Thanks scott! Is the Shanxi Li taste significantly better than just the Li or just the size?

Here is Roger Meyer descriptions of his jujubes collection.

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.

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.

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.

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.

JIN: Excellent either fresh or dried. Mid season.

PORTERVILLE: An unknown seedling from Porterville, CA. Fruit is round and unusually bumpy.

HONEY JAR: A new Chinese cultivar with small but absolutely unique, sweet taste for use fresh or dried.

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.

SHANXI LI: NEW! First time offered in US. Extremely large fruit with great flavor.

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)

All scions are $2.00 each plus shipping except Shanxi Li at $5.00 each. Minimum order is $10.

Tony

Jujube are about the sweetest fruit I grow and also the worst. Guess I'll have to turn in my brix junkie card. I don't know anyone around here who likes them.

Lots of Li are the wrong variety, its like the "Brown Turkey" fig name under which about every fig variety is sold. My original Li was not the real thing. So, I think its a variety best avoided unless you are sure on the source. If you can get one from Roger it should be good.

Scott

I currently have a three years old Lang, Li, So, Sugar Cane, Tiger Tooth.
I've recently added a few more varieties.
If your jujube fruit does not taste great it's probably because you are starving the trees from water and nutrients. The texture of my fruit when picked is as good as an apple and the flavor is much more complex than an apple. I love my Jujube trees and the most enjoyable moment in my yard is when I’m picking and eating the fresh fruit.
Unless you give your tree one gallon of water per day during those hot Texas days, It will be too stressed out and won’t produce quality fruits.

Sad news: I tried to contact Roger Meyer using the email info above. I got a response from Roger's wife indicating that unfortunately Roger Meyer has died and the farm has been sold. She gave me contact information for the person who bought the farm; she said she thinks the trees are still available...I've sent an email to see if this is the case....

Could you please tell us who bought the farm and the contact info, please. We know Roger passed away but not sure when or whom the farm was sold to. Thanks.

I received confirmation that the new owner of Roger Meyer's farm is continuing to propagate the trees. His name is Ed and his email is ed at edlewisdesign dot com.

Thank you very much.

slumgullion, Ed's email didn't work for me.

Anyone willing to spare a few cuttings of your thornless Jujube for postage? Greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

jenlee_49@yahoo.com

I am looking for Tigertooth jujube scionwood. I have GA866 and Sherwood jujube trees. I pruned my jujube trees already so I do not have any scionwood available for trade. Do you know any one selling 3 Tigertooth scion wood ? I could purchase them on eBay or Etsy if they list it for sell.