just concluded that there’s at least two contorteds being sold by nurseries in usa. And between this vegas-texas axis(@k8tpayaso and myself), we will-- sooner or later-- be dispersing several more contorted ‘sub-cultivars’ to the general public. Not sure if that is good or bad, haha. Am still sifting through the contorted seedlings been growing the past few years, and waiting for a relatively more desirable sub-cultivar.
anyway, of the two contorted’s currently in circulation, the big-fruited one is jfae’s and the small fruited one is that of burntridge nursery. The bigger one is better, not just in size, but also flavor.
moreover, both contorted’s in circulation produce viable seeds
I like So (Contorted) but if I had to choose for a very good cultivar strictly on taste it wouldn’t be in the running. I love it for its interesting contortions and that it’s fruits are “good” is a plus but if I could only have two for best taste I would choose something else. Honey Jar is one of my favs. They are small but numerous enough to eat like popcorn. Autumn Beauty is fantastic. SiHong is too but you might need to ask @Livinginawe about it’s productivity in northern Florida. And then I like Sugarcane too but it falls below the others I’ve mentioned.
Fruit quality:
1.) Honey Jar and Sugar Cane- top tier, crisp and juicy (as juicy as Juju get…)
2.) So (from JFaE)- a notch below HJ and SC, but still very good, with some crisp juice
3.) Bok Jo and Shanxi Li- Decent to eat, plenty of sugar, but not crisp/juicy (edit: some of the later season Bok Jo were better, moving up into category #3)
4.) True drying jujubes (I think Huping and maybe one other which I can’t recall)- moist sawdust and not good to eat fresh.
I think Massandra was in the area of #1 or #2, but I only got 1 fruit, so I’m not sure.
Precociousness/Productiveness:
1.) Bok Jo- very productive from the year after it was grafted (which is saying something for my climate)
2.) So- quite productive most years, after year #3
3.) Honey Jar (just below So for now, but could catch up as mine gets older)
4.) Sugar Cane
5.) Shanxi Li
6.) Li, Chico, Sherwood, GA866, Tigertooth (though I’ve heard it performs well in Florida)- no fruit yet after 4 years for at least 1 tree
I haven’t gotten any fruit from Black Sea after 4 years yet either, but it was a very small tree from OGW, so I’m hesitant to hold that against it. It’s grown enough now that it should start fruiting soon (I hope).
Honey Jar or So.
Since you are in Florida, maybe you could pickup a So (on it’s own roots) from JFaE. It looks like it would be about a 3 hour drive for you.
In 2016, my oldest So (the one which has been so productive and I sent you the scionwood) suckered. I transplanted the sucker to a rental that fall or the next spring. Fast forward 3 years (to a few days ago), and I noticed half a dozen fruit on it. This was about the same age the original tree started producing. The rootstock has the same zig-zag structure, but the fruit is much smaller. So, either the fruit size is smaller this year for some reason, or it is possible that the So I got from JFaE in 2011 was grafted to a So seedling. I’ll let you know how the fruit is.
one of the root cuttings from the supposedly own-rooted contorted i bought from jfae 3-4 months ago grew a few short stems which were not exhibiting the contorted habit, but probably due to its early development. Will wait until it gets bigger… should find out next year on subsequent growth.
the contorted i just bought from jfae produced small oblong-ish fruits on its first crop, which i initially thought was the same as burntridge’s. But fast forward to today on its second crop, and after months of intense desert sunlight, it apparently recovered from my root-segment poaching, as the fruits are much bigger and roundish, almost identical in shape and size to fruits of the contorted budwood your sent me ~3 years ago. Will post pics as soon as able.
So quite possible the sucker you have is temporarily bearing duds
Bob, thank you for breaking that down. Thus far it’s looking like SO JFE wil be the tree for me to add. Id love to get the Honey Jar but looks like it will be a few years to fruit. Time isn’t on my side. Thanks to all who contributed information to help me
Sugarcane produces well at my location in Gainesville, Florida…but it isn’t a strong grower. Li and Ant Admire also do well and produce good fruit. Silverhill is very productive (some years) but its fruit aren’t all that great. Don’t bother with GA-866…I’ve harvested perhaps a dozen fruit in its ten year life. Sihong has been a very strong grower…My three year old tree is about 15 feet tall and my two year old tree (time after grafting) is about ten foot tall. However, my three year old tree only produced a dozen fruit this year, but last year it produced only one fruit…so I still have much hope that it will bear well…eventually. The first couple Sihong fruit I tasted just tasted like Sugarcane to me…sweet but no distinct flavor…but the later fruits to ripen were quite excellent! So until I have a few more years experience with Sihong, I cannot make a judgement on its suitability for northern Florida.
