Jujube Tree (Ziziphus jujuba) - Li (POTTED, 2022 Graft) - SMALL

Family: Rhamnaceae (includes buckthorns; Rhamnaceae is also known as the buckthorn family)
Genus: Ziziphus (includes Indian Ber)

Botanical/Binomial Name: Ziziphus jujuba Mill.
Common Names: Jujube, Chinese Jujube, Chinese Date, Red Date, Chinese Red Date
Cultivar: Li

Botanical Characteristics: Woody | Perennial | Deciduous | Frost hardy

Item Description:
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These trees are growing well and are available now until sold — flower buds now developing.

These trees were grafted in 2022 and kept aside to develop further on account of their small roots. They flowered and fruited last year and will do so again this spring 2024.

Each tree is in a pot 190 mm diameter, and 190 mm high.
Tree heights vary from about 500 mm to 700 mm. Small only because none have put out an extension branch yet — they are putting out plenty of fruiting branchlets though.

Now that these are flowering I strongly recommend leaving these potted until next winter when they become dormant. There is a risk of transplant shock from root disturbance otherwise.

Take advantage of this — being in a pot makes them mobile and gives you time to determine the best final position for your tree!

If you are planting into the ground next year, prepare your hole now. Dig a hole at least 500 mm diameter and 500 mm diameter deep. Mix this soil with plenty of organic matter (compost), refill the hole, and pile the excess soil in a mound on top. The mound will slowly sink with time as the organic matter breaks down and everything settles. Repeat every few months, and you will have an open, rich planting medium ready for your tree. Your tree is ready to plant in winter when it has shed all its leaves and is well and truly dormant.

Description of Fruit:
Li is large, round, and sweet, up to 85g.
Early ripening, thus good for areas with short seasons.
Best eaten fresh, when around 50% brown.

Description of Tree:
(The following information is from The Biosphere Blog on our sister site The Jujube Tree Nursery. More information can be found here and here.)

The jujube tree is deciduous. It can grow to 10 m high by 6 m wide, but keeping pruned to a height of 3–5 m makes management and harvesting easier.
It is native to climates with a yearly temperature range from around -5°C to 50°C, but can survive winters that get down to -30°C.

While growth in areas with cool summers can be very slow, the tree thrives in hot, dry environments with long summers and warm nights. Heat is crucial for flower production and fruit development, and jujubes require a range of at least 20°C to 25°C during the flowering stage for fruit to set. Unlike most fruit trees, jujubes have a very long period of flowering, often over a few months. If temperatures are too cool for the first flush of flowers to set fruit, later flowers usually will as the weather warms.

While summers can’t be hot enough, the tree does need around 200-400 hours of exposure to temperatures below 7°C over winter during dormancy. This is called its chilling requirement, and ensures vernalisation (the induction of the flowering process) occurs in spring.

Jujube trees flower later than other fruit trees, from November on, and are thus unaffected by late frosts that can devastate other fruit crops.

They can grow in a range of soils from acid to alkaline, but prefer deep and well-drained soils.

The rootstock will sucker, but easily kept under control with secateurs or even a lawn mower.