Ziziphus jujuba
Origin: China (via Kentucky)
Improvement status: Cultivated wild material
Seeds per packet: ~10
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
'Also known as Asian Date or Sour Jujube, wild jujubes are simply the non-domesticated form of the popular Chinese Date. One of the oldest cultivated fruits in the world, the plants are believed to have originated in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Fruits are edible fresh, with an apple-like crunch, but they are most commonly eaten dried, at which point they also have a similar texture to dried apple (soft, almost spongy). The fruit begin pale green but eventually ripen to red-brown, and are used not only as a food but medicinally as well. The plan is known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties, and the fruit are a significant source of Vitamins C and E, along with healthy fatty oils, nucleosides, and amino acids.
The woody shrubs or small trees are widely adapted and tend to thrive in most garden soils. They also make for an effective windbreak species for soil and water conservation.
These Kentucky-grown seeds come to us from the good folks at Sheffield’s Seeds in Locke, NY.
GROWING TIPS: Scarify by soaking in hot tap water for 48 hours. Cold stratify for 90 days. Hardy to zone 6 and drought tolerant, thriving even in semiarid marginal lands.
