North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["MARIE ASHTON" <bwoodtx@verizon.net>]

The fastest method is to crack the seed open with a vise or pair of lock 
grip pliers. The dried fruit should be ready to crack and use now but the 
seed of the fresh fruit should be dried and cold stratified in the 
refrigerator for a couple of months.  With regular pliers you may smash the 
seed kernels so use something that will not go too far and smash the seeds. 
Carefully remove the kernels and plant barely below the surface in a 1 
gallon pot with a NO fertilizer potting soil. Put a gallon plastic bag over 
the top and secure with a rubber ban or you can use one of those mini 
greenhouses. The seeds should sprout in about a week or two at the most. 
Keep them away from direct sun until they are sprouted and growing a little. 
Remove the plastic bag also when they are a couple inches tall. Then put 
them under a bright light (or they will get leggy) or outside in a shady 
place if it is not too cold at night. When they go dormant, (still in the 
pot) the end of the first year, plant them outside in the ground.
Alternately, you can just barely crack the seed and plant then directly in 
the ground. They should come up the next spring (if cracked).
Now to seed viability, not all jujube seed are viable (will grow). Without 
cross pollination they will not be viable. Seeds of Li and Lang are usually 
not viable for an example (most fresh fruit sold in this country is Li 
variety.)
Be sure the dried fruit did not come from India. The Indian ber (jujube) is 
not cold hardy.
Seedling plants usually take 3-5 years to bear fruit, whereas grafted plants 
usually produce fruit by the second year (sometimes the first year.)

I hope this helps.
Regards,
Richard Ashton
Oak Creek Orchard
www.oakcreekorchard.com
bwoodtx@verizon.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan ." <yarrylo@hotmail.com>
To: <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 9:46 AM
Subject: [NAFEX] jujube seeds


> I've read that jujubes will fruit within a few years when raised from 
> seed,
> so I went to the Chinese market and purchased both fresh and dried fruit. 
> I
> was wondering if someone here has raised jujubes this way and could give
> some advice/pointers on successfully germinating these seeds. I've read 
> that
> the seeds from dried fruit are not viable, that the outer covering must
> first be cracked to release the 2 seeds inside, that the seeds must first 
> be
> incubated for 2 months and then cold stratified for 3 months. Is any of 
> this
> true in practice?
>
> Alan Stein
> Pittsburgh, PA
> zone 6
>
>
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