BaltCo. You can see location and zone by clicking people’s usernames.
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If you get cuttings I’ll come over the Bridge and teach you to graft.
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what do you mean by palatable? not sweet enough? poor texture?
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Taste is poor. Very earthy green taste. Even when I let them hang until they wrinkle up they don’t always have enough sweetness.
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I am growing jujubes in North Georgia (8a) and Las Vegas (9a). In Georgia, I have Honey Jar, So, Sugar Cane, Black Sea, Empress Gee, Chico, Autumn Beauty, Li, and GA-866 (the deer got a couple of others that were insufficiently protected). In Vegas, I have Honey Jar, Chico, So, and Zigzag.
The trees prefer the Vegas climate (great heat and intense sun) so long as they are regularly irrigated, and are incredibly vigorous there. In North Georgia, they still grow pretty well and need no sprays or special treatment, but surprise late frosts (like the one we had this year) can damage them. They are normally late to leaf out, but are not totally immune to the tricks of the fickle Southeast seasons.
Of the GA trees, only Honey Jar and So have fruited (lightly). Both were good. As for vegetative growth, in GA, Sugar Cane and So appear to be the most vigorous (bear in mind, this is a sample size of 1). Notably, Sugar Cane and Li both set a lot of fruit this year, but aborted it all while still it was still in the green phase.
Other notes: So is a particularly attractive little tree with its whorled trunk and branches, and would probably take the habit of a bush without pruning/training. Sugar Cane is an upright grower, and I noted when doing my last round of pruning that its wood seems even stronger and stiffer than the other jujube cultivars.
In terms of fruit flavor (subjective of course), Chico is the standout, being more intensely flavored, with light to moderate acidity but still much sweeter than an apple. It is a really good fruit in its own right, and not just good for a tree that doesn’t need sprays — I would rather eat a basket of Chico jujubes than a basket of good apples. However, I have only tasted Chico from the Vegas tree, and it might not be as good when grown in the milder Georgia climate — other, more experienced jujube growers have rated it middle-of-the-road.
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Chico is one of my favorites but sometimes they just don’t flavor up. I think the heat brings out the best flavor and the first fruits to ripen don’t seem to be as tasty as later fruits. That may be because it gets hotter as the other fruits ripen—I dunno. I had some late October fruits once that I just didn’t eat. They also need to be brown to be good IMO. It’s hard to beat a good Chico that has a more complex flavor than HJ and SC.
Agree
Agree also
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I’m surprised that you don’t see enough sweetness. I’ve got about a dozen Contorted/So trees at ate least 5 sites and even when I get mediocre fruit, almost all of them are over 20 brix, with most around 25. The best are over 30, like from the below pic. It could just be a young tree or one that is stressed in some other way.
I also haven’t noticed any “green” taste to them. It almost sounds like your fruit didn’t ripen.
It does. I’ve seen it happen a number of times. Or, halfway between a bush and a tree.
Chico’s flavor is good, as you describe, but it’s texture isn’t as sharp/crunchy and it has productivity issues here.
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Is jujube a thirsty tree? Do they ever become drought tolerant, like an apple tree, in Zone 7, East Coast?
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The trees are still young so that could play a role. They were 3 feet tall from JF&E when I planted them Fall 2019. They’re ripening. Once they get spongy they are considerably better but still so far behind other stuff I have available at the same time. The spongy ones are sweet but not sweet enough to overcome my displeasure with the texture at that point.
Both trees are in a corner of my yard that I would describe as a food forest setting. The get plenty of sun but maybe stressed by root competition.
as far as I am aware they are supposed to be very drought tolerant once established. that is one of the main reasons I got them!
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what would be your recommendation for the best large fruited cultivar? based on your table I would assume Dae Sol Jo but I would rather not make assumptions.
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Drought tolerance refers only to their ability to survive. They can indeed survive for very long periods of time with very little water.
But if you want the trees to grow and produce quality fruit, they need regular water.
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Texas A&M is our Bible but they need a bit of a revelation in the jujube department! 
. They are sorely behind in cultivars but I do agree with them on the drought and moisture hardiness of jujus. Although they are drought tolerant they are nowhere like succulents and other “arid region” (and I disagree with that statement by the article) fruit trees. These trees love the water and can tolerate wet feet more than you would think. However, as bad as my summer got this year—and it was bad—my larger trees looked great without watering. I had to work with the young trees to keep them going but those with deep roots didn’t suffer. My persimmons did look bad and they are very drought tolerant.
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Thanks. That rules out jujube for my orchard where trees are on their own after watering the first year.
They don’t ever need water in the Mid-Atlantic. I think castanea is referring to his climate. All they need is pruning once a year.
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Hambone,
If you have a sunny spot, you should plant a Honey Jar. Like Scott said, there should be enough rain without extra watering where you are.
I don’t even prune my trees. I topped them off at about 12’, if you call that pruning. If you don’t prune, you still can pick the fruit just by shaking the tree. Plant a tree and graft other varieties to it. Jujube is really a very carefree tree. Easier than persimmons and pawpaws. I enjoy eating jujubes. The good ones are addictive.
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Thanks to both of you! That fits my goal of phasing out some apple trees and phasing in something precocious with fewer pests. Are there a couple varieties known to be precocious?
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I really like SiHong. I know it’s not one of @BobVance favorites because it is a dense texture and he really likes crisp. I like it for the flavor and consistency. The tree is hardy and grows fast and fruits precociously compared to some of the other varieties. It’s sweet and larger than a lot of varieties. It dries well and is one of the few dried jujus that I like. It also stores longer in the fridge than others. All this is just my opinion but if I had to choose only two jujubes SiHong would be one of them.
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In general, many jujube varieties are quite precocious and can set fruit by year 3. This is based on you getting a large bare root tree (4-5 ft tall. Do not go for a 1-2 feet tall tree. It will take a ling time. That could be why jujube trees are expensive.
The most productive variety is Bok Jo. However, you may want to choose the tastiest with crunchy texture for our east coast. For that, I hope @BobVance will give his opinion. Bob grows more varieties than most jujube nurseries.
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And that would be a big consideration because of all the difference weather and locale make.
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