exactly, no literature about jujus can claim absolute positive ID’s !
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Exactly. WD is a very long season jujube. Additionally, the flavor doesn’t develop very well unless we have hot weather from October through the first two weeks of November.
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I think climate played a major roll in how jujube taste. I grafted at Winter Delight from Bob H. and later it was realized to be Autumn Beauty about 6 years ago. It took forever to fruit but the last two years the fruits tasted inferior to Honey Jar and Sugarcane but in Dallas it tasted very good for him. Btw I got a real Winter Delight from Sophia grafted this year and hopefully it taste good like she described it as the best jujube she ever tasted while visiting China.
Tony
When is the best time for grafting and what type of graft is best in jujubes. Thanks
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Here’s a good jujube grafting video by Dr. Yao:
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Putting aside the confusion between Autumn Beauty and Winter Delight, there is more than one cultivar called Winter, or Winter Delight. I have one other cultivar that is called Winter Delight that has smaller fruit and matures earlier but it doesn’t seem that special to me and I have heard of another Winter Delight cultivar as well.
The Winter Delight sold by OGW is not going to mature in zones 5-7., and maybe not even zone 8. And even here in zone 9 the fruit is bland and forgettable most years. It does not develop full flavor without a lot of late season heat. If Sophia’s WD is from OGW it will not mature for you.
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Thanks Ben! I’m glad to see you here!!!
She was visiting China a few years back and had the WD sent to her. I am hoping it is not that late. First major frost here in Omaha this year was 10-12-19.
Tony
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I doubt it is the same WD as the one sold by OGW.
Just make sure the tree does not have witches broom.
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This was what Sophia wrote Zhanhua WD is the best tasting jujube ever, even sweeter than honey. Fingers crossed for Mid season ripening instead of late and no witches broom. I will keep this new variety posted next Summer.
" Three years ago, I went back China in Summer time and stayed there till late Aug. I found the jujube fruits of the second generation of Zhanhua winter delight in the fruit store, 80RMB per Kg. First I bought half kg to try it. Then I found I can’t stop eating it. I kept back to the store to buy more. So sweet, so crunchy, best jujube fruits that I tasted ever."
Tony
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at this point, probably best to obtain “winter d” from all possible sources, and see which one you like best. An impostor winter d that has the best qualities will always be superior to the genuine winter d, if actually possible to verify the genuine from the impostors.
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When does Shanxi Li ripen for you guys?
Also jujube could i buy a scion from you of one of your early ripening varieties that may work in Z5? Hot/Cold Denver CO?
Where would you recommend getting HJ on its own roots?
Sadly i had a Massandra Jujube that was near my apricot and my dog in her dilligent squirrel eradication effort (A+++ rating) crushed it down to the graft and i have wild jujube suckers which are coming up.
Currently i have Autumn Beauty and Shanxi Li and ordering a HJ and would like to find it self rooted.
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Shanxi Li ripens around the first two weeks of Oct for me, zone 6a central MA.
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Just want to report that after leaving my two Black Sea in a ziplock bag for 14 days, I took them out and ate them.
They were good, crunchy and sweet, but not as sweet as or the same kind of sweetness of Honey Jar. The only down side is its small size. I hope the fruit will get bigger as the graft matures.
As far as the first year’s jujubes go, Black Sae tasted far better than Massandra.
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I think it’s been mentioned before, but rabbits really seem to enjoy jujube bark and young growths—so that’s something all new growers should be aware of. We had a population boom of the critters this year—and they started hitting my Coco back in the summer. I sprinkled cayenne powder about the trees and that seemed to discourage Peter Cottontail. But now that the weather’s gone wintry, that’s not working anymore, and they dined on my little Lang a couple of nights ago, nearly girdling a low-lying scaffold. Luckily, they haven’t attacked the trunk yet. Put wire fences around all jujubes yesterday evening.
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Late season jujube seedling. The fruits tasted great as they dried on the tree but too bad they are smaller than Honey Jar. If I have time next Spring I will cross it with Sugarcane or Sihong to improve the size of the fruit but keep the flavor.
Tony
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Jeremiah T, I’ve had similar problems with rabbits, and have had some success with a very concentrated tea I brewed from Hot Pepper flakes, and keep handy around the garden in a few spray bottles. I spray the bottom stems and tender growth they can reach, and reapply occasionally depending on rainfall. Do it outside of course, and avoid spray drift when using it. I use a generous amount of pepper flakes, add boiling water then a lid to allow it to steep.
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Thanks for the great suggestion, Greg! I’ll try it out! The rabbits are getting to be a real bane around here. I’ve had them nibble pawpaws, pears, aronia, blueberries, even figs—and now jujubes. I’m getting ready to paint trunks with diluted latex paint for winter protection—so maybe that will discourage them, too.
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