Ziziphus (unabi, Chinese date): cultivation and care, reproduction, varieties

Ziziphus has been cultivated for thousands of years, but in Russia it is exotic simply because it cannot grow in most of the territory in open ground. With the advent of frost-resistant varieties, its geography shifted somewhat to the north. Planting and caring for the Chinese date unabi has now become relevant not only for the Caucasus, but also for other southern regions.

What is Ziziphus and where is it grown

Real Ziziphus (Ziziphus jujuba) has a lot of other names - unabi, Chinese date, jujuba, jujuba (not to be confused with jojoba), juju, hinap. When translating botanical literature from English, some will be surprised to find that the plant is often called marmalade.

Unabi is one of 53 species belonging to the genus Ziziphus from the Rhamnaceae family. The plant has been cultivated for more than 4 thousand years, so its exact origin is unknown. Most botanists agree that the primary focus of the ziziphus distribution was between Lebanon, northern India, southern and central China.

After being introduced to regions with hot, dry summers and rather cool winters, the species naturalized. Now unabi is considered invasive and grows wild in the west of Madagascar, eastern Bulgaria, some Caribbean islands, India, China, Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia. Ziziphus can be found in the Himalayas, Japan and the Caucasus. There, the plant prefers to be located on dry mountain slopes.

Zizyphus is a large deciduous shrub or small tree 5 to 12 m high. The shape of the crown depends on the life form. In unabi trees, it is openwork, hemispherical, shrubs begin to branch from the base, they can be broadly spreading or pyramidal.

Zizyphus is interesting in that it is considered a branchy species. Skeletal shoots are permanent, covered with thick dark bark, smooth at first, with age covered with deep cracks. The annual branches on which the ziziphus bloom, burgundy, fall off at the end of the season. In the spring, new fruitful shoots grow. In species plants, annual branches are usually thorny, unabi varieties, as a rule, are deprived of this "excess".

Ziziphus leaves are difficult to confuse with those belonging to another culture because of the two distinct longitudinal stripes located on the sides of the central vein, and very similar to it. Their length reaches 3-7 cm, width - 1-3 cm, the shape is ovate-lanceolate, with a tapering blunt tip and slightly serrated edges. Ziziphus leaves have a dense, leathery texture, a shiny surface, a rich green color. They are located alternately on short petioles.

The vegetation of isiphus begins late, this is what made it possible to breed frost-resistant varieties - the plant simply does not fall under return frosts. And since the unabi shoots that have borne fruit fall annually in the fall, and new ones appear in the spring, some inexperienced gardeners believe that they freeze over and do not survive the winter. Still, branchy plants are a curiosity not only in Russia.

How unabi blooms

In order for the ziziphus to bloom, new branches must appear and grow. So there is no need to worry about the safety of the crop - return frosts cannot prevent it. In addition, unabi fruit buds are formed in the spring of this year, and not in the fall of the previous year.

In southern countries, the flowering of ziziphus begins in April-May, for Russia, the timing is shifted to summer. In most regions, bud opening should be expected by June.

Ziziphus bloom can last up to three months. Small bisexual five-petal asterisks up to 5 mm in diameter grow singly or are collected in 3-5 pieces at the base of the leaves. They are colored greenish-yellow and have a pleasant aroma. The blooming unabi bush looks spectacular - up to 300 buds can open at the same time on each.

Quite often, you can find the statement that ziziphus cannot pollinate itself, you need to plant several varieties. This is not true. This opinion was formed because unabi often blooms, but does not set fruit.

The fact is that unabi pollen becomes heavy in rainy or just wet weather and cannot be carried by the wind. And bees bypass the zizyphus flowers because a rather high temperature is needed for the appearance of aroma and the release of nectar.

Unabi fruits usually ripen by October. They are fleshy drupes with two seeds and sweet pulp, which in an unripe state tastes like an apple, and when fully ripened, it becomes mealy, like a date.

In the species plant ziziphus, the fruits are small, up to 2 cm long, weighing up to 25 g, varietal ones are much larger - 5 cm and 50 g, respectively. The shape of the fruit is round, oval, pear-shaped. The color gradually changes from pale yellow to reddish brown. Unabi cultivars have color variations and fruit can be speckled. The skin is shiny, without wax bloom.

Unabi begins fruiting very early. Most of the grafted varieties bloom the next year.

Zizyphus lives for about 100 years, half of which bears fruit fully. For about 25-30 more, half or more of the possible harvest can be removed from the tree, which is not so little.

Frost-resistant varieties of ziziphus

When it comes to the frost resistance of ziziphus, you need to understand that this is a relative concept. The varieties will have a satisfactory winter in the Crimea and the Caucasus, although they sometimes freeze there, but they quickly recover. By the way, compared to the Caribbean islands, this is a significant progress.

So in the suburbs or near Kiev, you should think carefully before planting an unabi. And choose varieties that grow with a bush so that they can be covered.

Ziziphus is considered a zone 6 plant, but it behaves differently in different regions. For example, in Azerbaijan, unabi withstands a short-term drop in temperature to -25 ° C without damage, in the steppe Crimea it freezes at -28 ° C, but in the same year it recovers and bears fruit. Annual zizyphus suffer the most - already in the second season after planting, they become much more stable.

You should not rush to throw away even a plant frozen to the root collar - it may well recover. Of course, this has nothing to do with the grafted varieties - the small-fruited species ziziphus will "fight off" from the root.

In any case, the unabi will freeze slightly. In the spring it is pruned, it quickly recovers and yields a crop in the same year.

