My jujubes obsession dream came true for 2020!

After digging through all the new and old jujube varieties and through trading with GF members from the US through the Czech republic and now I am ready to graft in a month or so. Here are my new jujube varieties, Sandia Dr. Yao favorite @Sandia75, Halina @Harbin, Three of the newest and best tasting jujube ZhanHua 2nd generation Winter Delight from China, Zao Cui Wang, New Jin #4 from China , @Sophia2017, Vegas Baby, Chico, One of the best of the Li from Raf arsenal, R4T3 @jujubemulberry. It was a lot of work of cuttings, swapping, and mailing in the US and overseas rules and regulations but it was worth it. I am locked and loaded with my grafting tools.

Tony

@jujubemulberry, @mamuang, @BobVance, @Bhawkins, @Harbin, @KYnuttrees, @PharmerDrewee, @k8tpayaso.

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Tony,
Congrats for getting all those scionwood.

You are amazing. Between your full time job and very productive orchard, you can handle them all. Will wait to hear your report of those varieties.

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Tony, I totally agree with Mamuang! Dont see how you handle it all. Please keep us informed and all the best to you with jujubes. Careful aiming with your grafting tools!! :sunglasses: Randy/GA

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happy to contribute to your juju nursery Tony. Or should i say: juju menagerie!

am sure many will appreciate you keep everyone posted on your grafts’ progress and cultivar evaluations.

re: v. baby, am only recommending it because when dried it is the closest thing to sihong dates --of the 60+ cultivars have tried. Also recommending it if your zone is not conducive to production, or have short summers or have tightly spaced/shady conditions, being quite fruitful even when branches are grown in dappled shade or part shade. It is also the only spinosa-type have come across that has relatively dense pulp(again like sihong).

Sadly, it is pretty much like many spinosa-types when it comes to size of fruits(tinier than hj), and worse is that it has relatively large pits vs pulp thickness. And like many spinosa’s, the branches are quite spiny when taking into account unit length of stem. You may have to shed a bit of blood to get to the tiny fruits, ouch!

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Very nice collection Tony!! I plan on adding Sandia at some time but I really didn’t do any “shopping” this year. You’ll have to let us know how good each variety is.

I just got through checking my grafts and have a few showing green which makes each day exciting.

@jujubemulberry I have Booty, Spicy, and Candy growing well from last years grafts!

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glad to hear that Katy. Quite curious how they will perform and what fruit quality they will have in your area.

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Spicy and Candy are on contorted rootstock so I’m curious about that too.

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I will keep you guys update on the taste. The Sandia fruits tasted real good according to @Sandia75.


and the Halina from Harbin was so loaded that he has to prop the tree.

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@Harbin is a very accomplished fruit grower, no matter what kind of fruit he grows. I enjoy looking at the pics of his trees loaded with fruit.

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Impressive Tony… I look forward to a similarly diverse collection of persimmons. I suggest you make some friends in Japan, so that you get us a few of their interesting varieties here in USA :blush:.

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Nice! I hope at least some of them are just as productive for you. That Halina looks especially impressive. Right now, I’m just looking to increase productivity- I could use 50X as many jujubes as I am currently harvesting.

I just planted 8 trees 1.5 weeks ago from Chinese Red Date. One of them was Sandia, the first one in your list.

Four new ones to me, planted in my yard along a high stone wall where I removed some kiwi vines:

Sandia

Daibailing

Maya

Kongfucui (KFC)

Dragon- Interesting curvy branches (as opposed to the more zig-zag Contorted/So). I put it in the front yard of a rental as landscaping.

Redlands- I grafted this years ago, but it isn’t in a great spot and hasn’t produced. I put this one in full sun at a rental.

Russia #2- I planted one last year, but it sounds like it produces good (but small) fruit in temperate climates, so I added another for a rental.

Alcalde #1- Another one I planted last year, but I wanted another for a rental, as it is reputed to be productive in marginal areas.

The trees are a bit smaller than those they sent out last year. They had a rough growing season, with a late spring frost (end of May) and an early fall frost (end of September) and not much rain in between. But, the roots again look very full, with plenty of fine roots, so I suspect that these trees will grow pretty well.

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Great…

Now Halina looks like a must have variety. Please keep us informed about the new varieties and how they do for you.

Scott

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Can you describe the routine to get cuttings sent in from outside the US?

What grafting method works best for jujube and when is the best time to graft them?

yeah, i wish can grow asian persimmons in this desert. I’d be happy even if they don’t fruit, as long as they are growing fast enough. Would love to make chess pieces out of 'simmon and juju wood.

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simple cleft grafts work well for me, and in my experience, they are best grafted over when you see fuzzy green growth on the stems during spring. Of course you may still graft them over when fully leafed out. Here in the desert we get relatively good takes even up to august when it is so hot. Just need to water them more, especially if potted.

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Bob,
You are by far planted the most jujube trees among all of Us. Good luck with Dr Yao jujube varieties. Bob Hawkins went to her test tasting and work shop event in NM and liked the Sandia, Alcalde #1, and the Russian #2. Plz also keep us update with the tasting since you have the actual trees. The Dragon jujube sounds very interesting.

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You have to fill out custom paper work at the post office. List out every single item in the package and the value of them and the reason for sending. I told them tree branches that I grew out and share to my friends. The mailman enter the infos in the computer to see if it allows him to accept it. He said $15 then I was happy to pay him.

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I think Asian persimmons do well in hot weather. I think I saw a ASU publication recommending them for planting in AZ. Have you tried growing them? Are you in CA or NV?

i have grown them here in vegas, nv but they get runty and bear tiny fruits on bare mojave earth.

will give them another try with more organic matter on another property. They are more sensitive to alkali soil so have to start with plenty acidifying compost.

jujus don’t need any organic matter and will take root and revel on bare caliche soil

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