Sugar Cane Jujube
Zizyphus jujuba 'Sugar Cane'
As the name suggests, the small to medium-size fruit of this jujube is extremely sweet, even when fresh! It ripens mid-season on a very spiny plant. Despite the spines, the fruit is worth the effort. Jujubes are pretty trees with glossy green leaves that turn yellow in the autumn. Called “Chinese Date”, the fruit is mildly sweet, reddish brown when ripe. These grafted trees will grow to 20’ or more but can be maintained much smaller. They are very productive and early bearing. The fruit needs hot summers to ripen well. In cooler summers pick it half brown and half green and bring it inside to finish ripening.
Grow in full sun. Rootstock can sucker in the early years, so keep any suckering shoots cut as soon as you see them. Offer regular water during establishment - considered drought tolerant once established. Tolerant of sea spray. Usually more productive in USDA zones 8 and above. Considered low chill, needing only 400 hours of temperatures between 32F-45F to reliably flower and bear fruit. Late to leaf out each spring.
Cold Hardy to USDA Zone: 6
Mature Height: 18'
Sun: Full Sun
Ripening Time: Fall
Pollination: Needs Pollinizer in cooler zones; Reliably Self-Fertile in warmer zones