My experience with jujube grafting this year is as follows. I dug approximately 80 suckers in late winter (most with a good 3" of lateral root - some less), potted them, and grafted as they were beginning to leaf. A little over half of these failed. They put out new growth and then died. Of the 50 established, in ground plants that I grafted only one has failed so far. I also grafted some one year old potted plants with established roots and had better success with these as well. All the failures of the recently dug suckers has me questioning when to dig them. Iām obviously thinking a stronger root system in the pot would be able to better support the new graft. Iām wondering if I should let them get up to grafting size and dig them in late summer or fall. Would an actively growing sucker even be able to support the foliage if dug and potted? Or if I dug and potted in early winter/late fall immediately after leaf drop would they be able to grow some roots in the pot over winter? What do you all think? 
from our experience, recently dug up rootstoc will also have high failure rates when grafted to. Generally, only after a year(after being dug up) will grafting success rates be at par with grafts on established trees, or older rootstoc. Just let the rootstock recover and produce more roots for one season.
if you really have to do this, best approach would be to graft as low as you can. Just make sure thereās at least one viable-looking node on the rootstoc(in case the graft fails) , and use a very short scion, to minimize resistance to sap flow. . [quote=āBede, post:1, topic:11401ā]
if I dug and potted in early winter/late fall immediately after leaf drop would they be able to grow some roots in the pot over winter?
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Very unlikely. There is no physiologic incentive for root growth at a time when water conservation is at a maximum since there are no stomata during dormancy. Cold temps of winter also slows down metabolic processes, so growth of any kind is put on hold.
Are you establishing a commercial jujube orchard? Sounds like a lot of jujube trees!
My method with jujubes lately has been to directly transplant jujube suckers to their permanent locations, typically two or three more or less in the same hole or right next to each other for back-up. Then I give them hardly any care. Most survive anyway. Then I plan, probably starting next year, to graft them once theyāre well established, about head high, and growing vigorously. I figure Iāll be grafting onto rootstocks that will push grafts very well, and I figure itās better to take my transplant/establishment losses before I invest in the effort of grafting (even though jujubes are fairly quick and easy to graft.)
Thank you both for your replies. Much appreciated. I do like the idea of 2 or 3 per hole in case 1 fails. Iād really like to be able to offer the fruits and plants for sale at some of the local farmers markets and Asian groceries. To me everything about them is excellent (with the exception of having to use a sewing needle to dig a thorn out of my finger).
Omgā¦laughingā¦
winter delight can grow 2-inch daggers when grown in the desert, and even when grafted high.
When is the best time to transplant jujubes? I have a 5 foot Sihong that I want to move. I know there are some trees, such as Pawpaw, that do not grow any roots during the winter dormancy so it is best to move them just before springā¦Do you know if jujube grow some roots during winter dormancy?
I donāt know any specifics necessary to explain the hows or whys, but I know Iāve mostly transplanted jujubes in November/December (between one and two dozen total), and theyāve mostly done fine.
jujus have excellent tolerance of drought, so some loss of roots (by transplanting), even during summer will not be as worrisome as when transplanting other fruit species.
humbly admit being clueless about whether or not jujus grow roots during dormancy, but somewhat confident that would win the wager if bet on the below-ground being co-dormant with the above-ground parts of a juju tree.
and even if root growth does occur, quite notable that from a stomata-to-root-ratio perspective, transplanting during dormancy is still the safest time and most convenient for the following reasons
- thereās no need to remove some leaves,
- the weather will not be as hot as summer when the transplanted tree starts leafing out
- and the leafing out and overall growth may adapt to the extent of root loss(i.e. smaller leaves and shorter internodes to minimize transpiration losses/exposed surface area). The tree also has the option to limit budding from the nodes, say, by sprouting from fewer nodes than it would if the roots werenāt trimmed.
if many nurseries will not ship bare-root trees during summer, it is perhaps for the same reasons mentioned, else garner bad yelp reviews for sending specimens with high mortality ratesā¦
Weāve been moving a fence line which will allow me to plant more trees. Iām about to transplant two jujube seedlings into this new area.
Katy
Very nice up keep orchard. You can put another 10 trees in that area and still have room.
Tony
Itās actually a lot longer than that evenā¦ if it werenāt for the power line and easement I could have a lot more. As is Iām probably going to get 25 to 30 in there with pretty good spacing. Iām excited. Itās an area about 30 feet by 600 feet
Thanks for all the good info @jujubemulberry and @cousinfloyd. Considering the amount of work that goes into moving a jujube (because of their extensive root system) it is good to optimize your success rate.
Iāve actually taken the opposite approach with jujubes. Iāve mostly transplanted not-yet-grafted suckers. Theyāre plentiful and pretty easy to dig up, so Iāll plant two or three in opposite corners of the same planting hole. I put very little work into them. I figure itās easier to plant more trees and take losses. If they survive, get established, and start growing, then Iāll go ahead and graft them.
Itās good to see others with the same insane addictionā¦Iām sure I speak for just about all on the forumā¦We all plant much more than we can ever hope to take care of and,especially, eatā¦But that is a good thing; besides giving family and friends a share of the bounty, you will find you cut down or get rid of all the fruit trees that are under performers. Iāve gotten rid of peaches, apples, pecan, walnut, banana, grapes, and some plumsā¦I now have been focusing on mulberry (way too many), jujube, blueberry, persimmon, and pearā¦all are no-work plants that provide a ton of fruit. So kudos to you!
Yes, I donāt feel like Iām the only one but I do feel that it is a contagious malady that is spread by consorting with like minded individuals! We have some that are too much work but as they die out they will not be replaced. I too am focusing a lot on jujube, mulberry, pear, persimmon, and pomegranate. Iāve also got blackberries and muscadines which donāt need a lot of care. They are all nice to eat and nice to share!
I didnāt say I was cured of my addictionā¦ My wife calls it āPASāā¦Plant Acquisition Syndrome"ā¦I couldnāt stop myself from recently purchasing āFreedomā blackberry plants. And I agreeā¦muscadines ādonāt need a lot of careāā¦It is just every year my four vines would produce well over a hundred pounds (guestimation) of grapes but I would never get to eat more than a dozen ripe muscadine because the raccoons, possums, and squirrels evidently liked them more. I can protect my persimmon and pear trees, and I have so many mulberry and blueberry plants that, except for all the piles of blueberry and mulberry poop around the yard, they donāt seem to make much of a dent in the harvest. Iām keeping my fingers crossed, but so far they havenāt shown an interest in the jujubes and citrus. I also love my Feijoa plantsā¦they have such an exotic flavor, but they are very finicky in fruit production.
totally agree-- life is too short, and some fruit trees may take forever before start producingā¦
as with many things in life, you can never be optimistic about your work if you didnāt ply a pessimistās approach. The miserly paranoid in me is such that when propagating suckers/grafting, have actually figured in some mechanical leverage/hydraulic physics equations and structural considerations along with basic plant physiology.
the hetty green of penny-pinching when it comes to āloss preventionā 
I hear what youāre saying, but 30+ years in the sciences has burnt out my last neuronā¦Now I just give them my love and they sometimes respond likewise.
burnt out and yet still doing microscopy studies. Makes me think how you were back then! 