Growth Habit: The jujube is a small, deciduous tree, ,. The naturally drooping tree is graceful, ornamental and often thorny with branches growing in a zig-zag pattern. The wood is very hard and strong.
Jujube cultivars vary in size and conformation, with some being very narrow in habit and others being more widespread.. Plants send up suckers (often with intimidating spines) from their roots, and these suckers can appear many feet from the mother plant.
Fruit: The fruit is a drupe, varying from round to elongate and from cherry-size to plum-size depending on cultivar. It has a thin, edible skin surrounding whitish flesh of sweet, agreeable flavor. Shortly after becoming fully red, the fruit begins to soften and wrinkle. The fruit can be eaten after it becomes wrinkled, but most people prefer them during the interval between the yellow-green stage and the full red stage. At this stage the flesh is crisp and sweet, reminiscent of an apple. Under dry conditions jujubes lose moisture, shrivel and become spongy inside. Propagation: Most Chinese cultivars in the U.S. are grafted or budded onto a thorny rootstalk which produces many suckers from the roots. There is evidence that jujube cultivars will root on hard or soft wood cuttings. However, successes have been limited to date with this process of plant reproduction. Jujubes also can be propagated from seed, although they do not come true. |
