Jin, aka Chang, jujube.
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GA 866 jujube, one of the sweetest. The fresh one in the middle was just perfect. The dried ones are among the better dried jujubes.
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Is your GA-866 potted or in-ground? How long does it takes for it to fruits? My large grafted GA,-866 branch dropped all the fruitlets this year. Maybe next year that I can sample it.
Tony
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Mine is in the ground, over 25 feet tall. The problem I have with it is that although it sets hundreds of fruits, most start wrinkling up before they are ripe so I get very few completely ripe fruit. I have the same problem with Honey Jar.
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Wow,. Climate played a big role in Jujube production and ripening. My Honey Jar starting to turn russet color and it is already real sweet and crunchy. No wrinkle at all.
Tony
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It has to be some type of climate issue. I wish I understood it better.
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thank you
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Silverhill is the same as Tigertooth?
Tony
I donāt know. The fruit is similar, but my Silverhill ripens earlier than my Tigertooth.
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I thought that I had heard that Silverhill/Tigertooth were better for drying than fresh eating. Are they crisp and good fresh, like Honey Jar, Contorted, and Sugar Cane, or a bit spongy right off the tree (more like Lang?)?
This is where it can get difficult to discuss jujubes because we donāt have widely agreed upon terminology for discussing their qualities. And all jujubes donāt fit easily into the crisp and spongy categories. I think most jujubes get spongy when they start to dry out. For me.Honey Jar is usually spongy and not crisp because it usually does not fully ripen, but it can be crisp when it ripens properly. There are some jujubes that are what I call starchy that may also be heavier or denser and are never really crisp. Many starchy jujubes are very good to eat. Lang is starchy but not dense and that good for fresh eating. Sherwood is a starchy jujube but unlike Lang it is very dense and not very good to eat. Sihong is starchy but also dense and is quite good when it ripens properly. Jin and Silverhill and Tigertooth are starchy and somewhat dense and can be pretty good for fresh eating. Globe is starchy like Lang but not dense and completely without flavor at all, and is only good as an ornamental. Autumn Beauty is a starchier dense type but somewhat crisp and exceptionally good for fresh eating.
Starchy and not dense - Lang
Starchy and dense and very tasty - Sherwood
Starchy, dense and not tasty - quite a few lesser known cultivars
Crisp and not dense - Sugar Cane
Starch, crisp and dense and very tasty - Autumn Beauty
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Looks like Autumn Beauty, HJ, Sugarcane, Winter Delight, Li, Sihong, and So are the best for fresh eating. I will be looking for Autumn Beauty woods in early Spring.
Tony
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Thanks for the info and the pictures!
Thanks for the details! I think Iām in a spot where jujube will ripen well, if they set (HJ has been perfect in both years Iāve had it). But it is a big IF, as for the first time Iāve got less jujubes than I had the year before (bigger trees, less fruitā¦). The Honey Jar graft which has been getting bigger has at most 1-2 fruit left on it. I thought that there was initial set, but they dropped off.
I agree- I think Iāll need to graft it again. I put a stick on my So in May 2015 and almost 3 growing seasons later it still has leaves, but hasnāt actually grown any. Meanwhile, the Zang Huang Da graft which is right next to it has grown 2+ feet (no fruit this year on it either). Just Fruits and Exotics is the only place which lists Autumn Beauty, but they havenāt had one in stock for a long time.
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the silverhill we have were from Roger Meyer, and the fruits are somewhat pointy, very late to ripen, and a bit mealy when eaten fresh. Dried as dates, they are much better.
hj seems to be easily affected by climate and growing conditions. For the most part, our hjās have always been delicately crisp(like nonniās biscotti), even fruits from stems on their first year of grafting. But the effects of climate/growing conditions seem not exclusive to taste and texture, as shape seems to be affected too, looking at @tonyOmahaz5 's recent pics of girdled hj fruits-- which have never seen before, and our hjās bear by the thousands here.
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My honey jars are very crisp! My climate is much different than the western areas.
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Jujubes from a tree I bought on ebay a few years ago. The seller did not know the variety name. Theyāre pretty good but not great.
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Some Sihong jujubes. Mine often do not ripen properly but these were perfect, sweet and very flavorful.
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we like our sihongs when they are rock-hard and super dense.
seems like the left-most fruit(in the above pic) is just that.
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