Jujubes · Dave Wilson Nursery

Li Jujube

Ziziphus jujuba ‘Li’

The most popular jujube, round, bigger than Lang, crisp like a little apple when fresh and chewy like a date when dried. The tree is tough, nearly pest free and thrives in the low desert's long hot summers, alkaline soil and drought. Self-fruitful, so one is enough, and it also works at mid elevation where summers are warm.

Chill hours: Under 200 hours
Harvest: Late August to September in the low desert; later at elevation
Pollination: Self-fruitful
Mature size: 20–30 ft unpruned (narrow, upright); easy to hold at 8–10 ft

Which one

Every jujube side by side

Same fruit, different seasons and different jobs. Pick the row that fits your ground and your calendar.

	The most popular jujube, round, bigger than Lang, crisp like a little apple when fresh and chewy like a date when dried. The tree is tough, nearly pest free and thrives in the low desert's long hot summers, alkaline soil and drought. Self-fruitful, so one is enough, and it also works at mid elevation where summers are warm.	Round, flat-bottomed fruit that looks like a small apple, sweet and crisp fresh and good dried too. Like all jujubes it loves long, hot summers, shrugs off alkaline soil and drought and takes winter cold far below anything in Arizona. It fits the low desert and the warmer parts of mid elevation.	Grown mostly for its twisted, corkscrew branches that look striking in winter, with round Li-like fruit you can eat firm or dry at room temperature until chewy. Slow and smaller than other jujubes, and nearly pest free. It wants a long, hot summer, so it suits the low desert and warm mid elevation yards.	A long, two-inch fruit that is exceptionally sweet with an apple-like flavor, ripening in mid autumn. Some growers in cooler or wetter places report patchy crops, so give it the long hot summer it likes and plant it in the low desert or a warm mid elevation yard. Hardy, drought tolerant and nearly pest free.	Extremely sweet, small to medium round fruit on a compact tree that handles drought well, best eaten fresh. Jujubes love the low desert's long hot summers and tolerate alkaline soil, and this one also suits warm mid elevation yards. A second jujube nearby, such as Li, helps the crop.	Pear-shaped fruit that you leave on the tree until fully reddish-brown, when it turns dry, wrinkled and chewy like a date. It does not set well alone, so plant it with Li or another jujube. Loves long hot summers and takes cold and alkaline soil, so it fits the low desert and warm mid elevation yards.	The largest of the popular jujubes, over two inches across, with an apple-like flavor that gets even sweeter when dried. It sets fruit on its own and also pollinates other jujubes, so it makes a good partner tree. Likes long hot summers, so it fits the low desert and warm mid elevation yards.	A lesser-known jujube without much published track record, so treat it like the standard types. Jujubes love the low desert's long hot summers, take alkaline soil and drought, and shrug off winter cold, so it should suit the low desert and warm mid elevation yards. Plant it with Li or Lang for the best chance of a good crop.	Small round fruit with very sweet, crunchy flesh, good fresh. The tree starts early and is hardy and drought tolerant, but it is very thorny, so keep it away from paths and play areas. It wants a long hot summer, so it suits the low desert and warm mid elevation yards.
Harvest	Late August to September in the low desert; later at elevation	September to October in the low desert; October at elevation	Late August to September in the low desert; later at elevation	September to October in the low desert; later at elevation	September to October in the low desert; later at elevation	Late August to September in the low desert; later at elevation	September to October in the low desert; later at elevation	September to October in the low desert (estimate)	September to October in the low desert; later at elevation
Chill hours	Under 200 hours	200 hours	Under 200 hours	200 hours	200 hours	Under 200 hours	200 hours	Under 200 hours	Under 200 hours
Pollination	Self-fruitful	Partly self-fruitful; heavier crops with another jujube such as Li	Partly self-fruitful; heavier crops with Lang or Li	Partly self-fruitful; heavier crops with another jujube such as Li	Partly self-fruitful; heavier crops with another jujube such as Li	Needs a partner such as Li or another jujube	Self-fruitful; also a good pollinator for other jujubes	Probably partly self-fruitful; plant with Li or Lang for a safe crop	Partly self-fruitful; heavier crops with another jujube such as Li
Mature size	20–30 ft unpruned (narrow, upright); easy to hold at 8–10 ft	20–25 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 8–10 ft with winter pruning	10–15 ft unpruned (slow, twisted); easy to hold at 6–8 ft	15–20 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 8–10 ft with winter pruning	10–15 ft unpruned (compact); easy to hold at 6–8 ft	20–30 ft unpruned (upright); easy to hold at 8–10 ft with winter pruning	20–25 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 8–10 ft with winter pruning	15–25 ft unpruned (typical jujube); easy to hold at 8–10 ft	15–20 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 8–10 ft with winter pruning
From	$35	$42	$35	$31	$35	$35	$35	$42	$35

Where this tree sits

Jujubes sit in the lower canopy layer.

Lower canopy

Fruit trees kept below the tall ones. Most of this year's program lives here, held to eight or ten feet by summer pruning.

Build your planting plan

Li Jujube

Every jujube side by side

Jujubes sit in the lower canopy layer.

Other options in the lower canopy layer