I have a contorted, 7 years old, 15 ft high, 10 ft wide. I've had suckers 35 ft away. My guess is your stone wall will block the roots; unless there's a very good water source on the other side of the wall. The jujube will get to water no mater what it needs to do. In my yard the suckers don't damage anything, but I wouldn't plant close to my house, it'd find the water pipes

WOW! 35 feet away! Well, I am going give it a water source going down (drive a pipe in ground next to it and water inside the pipe). Someone recommended that I put 3' deep sheet metal on inside of planter to protect the wall. it doesn't have mortar, just dry stacked stones so it wouldn't last long if the jujube is strong. Thanks for your response.

Forgot to ask how you water your jujube? Do you have water going directly to it and is it suckering in a lawn that gets regular water? Also, do you have sprinklers? Drip?

My jujube is 10 feet away from a section of the lawn watered by a sprinkler; all the suckers are in this watered section. I've always felt/hoped that once the roots found a good source of water they would be happy and not be too bothersome; though this may take some time to see. If you're watering the jujube, hopefully the roots won't need to spread too much.

You've got me worried now. I am just about to permanently plant my two jujubes. Should I take precautions to prevent suckering before I plant?

Suckers don't bother me, they're easy to mow/cut. And most posters don't seem too worried about the roots; maybe because we only get 35" of rain, so my jujube goes searching for more water--areas with more water might not have suckers so far from the tree.

But I'd never plant a jujube close to a house. I've heard horror stories from Korea, roots getting into pipes and foundations. Some friends just took their jujube out, they got tired of the thorny suckers showing up in the vegetable and flower gardens.

I am planning to buy this plant. I have limited space. Is it worth having? how does the fruit tastes.

Can you please post your plant pictures.

THank you,

This contorted is my favorite of my 10 or so jujube varieties. Bore fruit 2nd year, A very round shaped tree its the prettiest of my jujubes, The branches are loaded every year with great tasting fruit.

OTOH, I planted 2 more contorted at my office 3 miles away, & after 4 years they're only 6 ft tall & I only get a half dozen fruit each year. I have no idea why the trees turned out so differently.

Do you have indian Jujube and thai giant jujube? I Heard its not cold hardy. I have got one indian jujube but its in the pot inside, planning to plant it outside, this year. Can I plant it outside?

what are the other varieties you have? and any suggestions on varieties?

Thank you for the immediate reply.

No I haven't tried any of the Indian jujube's; Dallas is supposedly too cold, & they're not supposed to taste very good.

I like Sugar Cane. Also Honey Jar, Shihong, Li, & Winter Delight. Honey Jar is the best tasting but is the smallest.

Joel Cook, I believe you. I planted one in my front yard twenty years ago, and although the soil is rocky and dry, (San Antonio, TX) it sends suckers in all directions but is isn't as bad as yours.

Some nurseries sell them on their own roots instead of being grafted on wild jujube seedling which are very thorny and invasive. The only solution is to plant them the same way you would plant running bamboo. Too bad because I like the fruit.

I'm desperate to get rid of all the danged jujube trees sprouting every where in my yard even growing in between my sidewalk and my foundation. They were from my next door neighbor's tree. Some that are behind my tool shed are six feet tall.

Have 3 ('Li', 'Lang', and 'Sherwood'), getting on 10 years old in southern New Jersey, ordinary suburban fill soil, USDA Zone 6A. Sure, they send out lateral roots which sucker, (especially when they hit a sidewalk or street) but just prune to base periodically or mow over them. No problem unless you leave them a few years to get woody! And, jujube is perhaps the most trouble-free of my exotic fruit trees, no fungi, viruses, bacterial problems. An occasional fruit has a tiny borer worm (I pit and dry most of my fruit), that's about it. And greatly visited by small bees when in bloom! That, and harvest by gently shaking the trunks. What more could you want in a fruit tree? Although Chinese jujube are fine in moderate rainfall temperate climate, they really shine in desert conditions, just covered with huge, sweet fruit (have seen in Las Vegas and Tuscon).

Other jujubes (spina-christi, mauritiana, etc.) better in hotter or tropical climes, I think.

Oh yes, one other thing for jujubes: when the fruit ripen, they tend to dry a little on the trees, before they are shaken down or fall spontaneously. But perhaps because of that, they generally do not spoil on the ground, unlike mulberries, figs, apples, pears, plums, paw paws, etc. That's a definite plus, in my book ....

This is an old thread, but to the OP and anyone else who's interested: I would still plant the jujube and if you're worried about the roots invading, just plant it in a large planter (aka half barrel or concrete planter) instead. They thrive in planters just as well as in ground. Good luck.

Make that a big barrel. Jujubes normally send down a taproot and very long lateral roots, so you may need to water and feed it to compensate for the limited root acquision volume.

I was thinking of half or 3/4 of a 55-gallon barrel. They do have huge taproots, however they do quite well in containers (albeit large containers) where they don't need to send their roots too far in search of water. I have one in a half barrel right now and it's leafing out beautifully. I'm regretting planting the first one I got in the ground. I'm in the desert and there's no standing water for its roots to search for anywhere unless I put it there but I'm still worried.

LK -- do you have any idea how far down your water table is? Literature on Z. spina-christi suggest roots can find water in deserts ....

I planted my jujube trees in container, they could take over the garden if you are not careful.

@stan_in_hamilton_nj Yes, they are as persistent as mesquite. If they go straight down, I'm fine with that. I just don't want them to go laterally.

One of my young mesquites punched through the caliche and found water and it's flourishing. The other two are still working on it. They're all velvet mesquites so they don't go as far as the other varieties. I planted all the seedlings in ground last year in the spring and the first one punched through before september. So the water table may be not that far down?