Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) is a small deciduous tree or shrub, 5 to 10 m tall, usually with thorny branches, grown mainly for its edible date-like fruit. It needs hot summers and enough water for good fruiting, and it tolerates a wide range of climates.
Family
Rhamnaceae (Rhamn family)
Grows as
Shrub, Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply during dry spells, especially in summer, to support fruiting; established trees are fairly drought tolerant.
Soil
Well-drained soil; tolerates a wide range of soil types.
Temperature
Tolerates cold winters down to about -15 °C; needs hot summers for good fruiting.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
N. & E. China to S. Korea
Climate
temperate
About
Jujube (UK ; US or ; scientific name Ziziphus jujuba), jujuba, Chinese jujube, red date or Chinese date is a species in the genus Ziziphus in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related Indian jujube, Z. mauritiana. The jujube tolerates a diverse range of climates, from temperate to tropical. Its origin is thought to be in eastern Asia, but it has been widely dispersed through cultivation, and is today cultivated in gardens as a shrub as well as in agriculture as a food crop. Its fruit is eaten freshly harvested as well as dried and candied.
Where it grows
Its precise natural distribution is uncertain due to extensive cultivation. However, its origin is thought to be in eastern Asia, in southern and central China, India, Korea, and Japan, and possibly also southwestern Asia between Lebanon, and southeastern Europe, though more likely introduced there.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Jujube by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.