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 appreciate your input. Any recommendations where to get honey jar? Doesn’t seem like their in stock right now
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.
It had two small branches when it arrived but i cut them off… still kicking myself for that!
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)
Here’s a pic of the fruit on the tree.
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.
Mamuang
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.
Tony
Your graft has grown more than my whole tree. That goes to show you how nutrient has played a role in a tree’s growth.
jfae’s contorted produces small to large fruits, whereas burntridge’s is more consistent. Consistently small that is.
the supposedly self-rooted contorted i got from jfae produced small fruits on its first crop, but on it’s second crop(after full exposure to vegas’ sun) the fruits were so much bigger, almost as big as the fruits of the old jfae graft that you gave me several years ago.
where am at, the first crop is usually the biggest, while the second or sometimes third are smaller.
The grafts look normal to me- I think only the host tree would be zig-zag.
I think Tony’s climate (while further North than us) may get more sun during the growing season. I think he also uses reflective surfaces on the ground (white stone and/or cement board). So it could be more than fertilizer which is helping his trees grow quickly and be productive.
I was on my first crop on November 1st 
Normally, So would be earlier- mid/late September. But this was the first crop (ever, not just this year…) for both of the trees and one was just planted this spring, so that could have thrown the timing off.
None of the So on their own roots from JFaE (I have 2 in my yard) have produced for me yet. Both had a lot of die-back (one to the ground) when I first planted them in October 2015. A day or two after planting, we had a frost and the trees were still acclimated to Florida. They have been growing back, but the process is pretty slow in my climate. I’ve also put some grafts on them, as I have a lot of So and was looking for places to put new varieties.
We have always known the So from Burnt Ridge and the one from JF&E are different. I just got through cracking seeds for each. The pits from BR So are lighter in color and softer. The seeds are different color too. BR seeds are shorter, lighter in color and not shiny like those of the JF&E So.
BR on left. JF&E on right.
Did you know what kind of So are Kliff England’s plants?
So now I’m legit curious, aside from So jujube and che, are there other fruits you won’t even bother to eat?
I get that tastes are different and some people are more discerning and particular about what they like, but I’m personally kinda the opposite, hence my curiosity.
Katie,
My So tree from Burntridge does not zigzag that much, stingy on fruit production and fruit does not taste that good. Three strikes or what!!
Yep. My BR tree had pretty good fruit last year but still not as pretty as the JF&E tree. My JF&E tree was loaded with fruit but only a few of them got normal size…. Maybe because of our drought but it was a big disappointment. Most of the fruit was smaller than Honey Jar while a few matured out normal size.