How to grow Jujube

Where to plant

Jujube grows in a wide range of soils and pH, and tolerates drought and salinity once established. It needs at least six hours of full sun a day to fruit, and long, hot summers to sweeten the fruit. It performs best in USDA zones 6 to 9, though it is grown from zone 5 to 10.

Because it leafs out late, jujube is a good choice where late spring freezes damage other fruit trees. Most trees are thorny, especially when young, so keep them away from paths.

• The Southern Plains, Texas, the Desert Southwest and Northern California's Central Valley: excellent jujube country, with the heat and drought tolerance it needs.
• Florida and the Gulf South: jujube grows well, but UF/IFAS reports that fruit set can be poor on some varieties in Florida for reasons not yet known. Jujubes do set fruit in humid southeast Texas and Louisiana.
• The Mid-South and Mid-Atlantic: hardy and fruits well after hot summers. Plant in early spring.
• The Midwest, Northeast and Mountain West: hardy to zone 5, but needs your warmest, sunniest spot to ripen fruit; best in zone 6 and 7 gardens or at lower elevations.
• The Pacific Northwest and Hawaii: summers are too cool, or winters too mild, for good crops.

Choosing a variety

Some jujube varieties are self-incompatible, so UF/IFAS advises planting more than one compatible variety for good fruit set unless you choose a variety that sets fruit on its own, such as 'Silverhill'.

How to plant

1. Plant grafted bare-root trees while dormant, in late winter or early spring, in full sun.
2. Water newly planted trees two to three times a week until established; bare-root trees are prone to transplant shock.
3. Be patient in spring. Jujube is one of the last fruit trees to leaf out, and young trees can look dead until late spring.

Watering and feeding

Once established, jujube is very drought tolerant, but water in long dry spells while fruit is swelling for better size.

No formal fertilizer rates exist. UF/IFAS suggests a balanced fertilizer with trace elements split into three feeds: half in late dormancy in February or March, and a quarter each in May or June and July or August. Avoid heavy doses of quick-release nitrogen, which can increase fruit drop.

Pruning and care through the year

• Train to a central leader or open center, or let two to six strong trunks grow from the base.
• Jujube sends up suckers from its roots, sometimes several feet away. Remove them unless you want new plants, as suckers on grafted trees come from the rootstock. UF/IFAS notes that jujube is not considered invasive despite its suckering.
• In areas with deer, rabbits or gophers, protect the trunk of young trees.

Harvesting

Fruit forms on new growth and ripens in late summer and fall, in August and September in Florida and into October elsewhere. It turns from green to brown as it ripens and can be eaten at any stage from crisp green-yellow with brown patches to fully brown. Dried, the fruit becomes chewy and much sweeter, like a date.

Fresh fruit keeps for several months sealed at 40°F. Dried fruit stores well at room temperature.

Propagation and saving seed

Named varieties are grafted onto seedling rootstocks or rooted suckers. Seed needs 90 to 120 days of moist cold at about 40°F before it will germinate, and seedlings do not come true.