HJ is quite precocious especially in the south. Mine fruited first year and has increased in numbers each year. This is third year for me and I’ve had to support branches. I’m in the same boat regarding time so I understand where you’re coming from. My So has not been this productive. You will like the So…I do…but I love Honey Jar for its sweetness and juicy crunch.
I don’t think that would be a bad thing, though I’d be happier if it wasn’t grafted at all (I don’t see a graft union, but at this point, it is pretty old and can be hard to see). In 2011, they weren’t advertising it as being on it’s own roots, so there wasn’t anything misleading about it.
That’s possible, but the sucker is 3 years old at this point. I don’t remember the mother tree having small fruit initially. I counted at least half a dozen on there, so it should be enough for a decent sample. Maybe it is something about the location (at the rental vs at home). But, about 10 feet away, I have a newly planted So from England’s which has 2 fruit on it which look like the larger ones from my tree at home.
I’ve ordered from them for the last 2 years and have been very happy with the trees (large caliper and good root system) from Grow Organic.
They also have Sugar Cane, in case you want to get both…
I second Bob’s experiences with GrowOrganic. My hj i received this Feb was 5 ft from tip to bootom of root and almost 4 ft from crown to tip. 5/8 diameter. Unfortunately roots were damaged. New one sent out same day i notified them . It arrived later that same week and was identical. Tree gave one fruit and grew well this season besides a foolish initial cutback. Rookie mistake.
After much thought i think I’ll be putting in two more jujube trees, honey jar and sugar cane. May swap out sugar cane for JFE SO if i can think of a good reason to do so. Being honey jar isn’t available right now i have a little more time to think on it. Thank you to all who contributed valuable information.
I tried the fruit the other day, both from the rootstock and from a So from Englands which is planted nearby. About a dozen from the rootstock and 1 from the So (just planted this spring).
Not only is the rootstock’s fruit much smaller, but it lacks the juice and crispness of the So. (the true So is next to my thumb on the left)
So it seems pretty conclusive to me that JFaE were using seedlings as rootstocks back in 2011. I’ll try to graft over most of it next spring, though I already have some high grafts (~5’ up) that I won’t want to lose. That isn’t too bad though, as the fruit isn’t bad, even though I prefer the true So fruit (both kinds were 20-21 brix).
Bob,
Now, I wonder what So from Burnridge is. I got mine from BR. Last year, it fruited a few and the fruit were small and unimpressive. No fruit this year.
When you grafted over a contorted tree, would new grafts stop being contorted?
I got my So from Burntridge and I’ve had about the same experience as you. However this year (year 3) the fruits were much better and bigger. We had rain this year and none last year so that could make the difference or just the maturity of the tree might do it too. I have a So on its own roots from JF&E that put out several fruit this year and those fruit were a bit better than the improved Burnridge So and that tree is only 2 1/2 feet tall. So time will tell I guess. My So is not my favorite but it is good. Saying that, in your words, Mamuang, I like them all!!!
Kathy,
I will dope my So with fertilizer next year after I have learned that the soil where I planted it is severely lack of nutrient. Hopefully, the tree will grow and the fruit size up.
I am contemplating the fate my Massandra. Small fruit that tasted subpar. But again, it is planted in the same poor soil. I need to add compost and fertilizer and wait another year to see if the quality improve, I guess.
The small stick of Massandra scion from this Spring grew to finger in size and now at 3 feet tall graft with nice branching onto the Honey Jar. It produced 2 elongated fruits about the size of my little finger and maybe 1 1/2 inches long and the taste was good but not as good as Sugarcane or HJ, and not spongy. It is a keeper for different looks to it. Btw all my jujube trees get irrigated every other day by the sprinklers and 6 applications of the lawn fertilizer by the lawn guy.
