Nop, that’s not what it looks like. Let me take a photo of the fruits.
The fruit is crispy, firm texture like an apple, I like the taste too, it is pretty sweet for a jujube when I compare it to Sugar Cane and Honey Jar and Shanxi-Li.
Do you know if the seeds will come true to parent fruit?
I would trade you for a few of your Dong cuttings for some of my seeds and I also have access to a large Indian jujube so I can send you a few scion wood cuttings of that one as well.
Here’s the photos of the Winter fruits I purchased at an Asian market here.
Do you think it is the same variety as your Dong?
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The short answer is no. But all that depends on pollination and background “DNA”. In my orchard with many varieties of fruit growing it’s a toss up of characteristics. Trees grown in groves of the same variety would possibly produce fruit more true to the dominant parentage.
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Is Dongzao the same as Dong?
Sandia and Dongzao look and taste similar to me. To me they are close to HJ in sweetness but not as juicy. These two along with Black sea look similar in that they have a beautiful golden hue to them.
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The shape of your Black Sea is more round than other Black Sea I have seen.
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Bob,
I usually pick the biggest loofa and tied a red string to mark it for seed. I let it grow all the way to the end of the season until the skin turned somewhat brown. I harvested it before frost. I then hanging it indoor for a few weeks to let it completely dry then cut it in half and shook all the black seeds out. I stored them in the Ziploc bag and labeled the date. The seeds usually viable for about 3 years or so then I started to collect a new batch of seeds for the next 3 years.
Tony
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Yes, “zao” is “jujube” in Chinese. So, “dongzao” is “Winter jujube”.
Agreed- Black Sea should be more elongated, with a slight point at the end.
Yes, I believe Sandia is a branch sport of Dong. Basically, someone noticed that one branch of a Dong was ripening early and propagated a cutting.
Dong has a good texture, but the brix is often a bit lower than the sweetest Honey Jar for me just because they are ripening so late. It is often a race against the frost, as well as reduced sun in November. Dong are still plenty sweet in the high 20’s brix. Some Honey Jar get into the low/mid 30’s, though depending on conditions, some are similar to Dong.
Thanks Tony. Do you ever have issues with accidental pollination of the seeds with squash or melons?
I agree with Katy that jujube seeds will not come true. They are like children, taking some of each parent. And similar to apples, in that a decent number of them will not be that good.
Ask me in Feb and and should be able to send some cuttings. I don’t need any seeds- I have plenty and have planted Dong before, though the seedlings are still small.
Those look pretty similar to me. It is possible it is Dong, but it could also be a related variety, 2nd or 3rd generation Dong. There are a bunch of variants in China, which have started to be introduced here.
I see that those were grown in China. Coming from China makes it more likely that it is Dong or one of its namesakes. There are some regions in China where jujube ripen earlier and they sometimes apply a bunch of techniques like girdling to accelerate things further. Some are also grown in greenhouses.
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Bob,
I haven’t noticed the cross pollination issue yet. But this year I grew 2 different varieties of loofa, one is a long green and one is a light yellow. I saved 1 fruit of each variety for seeds. I will plant some seeds of both varieties and will see if the offsprings fruits look any different from the parents.
Tony
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My wife just came back from the Asian grocery store and found jujube on sale, she got a bag of “fresh jujube” for $2. The brown ones are quite sweet and crunchy, I’m guessing they’re Li variety. They also have the pretty expensive and better packaged “Winter Jujube” for $11.
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My loofa is the long variety that my mom gave me as a seedling this Spring. I’m gonna leave one on the vine until brown to harvest the seeds for next year. She gave the seedling to me thinking it was a bitter melon.
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I bought 4 pounds of what I think is GA-866 jujube at the Asian market. They are sweet, crunchy, some juice and real good. Their seeds are hollow.
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How would Jujube’s do planted on a steep slope with not that great of soil and little water? 
I have Honey Jar and Sugar Cane and I’m trying to find a place in my yard to plant them. All I’ve seen about runners popping up and their potential to grow pretty tall make me want to keep them well away from my orchard and fruit trees.
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You want a full sun spot for better fruit production but jujube does like water and fertilizer frequently. My lawn sprinklers water my jujube trees 3 times per week.
Tony
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After almost a month of sunny and dry weather, it rained just about the time jujubes were turning color. This resulted in cracking. Sugar Cane has cracked the most.
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I grafted several varieties and lost tags.
This variety produced for the first time. The fruit are on a smaller size. The shape is tapered. They are crunchy, juicy and sweet. The best jujube I have eaten.
Anyone could tell me what variety it is, please?
@BobVance , @jujubemulberry , @k8tpayaso , @tonyOmahaz5 , et al.
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My first year jujube top leaves are also chlorotic like some leaves in that photo. But being late in the season I’m not going to do anything, what do you suspect is the culprit? Usually it’s a lack of iron but in my case I don’t think that is so, since my well water is rich in iron
I would guess Black Sea…. @BobVance might have sent you some different scion that is similar but looks like Black Sea to me
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