It's easier and more cost effective to propagate by graft than rooting.

Suckering is not a commercial propagation method. If rootstocks can be grown more easily from seeds or cuttings, but not the desired varieties, then grafting is the way to go. Commercial folks are very good at grafting.

A couple of additional pieces of info. Suckering has a failure rate -- although low it wastes valuable scion. Grafting produces a plant that is marketable to nurseries about 1-1.5 years sooner than suckering with a much lower failure rate.

Sherwood is often offered on its own roots

Tigertooth also on its own roots. Root sucker will give you another identical tree.

Tony

My Sherwood is grafted. So it all depends....

I think the suckering issue is a function of the rootstock. I have tigertooth growing on there own roots. I have not seen any jujube starting from the root system in the field. I intentionally got tigertooth on their own root stock to avoid the thicketing of poor quality trees that is associated with grafted jujube. This isn't an issue for an orchard or home gardener that simply mows to control root propagation.

I have been propagating the tigertooth using root cuttings and my success rate is fairly low. Some may be my technique, but I'm sure some is due to the fact that they don't propagate from the root system as readily as the wild rootstock.

Using rootsuckers for propagation of root stock for grafting is common. If you look at Roger Meyer's web site you see he digs up root stock suckers and sells them for grafting.

In my application, I will not be able to guarantee mowing to control suckers so I will only be using Jujube on their own root stock. If they do sucker, the trees should be the same quality as the parent.

I plan to continue to propagate tigertooth through root cuttings and will graft other varieties to the tigertooth rootstock to add variety. So far I've grafted Silverhill (which may or may not be the same as tigertooth), and Redlands #4 with success.

I plan to try a new propagation method this winter. I will be ordering some suckers for grafting along with scions of my desired varieties. I plan to graft them and then plant them in rootmaker 1 gal pots but only fill them part way. After the grafts take and are well established, I plan to score them above the graft and apply rooting hormone to them. Next I'll fill the container to a level that covers the graft. I will then insert a piece of air and water permeable landscape cloth in the pot and then fill it covering the scoring and rooting hormone.

My theory is that the native rootstock will keep the tree alive allowing plenty of time for roots to form above the graft. I believe the landscape cloth will allow enough water and nutrients to make it to the rootstock roots to keep it going but that the mix above the cloth will be a better environment further encouraging root growth above the graft. The container itself should prune the roots constraining the rootstock roots when they hit the container edges. When I think enough time has passed, I'll transplant it to a larger container pruning the roots below the graft site. I'll prune the top growth to better match the reduced root system.

Time will tell if this will work If so, it will allow me to get a number of varieties on their own roots for evaluation.

This is an interesting process. Hope you get the success.

To stimulate the root suckers to grow the top, run sharp blade in the soil and sever the roots. When the roots are their own, they will send the top growth. This can be done easily with established jujube orchard. Run the machine along the rows....

Some success has been reported with cuttings. Some chemicals are used to control the diseases.

Grafting is still the way to go with commercial propagation. I believe nurseries can have some grafting machine and the success rate is very high. Nurseries can't make a profit if they sell grafted grape vines and apple trees for less than $10 each if they have to graft them manually and the success rate is low.

Speaking of cuttings. There is another thread somewhere around here with a picture. I was experimenting with cuttings last winter and I actually think I got one to take. I must have started with 20 or so (can't remember). They all leafed out as one would expect, ran out of energy with no root production and died. However, one of them actually put out a new leaf in the fall after the original top growth had all died. I presume this is indicative of at least some rooting. Next spring will tell.

Nothing I'm doing will replace the commercialized propagation. It is really for a specialty application (wildlife) where trees will not be maintained in the long run.

You can't let the cuttings leaf out before they take on roots. I learnt the past season with blueberry and gardenia. Both should root easily. But they did not. It has something to do with timing....

See the AHS version of "Plant Propagation", edited by Toogood et al.

RedSun,

Yes, you are absolutely right and I tried to keep them from leafing out as long as possible. Jujube are just very slow to root from dormant cuttings. I did the old keep the tops cold and provide bottom heat for the roots thing I do with other cuttings. Jujube like persimmon are just very tough to root from dormant wood or vegetative cuttings.

I think I just got lucky with the one that seems to have rooted.

This guy below holds a rooted jujube cuttings.

I do not know how he did it....

{{gwi:2121418}}

Jujube has very dense wood. So I do not think dormant cuttings would be successful. In theory, softwood and semi-hardwood should be better than that. But you'll need to callus the cuttings first. There are various techniques you can use. Some are more successful than others. We'll have to try them....

I don't think all Jujube are created equally. I've also seen videos of folks just poking jujube cutting into a bucket of soil in the winter and had roots by spring. After digging deeper, it was Indian jujube.

I've searched the literature and have not found anyone with a process that has good success rooting the varieties of jujube in the US from dormant or vegetative cuttings. It is obviously possible since I was apparently able to do it with Tigertooth, but it was 1 out of 20 or so.

It also may be possible to air layer it. I know Tony is trying to air layer another hard to propagate via vegetative or dormant cuttings tree, American Persimmon.

I think what I plan to do is roughly equivalent to air layering. Air layering keeps slow rooting scions loosely connected to the root system of the tree to support them long enough for roots to develop. That is essentially what I will be doing.

aeroponics and soft wood cuttings

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make a Simple 5 Gallon Bucket Aeroponics System

I've tried subterranean irrigation with softwood cuttings and got absolutely zero results. I already have a commercial cloning machine that I tried. Works well with easy to clone plants but I've had absolutely no luck with hard to root trees like Jujube and American Persimmon.

If you've had success with Jujube and/or American Persimmon, please post your results. Maybe I've been doing something wrong.

I would think its less expensive in terms of labor hours and dollars to purchase one or 100 (retail or wholesale) from Dave Wilson Nursery.

Here is a link that might be useful: Li Jujube - Dave Wilson Nursery

Hermitian,

I could not find any indication on the link that they sell any varieties on their own roots. If you just want to buy grafted jujube, there are lots of sources. I'm not sure anyone has more varieties than Roger Meyer.

The source I found for Tigertooth on its own roots was Just Fruits and Exotics.

You could try growing your own variety from seeds. Not all seeds are viable as I discovered from my own trees.
If the seeds are viable, you would have a tree close to the mother tree. If not, you could always graft it, but this is a very long process and would not make any financial sense for a commercial grower.

I'm seeking Tigertooth jujubes tree long time ago but I don't know where to buy it. I'm in TX. Can someone help me to find it, please!