@k8tpayaso … thanks for all help.
Hopefully they can survive the invasion of raspberries… my heritage reds moved 6 ft down that bed into jujube space since last spring.
Food Forest fighting it out. ;–)
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These were my average monthly low and high temperatures in California.
These were NOT hot enough to consistently mature GA 866-
|May|53.7°F|82.6°F|
|Jun|59.5°F|91.3°F|
|Jul|65.3°F|96.7°F|
|Aug|63.1°F|94.2°F|
|Sept|60.8°F|90.2°F|
|Oct|57.3°F|79.2°F|
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@castanea … does not sound good for my chances on that variety. We may have you beat on humidity… but doubt that helps.
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You have warmer night time temperatures. That might be more important than the daytime temperatures. Maybe you will find out for us.
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Was that one named Sweet Tart? I graft it this spring, and while a couple have lived, they haven’t grown any yet beyond the deciduous leaves. Same for Texas Tart, which I assume will be tart as well.
If your climate is at all like mine, you may see low production and/or slow bearing from the last 3 in your list (Honey Jar is great in every way except size). Particularly Chico- I’ve had a couple Chico trees for 6-7 years and another for ~3 and I’ve seen only a single fruit (which I don’t think reached maturity).
From Castenea’s list, Maya and Black Sea are both very good, with top quality fruit. Dae Sol Jo and Autumn Beauty are OK if you are looking for larger fruit. Fucuimi was promising in the first sample I got last year, but I need another try. I don’t have Shandong Pear, but would like to, if anyone has wood next winter.
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Hi Trevor
Have you topped your IE mulberry yet? Just a reminder, I regretted waiting too long, had I topped it at about 10’ high I could have a much better tree now. I waited too long and now still get a lot of verticals growing.
Dennis
Kent, wa
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Hey @DennisD … I ordered a IE Mulberry… from OGW… but when it fruited the fruit were white… and a little sweet but no tartness at all (quite bland). Obviously not a IE mulberry.
I cut the entire top off this spring and grafted girardi mulberry to it (4 scions).
Below is what it looks like now… 50" tall and growing like a weed.
This one should be easier to control size wise.
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@BobVance — I appreciate your input very much. I really do not like fruit trees that just refuse to fruit for longer period (than I have patience for)… and that is about 3 years max really.
I have EU Plums, Lapins Cherry, and a Apricot… for 3-5 years and Nothing but leaves and a few blossoms… not even a blossom on the EU Plums yet.
I am not sure how similar are climates are… our Zones are similar, but I suppose as far as Jujubes go, they may like my location a bit better than yours ? Not sure… but my Shanxi LI has lots of fruit set now in year 3, and my GA 866 has some fruit set too, here in Year 3.
I added your comments on Maya and Black Sea to my (try next time list) on Jujubes…
and on Chico’s lack of bearing fruit for you… I do not like that either.
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I’d really like to try SiHong up here. Who is selling grafted trees of this?
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@Bhawkins grows them close to you and they do well. He might know of a local that sells them.
Sent you a PM
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That one was not Sweet Tart. It was un-named. It had more of a torpedo shaped fruit whereas Sweet Tart fruit is perfectly round. The flavor was different and unique. I wish I still had it.
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What does China Yellow taste like?
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I got 2 from Cliff England in 2018. I’ve only gotten a single iffy fruit off it. But I grafted it last Spring at a rental and it set fruit in August and ripened at the end of October.
The fruit was middle-of-the-road. Maybe it will be better this year. It could be earlier, as I already see small fruitlets forming on the graft at the rental. Also, it could be that Sihong is particularly suited to drying. I did get some partially dried jujubes from Raf a few years ago where Sihong was the best.
This is interesting to me, as most jujubes haven’t set much yet. The ones that have aren’t typically my most productive varieties: Sihong, Shanxi Li (only productive in last year), Tae Sang Wang (which was also decently productive) and Redlands. I haven’t noticed any set yet on the big producers such as Honey Jar, Bok Jo, So, and Xu Zhou, other than a single fruitlet on one Honey Jar. I’m guessing that will change over the next week or so.
Here’s a pic of the So that the Sihong is grafted onto. So tends to make a more bush-like form than most other jujube varieties.
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The first few years China Yellow had fruit it was very average. But as it got older the fruit got much better. It is a very dense fruit with a very nice flavor.
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Shihong does great here in McKinney TX. . Only places I know of to get them are Just Fruits & Exotics in FL, & Englands in KY
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I may actually get some Chico this year. We’ve had almost 3 weeks of sunny weather without rain and the 4 year old Chico (at a rental) has some fruit. One of the 2 older ones (actually a graft, not a full tree) also has a few fruit. Looks like we just needed some CA weather for it…
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I have heard it tasted sweet tart and lots of people liked them. I got a couple of potted grafts going. Hopefully, ithey will produce fruit sooner for me in a pot.
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Chico is so good because it has a very well balanced sweet/sour flavor and a great texture.
The first fruits to mature are generally a little more sour than sweet while the last fruits to mature are usually more sweet than sour. In the middle the two flavors are well balanced.
The texture is different than most other jujubes. It’s hard to explain but the flesh is very fine grained. It is very nice.
Chico is always in my top 3 every year. It is always my wife’s #1 every year.
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I agree on Chico but I will say I think it likes and needs the heat. I had a second crop of Chico once and they ripened in October. They were not good….had very little flavor. Usually they are one of my favorites.
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I’ve had store bought ones twice and each time they taste bland no sweetness at all with the texture of styrofoam. I’m I missing something with this fruit??
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