Shanxi Li Jujube

Fruit is very large - up to 2" long! Barrel-shaped, mottled yellow/brown when fully ripe, with a light, airy texture and light sweetness when fresh, and intensely sweet when dried. Also self fruitful! This variety benefits from locations that heat up early, especially hot and humid locations. Midseason ripener.

Jujubes are pretty trees with glossy green leaves that turn yellow in the autumn. Called “Chinese Date”, the fruit is lightly sweet, reddish brown when ripe, 1-1/2” long with a single seed. 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. The myth of Zizyphus is that they are all tender subtropicals, but jujubes are hardy down to zone 6.