Hello,
I am new in this forum. After reading all the benefits from consuming these jujube fruits, I decided to purchase myself a jujube tree. I am very new at growing fruit tree, but hey we have to start some where right?
Over the past month, I tried honey jujube fruits (oval shape), and they were super sweet and crunchy. I think they are overly sweet. Then, I purchased California winter jujube fruits (egg-shape), and they are way much smaller. However, they have the right amount of sweetness which I love. Then I tasted some another type of jujube fruits, but not sure what kind though. It was crunchy as well. Anyhow, I started to do some research before I purchased my tree. Since I am in Maryland, zone 7a, I read somewhere it’s good to purchase honey jar jujube tree as my first tree since it’s they are the most productive and people had good result with them to bear fruits in MD. I thought edible landscaping will send them in spring next year 2024. When I look at the confirmation email, they said it will be ready in 2 weeks. So here are some of my questions:
since the weather is getting colder, is it a good idea to put them in the ground? Or should I leave it in the garage?
is it a bad idea to purchase a jujube tree now? I mean, what am I thinking? Winter is around the corner.
Should i cancel my order or ask them to send in spring?
I am not familiar with growing fruit tree, please let me know. I certainly don’t want it to die.
It appears that Edible Landscaping is shipping a three gallon tree. For a tree that size, and for Maryland zone 7, I would just plant it in the ground as soon as I received it. I wouldn’t even be worried about it.
In addition to the opinions that you receive here, you can also just call Edible Landscaping and get their thoughts.
Finally, I have never seen Honey Jar listed as self-pollinating. If I were you, my concern would be not having a pollinating partner. [Edit: EL has Honey Jar listed as self-fertile. But they also have Lang listed as self-fertile; and it has been my understanding that Lang definitely requires a pollinating partner. Li is a variety that is confirmed self-fertile.]
Thanks for the quick reply. I will call/email them for additional information. What’s the difference between self-fertile and self-pollinating? I thought they are the same and didn’t need another pollinating partner. Crap! Does this mean I need to get another jujube tree?
You need another jujube tree. Honey Jar is not self pollinating.
EL frequently posts misinfo about the trees they sell.
These are the the self-fertile jujubes-
In an evaluation of 56 jujube cultivars in New Mexico, ONLY 7 were self pollinating. Those were:
Li, Li2, Redlands, Qiyuexian, Xiangzao, Teapot, and Daguazao
If you don’t want to buy a second tree, you could graft scionwood of another variety onto your Honey Jar tree in the spring. This grafted limb would then pollinate your Honey Jar. Fruit tree grafting is an easy skill to acquire. Or, if this is all too much fuss, you could change your order to Li. Lots of people are just fine eating their big Li fruits (me included).
I got this 3 gal HJ from EL earlier this month and planted it the next day. The two pictures show the day it was planted and what it looks like yesterday. All the leaves are dried up and falling off after 3 weeks. I’m guessing that it’s the reaction to recent bout of low 40F weather and hopefully it will come back next Spring.
You seem especially nervous about fall planting. So waiting until spring to plant is fine. But my experience in zone 7 Arkansas is that fall planting is best. The trees have all winter to settle in, and it’s off to the races in the spring. If you plant in the spring, don’t be surprised if you lose a bit of prime growing time as the tree adjusts to being transplanted.
Fishsauce’s tree is going to be fine.
Please search for “Jujube 2022” and you will find bobvance’s outstanding post about varieties he grows in Connecticut.
You can grow jujubes in pots. But I’m a firm believer that trees belong in the ground.
I cannot stress enough that fruit grafting is a skill that everyone can acquire. There are countless tutorials on YouTube.
I also bought Honey Jar from EL. I have grafted Sugar Cane, Autumn Beauty, and Black Sea to it. I plan to add more varieties. You’ll be fine planting now, just mulch with wood chips about 3" deep on the surface of the planting hole and give it a deep watering after planting and it should be fine.
If you are interested in learning to graft, I highly recommend it. It’s lots of fun and very satisfying to see the results.
Li is good in that jujubes in general are good. As jujubes go though, I would put Li in the lower middle range. It is the most widely planted because it is very productive (when older only though), doesn’t need pollination, and has large fruit (faster to pick per pound). But the fruit is only average at best, in my experience so far. Honey Jar, Sugar Cane, Black Sea, Bing Tang, and Fuicuimi are all better. Even the 2nd tier (still very good, but not quite breaking into the top for various reasons) of Churchpoint, So, KFC, Confetti, Dong/Sandia, Mei Mi, and Maya/Massandra are better than Li. This year was a particularly bad year for Li in my area, with a large proportion softening on the trees before fully ripe.
You will likely to get the same result from people who live in the east coast. Bob is in CT. You are in MD. His suggestion would be what I would strongly consider if I were you.
Sugar Cane fruit is larger than Honey Jar. My Black Sea fruit are still small but jujube fruit could get better and larger from their first year fruiting.
@disc4tw
If I were you, I would plant another jujubes and graft more varieties to that new tree. Honey Jar tastes very good you should have the whole tree of it
Maybe I will add a Li jujube tree then. Hopefully, it’s not too late to add Li to my honey jar order from edible. Will call them tomorrow since they don’t seem to reply to email. Thank you!
I took a look at EL’s site and while they are out of Sugar Cane, they do have So/Contorted in stock. I would go with So over Li, unless you really want a larger fruit-size (at the cost of texture). The other nice thing about Li, is that EL has it in larger sizes, 5gal and 7 gal, though those are a bit pricey. While they only have So in 3gal.
