I have Li, Li 2, Shanxi Li, Sherwood, and Jin; none in the ground more than 1.5 years.
They survived last years unusually cold temps with some damage.
Shanxi is fairly new to our shores and very promising for productivity, flavor, and fruit size.
I bought dried jujubes to try before planting. They have sort of a mild but nutty flavor and not too sweet.
I planted a few seed and grown several trees that way, but they are still small and have not fruited. They grow easily from seed. If the fruit is poor from the seedlings or any I have planted, I can use them as root stock for a scion from one I do like.
Scion wood is available for nearly any variety.
Here are some old notes I have on the varieties (ignore my highlighting).
@Li: Beautiful Chinese introduction by Frank Meyer. Large round fruit up 3 ounces in mid-August. May be picked at the yellow-green stage. Best eaten fresh. Best single tree to have. Early fruiting.
Li 2: NEW! This came to me as Li, but the fruit and the tree itself are obviously different from the Li above. The fruit is very large and ripens several weeks later than the Li. Tree has one hooked spine and one dagger spine.
SHANXI LI: NEW! First time offered in US. Extremely large fruit with great flavor.
JIN: Excellent either fresh or dried. Mid season.
@SHERWOOD: A seedling plant from Louisiana. Fruit is very dense and excellent. The tree is very narrow and upright with leaves that are a weeping habit. Very late ripening fruit.
LANG:Large, pear-shaped fruit - late ripening and must be fully red to be best. Some fruit may split and soften before ripening. Leave these on the tree to dry. This is the best for dried fruit. The tree is very upright and virtually thornless.
@HONEY JAR: A new Chinese cultivar with small but absolutely unique, sweet taste for use fresh or dried.
SHUI MEN: From the TVA project in Tennessee. Fruit is elongated and excellent fresh or dried.
SO: A tree of most beautiful shape. At each node of the stem the branch decides to go off in a different direction. Hence, very zig zag branching. Tree seems to be somewhat dwarfed. Fruit is early.
SILVERHILL: An elongated fruit from Georgia. Very late fruit to ripen. Crops well even in northern Florida.
GA866: One of the selections from the breeding program at Chico. Outstandingly sweet fruit with sugar levels approaching 45%! Large, elongated fruit. Excellent!
SUGAR CANE: Small to medium sized fruit which are round to somewhat elongated. Extremely sweet and crunchy fruit but on a very spiny plant. The fruit is worth the spines!
TSAO: From Pennsylvania with the fruit pointed at both ends. Tsao is the Chinese name for the jujube (actually "date" or "apple"). Excellent, sweet mid-season variety.
GI 7-62: From the Chico Research Program. Fruit is round but flattened to an unusual shape. Excellent, sweet taste. A real surprise! It was named "Chico" by Paul Thompson of the California Rare Fruit Growers.
GI-1183: Also from the research program. Excellent fruit of medium to large size. Late harvest.
THORNLESS: Fruit similar to Lang but may not be identical to it. It is virtually thornless.
ADMIRAL WILKES: From the Capitol grounds in Washington D.C. This plant is one of the progeny from the Wilkes expedition to the South Seas in 1842. Elongated like Silverhill and the very last to ripen.
TEXAS TART: A high acid, tart fruit from the campus of Texas Tech University, Lubbock. Small, very sweet, raisin-like fruit when dried.
TOPEKA: Collected from Mellinger's Clinic in Kansas. Very nice, crispy sweet fruit. Late harvest.
ED HEGARD: From Alabama. Fruit similar to Lang and also virtually thornless.
REDLANDS #4: Collected from an old homestead in Redlands, Ca. Very large, sweet, round fruit. Mid season.
YU: One of the original introductions by Frank Meyer. Claimed to be one of the best eating jujube.
FITZGERALD: From Georgia. Small, round fruit which are almost black when fully ripe.
ABBEVILLE: From Louisiana. An elongated fruit on a very prolific plant. Loads of small to medium fruit.
PORTERVILLE: An unknown seedling from Porterville, CA. Fruit is round and unusually bumpy.
ANT ADMIRE: Another Chinese cultivar with elongated fruit eaten fresh. Mid season harvest. Excellent.
SEPTEMBER LATE: Used fresh or dried--mid to late harvest. Fruit is elongated
GLOBE: Very large, round fruit which are best dried. Late season
SIHONG: Excellent, large, round fruit--mid season.
MU: NEW! Introduced into the US by Frank Meyer nearly 80 years ago, then lost. Recently found in an obscure botanical garden.
DON POLENSKI: NEW! Similar to Lang but a better, crisper flavor.
SUI: A newly rediscovered cultivar listed by Frank Meyer
6 NEW RUSSIAN CULTIVARS: 1) Kitaiski 2, 2) Kitaiski 60, 3) Oo Sene Hun, 4) 29-16 TOC, 5) Sovietski, and 6) Ta Yan Tsao (probably Lang)
