Chosing jujube, grafted or wild?

[frukt]

I need some advise about chosing jujube.

I want to have nice trees that give nice fruits. They dont have to be superbig but they should be able to satisfy me and my need for fruits. I guees the taste is more important.

I found these cultivars http://www.tytyga.com/Jujube-Trees-s/1855.htm

...and I get very interested in that Li and Lang plant together. Im also think of ordering it to my parents in sweden because it looks so hardy.

But then i know how I sound when I want to sell something. I searched around little on the forum on jujubes. It seems like many people have "wild" jujube seeds and that they are very satified with that. I dont spit in the glas, I need no fancy fruits

And would a wild seed of chinese strains take the climate of south sweden? Its like new york maybe in climate....

Its more expensive to buy a plant but then it gives more fruit and it will give it to me a least one year before.

What would you choose?

[nullzero]

I would use a seedling to graft a good variety onto.

[NYC_FruitKing]

Jujubes are a very easy to grow tree, they'll survive the extremes of weather in a New York-ish climate without any special protection, unless the trees are young and too fragile without burlap or covering of some sort. Waiting for them to give fruit will take time and patience, but these trees thrive on neglect and will give more fruit than you know what to do with. As long as you put them in decent soil, give them some compost and nice mulch, and keep them weed-free, after the first year or so of caring for them and watering them, you don't have to touch them whatsoever and they'll live for years and years. Just make sure you mow down root suckers the second you see them and prune the trees if needed. I've had a Tigertooth jujube for 2 years and it hasn't given me any fruit yet, but it's survived pretty terrible conditions.

Now frukt, you should know that jujubes taste okay, not amazing but okay, and only some varieties are recommended for eating fresh. The rest of them are meant for being dried and stored for use in teas, baked goods, medicine, etc. Without cross-pollinating jujubes, there won't be as much fruit, and they might not be as tasty. It's why nurseries suggest you plant Li and Lang, Li is only partially self-fertile while Lang will not give fruit without another variety nearby. The fruit has to be picked in the morning before the sun shines strongly during midday or else the fruits will be shriveled and have the consistency of styrofoam.. you want to pick them while the moisture in the tree circulates to all the fruit, you see. And to make matters even more confusing, certain varieties taste different depending on the weather and the climate they're in! The fruit from one tree will taste different year to year depending on the weather too, according to what I've read.

If I were you, I'd buy an already established/ possibly grafted tree to save yourself time and money. I'd do more research on the varieties you want and how they do in your climate, I could give you good suggestions if you give more details on the growing conditions you'd be able to give them. I myself am testing out how my jujube tree does in NYC and I'll eventually graft more varieties onto it once it's old enough to bear fruit without any special attention.

[frukt]

Great post NYC_fruitking. All jujube seems to be grafted on wild jujube so I could start with that and then eventually graft something onto it. Or I could have one grafted and then order seeds to cross-pollinate that one.

[mangomike]

Be aware that jujube is prone to suckering and that, together with its thorny nature can add up to a maintenance chore. I read somewhere ( Morton?) that jujube can be grafted onto the raisin tree ( Hovenia dulcis) since Hovenia does not sucker.