Jujubes- Our New Adventure

k8tpayaso · 2017-09-12T17:15:18.246Z

I know the feeling though…patience is not my strength!

BobVance · 2017-09-12T21:54:57.241Z

BobVance:

The HJ graft sets well for me, but I’m not seeing any set on the HJ planted last year or the two from this year. Maybe it is a pollination issue.

To update this, the HJ graft, which fruited for two years, dropped most of its fruit this year. But I did find a fruit on the newly planted HJ- though none on the one I planted last year.

mamuang:

A disappointing year for my jujubes.

True for me as well- I had poor growth earlier in the season. Maybe there was too much rain and clouds. Things are better now, but it’s the first year that my large So has produced less fruit than the year before. Though it still has a lot more than any of the others (2 max, while most have 0).

Hopefully the trees have matured enough that they are in a better position to fruit next year.

mamuang · 2017-09-12T22:59:41.872Z

I’ve found it’s weird because a newly planted tree set 3x more fruit than the second year trees!!

I also have a nutrient issue on SC (one of the two 2nd year trees). I have not gotten around to send in soil for a test yet.

scottfsmith · 2017-09-12T23:31:10.408Z

mamuang:

a newly planted tree set 3x more fruit than the second year trees!!

I’ve seen that many times. I got a few fruits last year on some newer grafts, this year zilch on all of them.

mamuang · 2017-09-13T00:25:56.849Z

I start to believe that jujubes really do not like our humid climate. Reports from members, whose trees are more productive than our east coaster areas, are usually from arid, drier climates.

scottfsmith · 2017-09-13T00:52:44.465Z

Or maybe we need to wait 20+ years… I have seen a few massively fruiting jujubes in the east but they were all big and old.

mamuang · 2017-09-13T00:56:54.263Z

By then, I may not have many teeth left for crunchy jujubes

k8tpayaso · 2017-09-13T02:06:50.614Z

@mamuang Hahahaha. I am so glad I’m not the only one with such worries!!! You go girl!

markalbob · 2017-09-13T03:17:28.256Z

Can Tony or anyone else who has tried growing jujube seeds for route stuck in zone five areas comment on how long it takes for the guys to grow to a graftable size?

This year it looks like mine are all going to top out between six and 10 inches tall so no grafting next spring, they’re barely pencil lead thick

castanea · 2017-09-13T03:43:04.208Z

I don’t think it’s necessarily a humidity issue. Jujubes may have originated in drier areas of Asia but they are widely grown in many parts of China that are very humid, in areas that closely resemble Alabama and Georgia.

tonyOmahaz5 · 2017-09-13T10:55:31.611Z

I waited for my seedlings sized up to pencil thick before grafting. I used Urea Nitrogen 43-0-0 to size them up in pots.

Tony

mamuang · 2017-09-13T11:07:29.113Z

Yup, like @scottfsmith said, it needs time to mature. I just was spoiled from last year’s first time trees that produced some fruit so quickly.

tonyOmahaz5 · 2017-09-13T16:24:55.385Z

Sorry Mamuang, I have to show you this real sweet, juicy, and crunchy
Honey Jar fruits that I just Harvested. Hang in there. Your trees will produce good crops. I moved all my Jujube trees to full sun 2 years ago and now I got plenty of sweet treat.

Tony

20170913_112022.jpg2988×5312 3.17 MB

markalbob · 2017-09-13T18:14:17.833Z

but how long did it take to get that size? Did they do in in their germination year? The following year?

tonyOmahaz5 · 2017-09-13T20:54:37.197Z

Bob,

It may takes two growing seasons to get there.

Tony

mamuang · 2017-09-13T23:43:08.713Z

Tony,
Though there is a tinge of envy, I am happy for you. Yoir HJ look delish. I could eat kilos. We do have some large, sweet, juicy jujubes where I came from. Eating them can be addictive.

I hope one day (soon) my jujubes will as productive as yours. Thanks for the pic.

jujubemulberry · 2017-09-14T03:58:30.968Z

k8tpayaso:

patience is not my strength!

patience? axl rose unwittingly wrote a song about jujubes, and i quote –

“said woman, take it slow, it will work itself out fine, all we need is just a little patience,
said sugar, take the time, cause the light is shining bright, all we need is just a little patience”

“if i can’t have you right now, i will wait, dear”

and he’s right, you want bright sunlight and a bit of waiting to make sugar(cane)

k8tpayaso · 2017-09-14T18:39:29.669Z

jujubemulberry:

“if i can’t have you right now, i will wait, dear”

We can plant an apple tree knowing that we will not see fruit for a while and we are okay with that…but when we plant a precocious jujube it’s not fair to have to wait!

jujubemulberry · 2017-09-15T05:04:03.461Z

k8tpayaso:

but when we plant a precocious jujube it’s not fair to have to wait!

jujus from sunny regions seem to have the hormonal levels and sense of surplus which wane when planted in regions with long winters/ early autumns. Only recourse is to plant them in sunniest locations of one’s property, to build up the food stored in rootstoc.
soil conditions(too much nitrogen or dilute conditions, etc) and lack of pollinators/variety of pollen may also result in poor production.

TheGrog · 2017-09-16T22:11:12.353Z

Ok, I have to ask. I visited Edible Landscaping in my area and tried some Jujubes that I thought were ripe. I wanted to taste some before I bought a tree.

They tasted like acorns, or maybe sawdust. Dry as a bone, no sugar. They’re ripe when they turn brown, right?