Jujube

Seedlings plants can be used to graft other varieties onto or grown on for fruiting your own unique variety. Also known as Chinese dates the jujube is a small deciduous tree or shrub reaching a height of 10m usually with thorny branches. Fruits are oval 1.5-3cm in size. When immature they are smooth-green, with the consistency and taste of an apple maturing dark red to purplish-black and eventually wrinkling to look similar to a date. There is a single hard stone similar to an olive stone. Weed Warning - Trees do tend to sucker from their roots around the tree and these suckers are spiny and can be a nuisance. In the dry tropics, trees can adversely affect agricultural land by forming dense thorny thickets. Best not to cultivate soil around Jujube roots to encourage suckering. Collect all fruit to prevent birds spreading seed. They make great container plants and this helps to mininimise suckering. Cross pollinate for best results.