My Favorite Fruit Tree - The Jujube
Scientific Name: Zizyphus jujuba
Family: Rhamnaceae
Jujube (pronounced almost any way you prefer) or 'Chinese
date' is the most underrated and under-planted fruit tree that I know
about. It is easily my favourite because it scores highest on my
priority list:
• Quality and usefulness of fruit.
• Wide adaptability, ease of culture.
• Drought-resistance.
• Early, heavy production.
• Ornamental.
• Relative ease of propagation.
• Freedom from pests, diseases.
Although
the jujube has been known and grown in Northern China for several
thousand years, Syria is usually considered to be the country of
origin. During the reign of Caesar Augustus it was carried to the
Mediterranean countries of Europe. It was introduced into the United
States in 1837, in North Carolina, and into California in 1876 (Sonoma
Valley from Southern France).
When I first planted a jujube in
1964, the biggest challenge it presented was locating a tree for sale.
Twenty-five years later the 'Chinese date' isn't much more available;
only a few nurseries carry a thin supply. However, CRFG has provided
some good articles in the interim and Roger Meyer and Pomona magazine
(NAFEX) have been promoting the fruit actively and collecting any data
available from any growers in this country.
Zizyphus jujuba
is a member of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae) which consists mainly
of woody, sometimes spiny, shrubs and small and medium-sized trees.
Related species include the Indian jujube (Z. mauritiana), which may produce good fruit in a warm, moist climate. The Texan jujube (Z. obtusifolia) is a spiny shrub that produces tiny, black fruits of poor quality. Z. parryi is native to southern Baja California and it produces fruit of one inch or less in size, quality unknown (to me). Z. lotus bears small, edible, inferior fruit. Z. joazeiro fruits abundantly to feed cattle in arid parts of Brazil.
Li and Lang are by far the main varieties of Z. jujuba
grown in this country. Roger Meyer describes them so clearly that I
realised that I had mislabeled (reversed) my trees. The superior Li
bears a rounder, larger, earlier (August), more abundant fruit, which
is sweeter over a wider range of ripeness - green-yellow to brown.
Fruit of Lang is more pear-shaped, ripens in September-October on a
very upright tree, and probably needs to turn brown to achieve its best
flavor. Paul Thomson has long favored the variety 'Chico', described as
tangy, full-flavored, with relatively spiny branches. The variety
'Sherwood', found growing in Louisiana by J.S. Akin, is said to be
larger and to have denser-textured flesh.
Cultural requirements
are decidedly unexacting - jujubes practically thrive on neglect. Any
soil will suffice except the heaviest clay. Alkaline and salty
conditions are all right. Once established, the trees can survive with
very little water, although some irrigation is necessary for
satisfactory fruiting. I use less than half the water that I apply to
citrus trees. The roots go wide and deep and the competitive situation
of a lawn location is well tolerated.
Jujubes are about the last
trees to wilt on very hot, dry days and desert conditions are
preferable to coastal buffering. Extremes of cold are also well
tolerated - down to minus 30°F, I'm told. Tiny, white blossoms
appear safely in June, and it is hoped that fruit can develop in areas
as far north as Pennsylvania.
The trees grow at moderate speed
to 20-25', and can be spaced at 15-20'. Light-green, shiny leaves on
somewhat-drooping branches make these deciduous trees an ideal part of
any edible landscaping plan.
Propagation is relatively easy, as
suckers sprout rather plentifully from the roots, which may occur 40'
from the trunk, well beyond the drip line. The sprouts, with roots, can
be dug up, potted, planted and later wedge-grafted. Ungrafted, the
young trees would no doubt bear primitive fruit, but at least they
would be a source of seed. (Li and Lang seeds are said to be sterile).
The hard seed cover needs to be carefully cracked. Cuttings generally
need to be made from the roots, with a suggested size of 4-5 inches
long and 3/16ths thick. Some trees are happily sold 'on its own roots'.
Jujube
fruit is borne abundantly, yearly, often in the same year that it is
planted. The fruit is very worthwhile, has two phases, and may even be
marketable. Li, for instance, is best eaten off of the tree as it
passes from green to yellow-green, just before or just as it's turning
brown. It resembles a small apple in appearance and quality. The flesh
is a bit lighter, less dense, with unobtrusive skin. It is white,
brittle, sweet, with a flavor of its own, and seeds are often absent.
The after-taste is so good that I often make several return trips to
the tree, in rapid succession. Most people respond positively to the
fruit.
The second phase of the edible fruit is the dried state,
which occurs soon if the fruit is left on the tree, in the absence of
ants. The fruit becomes date-like in texture and even in flavor. Boiled
in honey or syrup, jujubes make excellent glacéd fruits. Soaked
in any of a wide variety of liqueurs, they are an ideal after-dinner
treat. They can also be made into fruit leathers. Juices obtained from
the fruits were once used to make small candies called 'jujubes'. There
is a frequent and intriguing mention in the old books of making a paste
from the fruit to treat throat ailments. Wine, jelly, and cider may be
considered as this 'rare fruit' becomes common.
Diseases are
rare in jujubes - one possibility is Texas tree rot in desert
plantings. The main pests are birds and ants and the latter should be
excluded early, as they love this sweet fruit. Jujubes should be ideal
for organic gardeners, as one should not need insecticides, herbicides
or chemical fertilizers.
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