Beauty, and Shihong.
Tony in Omaha might have conditions best approximating yours, hopefully he’ll chime in
Strange about your Tigertooth. That was my most productive tree here in Dallas. Tasted bad, but made up for quality with quantity. 
Lol, maybe there is a reason there aren’t many jujubes in KS… And you might go after another glass of wine just so I don’t loose that status.
I’ve heard of all those varieties, maybe I should look into some of them. I have no access to these fruits. Any description of taste? I was hoping the Tigertooth would taste good and I’m little bummed to hear you don’t like them. Oh well, it’s been fun to grow and if I live long enough I might get to eat one!
1 Like
I agreed with BH about all the varieties he listed. Honey Jar is my best tasting , early ripening, and productive. I do have about 15 jujube trees in full sun and Cross pollination is not an issue now.
Tony
1 Like
I like Honey Jar taste wise a little more than Li. But Li is much larger, & makes for a better dried fruit as Jujubees will shrink a lot when dried.
1 Like
Hey Tony, was cross pollination a problem in the past with less trees, or non overlapping bloom times?
I have less tree in the past. I now also have several seedlings that produced fruits also helped with pollination.
Tony
There are a good number of jujube growing in nearby Lawrence Kansas. Lawrence / Kansas City is nearly a zone different though not very far away. Those cities mentioned and manhattan KS get considerably more annual rainfall than my country location. @39thparallel grows jujube.
So if I wanted to add just a couple then Honey Jar and Li are probably good bets. Do they spread by suckering? I remember choosing the Tigertooth due to it being on it’s own roots and the chance of it turning into a thicket wasn’t high (I haven’t had my glasses of wine yet today so maybe I remember that wrong).
Do you guys have a favorite nursery to buy from? I think I bought my Tigertooth from “Just Fruits and Exotics” out of Florida. I thought it was kind of expensive (I buy most of my bareroot crabs/apples/pears for $20 each) but that might just be what Jujube’s are worth…
I’m on the 37th parallel which is quite a bit south of Lawrence/Manhattan/KC. Dryer, hotter, less snow, and plenty of wind.
1 Like
For Jujubee’s Just Fruits & Exotics is good. The best trees have been the ones from LE Cooke & Dave Wilson, sold through various nurseries. They’re bigger than many other suppliers like Rolling River, & fruit a year earlier. But LE Cooke just shut down; I’m not sure what will be available from where for the next season
2 Likes
Dryer and hotter is what they like. They don’t like shady locations where they do not get enough sun. Mine has done its best ever during this hot drought. The new ones I was trying to establish have not done well during the drought but a couple hung on. Even rootstock can be very expensive but it’s cheaper than grafted trees. You might contact the @39thparallel orchard and see what he suggests. Jujube I’ve eaten from large trees in Lawrence in the fall was li and Lang and sour jujubes. Enjoyed all the types I tried. Guess pictures say a thousand words http://www.growingfruit.org/t/jujubes-2018-new-rootstocks-in-the-ground/16775
1 Like
Hotter they like. Dryer I’m not sure about. They survive dry, but for tasty fruits in Dallas supplemental water is needed.
3 Likes
I’m in Lawrence KS. I think you should be able to grow any Jujube variety you want without issue. For persimmon, I would suggest Early Golden or the Hardy Hybrids like Nikita’s Gift and Rosseyanka. I may have some grafted Persimmons for sale and can help with scion. Also recommend looking at the varieties offered by Rising Creek in MO. I have most of them in my nursery. pic of early Golden ripening Now.
4 Likes
Chinese have been growing them here in Kansas for a long time. They do great.
1 Like
Which varieties do you like?
Thinking about your Tigertooth…Prof Yao writes that most, but not all jujubees, are self fruitful…maybe Tigertooth needs a pollinator
Thanks for the link! I would love to have a thicket like that!
1 Like
39th parallel… I need to get a hold of you or find an inventory and a price list. I live a couple of hours away, do you ship bare-root or sell potted?
1 Like
