Form: A tree which varies from tall and narrow to wide and rounded.

Lifespan: Jujube trees may be productive for more than 100 years.

Leaf retention: Deciduous.

Growth rate: Moderate to rapid.

Mature Size: 30-50' (9-15m) high and 15-30' (4.5-9m) wide, depending on cultivar.

Flowers: Very small, clustered, greenish-yellow, five relatively large sepals, five tiny petals, fragrant. Jujubes are divided into morning-opening or afternoon-opening, however this does not seem to affect fruit set in temperate climates such as the United States.

Bloom: Spring into summer. The flowers bloom in the same year their buds form.

Self-fruitful: Most cultivars produce fruit by self-pollination, although the yield can be low without a second tree. Some cultivars require a second tree nearby, often another cultivar, especially to produce viable seeds. Ants and wind, rather than bees, seem to do most of the pollination. Hand pollination may be needed when pollinating insects are absent or lack interest.
In China, cultivars are classified by fruit set temperature requirements: high – daily average temperature 77°F (25°C) or higher), intermediate – 73.4°F (23°C), and low – 70°F (21°C or higher). Low daily average temperatures at the time of flowering can reduce fruit set and productivity in some cultivars.

Years before fruiting: Most cultivars flower and fruit in their first year of planting. All will be flowering in their second year. They become most productive at three to five years.

Fruit: Thin skin, white flesh, edible, cherry sized (small) to plum sized (very large). If pollinated, the fruit has a single stone containing two seeds. The skin is green when the fruit is immature. When edible, the skin turns yellow-green, then acquires red or red-brown spots, then becomes entirely red-brown at which point the fruit is at the peak of its flavor. Wrinkles develop after the fruit become fully red-brown, and on some cultivars, just before the fully red-brown stage.
The flavor depends on cultivar, microclimate, and irrigation. For fresh eating cultivars, the taste is crisp and sweet-tart, like an apple, between the yellow-green and red-brown stages; however large fruit should not be harvested until at least half red-brown. For drying and multipurpose cultivars, when almost fully red-brown, the fruit can change in flavor to a cross between an apple and a date, and to date-like when fully dried.

Months for fruit to ripen: 2-3. The fruit ripen on the tree a few at a time, over many months. The fruit of fresh eating cultivars are edible when the skin color changes from green to yellow green or light green. The best flavor for fresh eating and multipurpose cultivars is when they are half to full red-brown. Do not allow the fruit to dry on the tree past the full red-brown phase. They lose flavor and vitamin C quickly after that. The best time to harvest is early morning when the fruit have moisture and a better flavor. In the afternoon, they are dryer and lose crispness.
Late ripening cultivars need to grow in regions with long, hot summers and their fruit may not ripen in short-season colder climates.

Storage after harvest: The fruit do not ripen further if picked when the skin is green, but will continue to ripen if picked after a change in color to light green or red-brown. Depending on maturity, fresh jujube can be refrigerated 2 weeks to 2 months. Drying jujubes should be oven dried when harvested fully red-brown. They can then be refrigerated as long as one year.

Leaves: Long and narrowly lance-shaped to oval, finely serrated margins, three longitudinal veins, green, turning yellow in the fall. Some cultivars have naturally curly or cupped leaves.

Stems: Branches have a slight zigzag shape with two spines at the base of each leaf. The spines may be straight or hooked. Jujube has four types of shoots – primary shoots which grow longer every year; secondary side branches that wither and die after 2-3 years; mother-bearing fruiting spurs only one millimeter long on the secondary branches; and fruit-bearing branchlets 4-8" (10-20cm) long growing from the spurs. The primary shoot of young trees has smooth, reddish-brown bark.
These trees usually become less thorny with age.

Roots: Jujube is often grafted onto rootstock which can produce suckers from its lateral roots over a wide area, even into the yards of neighbors. Trees should be planted 30' (9m) from the foundation of any structure and 50' (15m) from water pipes and sewer/septic systems. The roots of a jujube tree can extend 12-25' (4-8m) deep.

Cultivars of Note:

Wildlife: The flowers attract ants which are the main pollinators, and the occasional bee or wasp. The fruit attract birds and small mammals such as raccoons. The bark is generally not eaten by rabbits. Small fruited cultivars may be stripped by birds unless covered by bird netting.

Toxic / Danger: Sharp thorns on many cultivars.

Origin: South Asia. Jujube has been cultivated for more than 7000 years in China.