Unabi varieties, the description of which is presented below, can be grown in the Krasnodar Territory, Rostov, Voronezh regions and on the Black Sea coast without shelter.

Koktebel

The Ziziphus variety Koktebel was created by the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, adopted by the State Register in 2014. The authors are Sinko L.T. and Litvinova T.V. The variety was issued a patent No. 9974 dated 23.01.2019, the validity of which ends on 31.12.2049.

This is ziziphus of late ripening, universal use. Forms a medium-sized tree with a rounded crown and dark gray bark. The compactly spaced branches extend from the trunk at almost right angles. The dark green leaves of ziziphus are large, smooth and shiny, ovoid.

Large rounded fruits of the Koktebel variety unabi have an average weight of about 32.5 g. The lumpy peel is shiny, covered with dots, after full ripening it becomes light brown. Sweet and sour creamy, mealy pulp. Ziziphus Koktebel bears fruit annually, giving from a centner to 187 centners.

The variety tolerates high temperatures well. Transportability, drought and frost resistance of ziziphus are average.

Plodivsky

The Ziziphus variety Plodivsky was created in the Novokakhovskoye Experimental Farm (Ukraine), adopted by the State Register in 2014. Recommended for growing in the North Caucasus region.

Ziziphus Plodivsky forms a medium-sized tree with few thorns. Young skeletal branches are long, grayish brown, fruit shoots are creamy green, easy to distinguish.

Fruits are small, oval in shape, with a brown skin, greenish-white pulp, a little juice. The yield of the variety from 1 hectare is 95 centners, the ripening period is average.

Resistance to drought and low temperatures unabi Plodivsky - high.

Sinit

The Ziziphus variety Sinit, adopted by the State Register in 2014, was created by the Nikitsky Botanical Garden. It was issued a patent No. 9972 dated 23.01.2019, which will expire on 31.12.2049.

Fresh fruits of this variety of ziziphus received a tasting score of 5 points and have a dessert purpose. A tree of medium height with dark gray bark and a rounded crown forms skeletal branches set at right angles to the trunk. Unabi leaves are oval, small, dark green.

Fruits are round-elongated, with a thin dark brown skin. The pulp, devoid of aroma, is dense and juicy, creamy, sweet and sour. Productivity - 165 kg / ha.

Without damage, the variety can withstand frosts down to -12.4 ° C. Unabi Sinit tolerates heat well, drought is medium.

Tsukerkovy

The variety of ziziphus, whose name is translated from Ukrainian as "candy", was adopted by the State Register in 2014. Created by the staff of the Nikitsky Botanical Gardens Sinko L.T., Chemarin N.G., Litvinova T.V. at the same time as the varieties of ziziphus Koktebel and Sinit.

Unabi Tsukerkovy has an early ripening period and a dessert taste, estimated at 5 points. Forms a medium-sized tree with branches growing at right angles. Dark green, ovate-elongated leaves are small.

Medium-sized oblong-rounded fruit, with a shiny dark brown skin and sweet and sour juicy pulp, no aroma. The yield of the variety is up to 165 centners per hectare.

Yalita

A new variety of unabi, a patent for which was issued earlier (No. 9909 dated 12.11.2018) than it was adopted by the State Register in 2019. The authors were Sinko L.T. and Chemarin N.G.

Ziziphus variety Yalita is very early, universal, its taste is estimated at 4.9 points. A tree of medium height forms a dense, ascending crown with reddish-brown branches pointing upwards at an acute angle to the trunk. Ovate leaves are large, with a sharp top and a round base.

The fruits are large, in the form of an elongated cylinder, with a brown smooth skin. The pulp is dense, sweet and sour, yellowish.Productivity - up to 107.6 centners per hectare.

How to grow unabi

In order for the ziziphus to feel comfortable, it needs hot, dry weather in summer and cold, but without significant frost in winter, ideally about 5 ° C. Zone 6 is best suited for it.

Ziziphus grows wild in the mountains on poor soils with any acidity, even strongly alkaline ones. But, obviously, prefers organic-rich soils. In a warm climate on the chernozems of the Lower Don, by the age of 5 years, varietal plants of ziziphus reach 2.6 m, at 7 - 4 m.And in Tajikistan, where it is much warmer, by the age of 10 the same cultivar rarely exceeds 2 m.

What a ziziphus needs is a sunny position - in partial shade it grows poorly, and if it dissolves the buds, they will all turn out to be barren flowers. Unabi tolerates heat perfectly - even at a temperature of 40 ° C, without watering, the leaves do not wither, and the fruits develop normally.

Zizyphus branches can break from strong winds, so you need to place trees in a protected place.

How can unabi be propagated

Ziziphus is bred by cuttings, seeds, root suckers and grafting. The latter method is used to multiply unabi varieties and increase their frost resistance. As you know, small-fruited zizyphus tolerate low temperatures better - they are used as a rootstock. More thermophilic large-fruited varieties act as grafts.

It is easiest to propagate zizyphus with root offspring. Young plants are simply separated from the mother bush or tree, planted in a new place.

Is it possible to grow a ziziphus from a bone

The seeds obtained in their own garden from a single standing tree or bush of Ziziphus are most likely not to germinate - cross-pollination is necessary. But such plants bear fruit without problems.

So, before proceeding with germination, you need to make sure that the unabi seeds are germinating, because you will have to tinker with them. Most likely, not species or varietal plants will grow from the seeds, but "semi-crops".

Growing an unabi from a bone is actually not too difficult. All the failures that lie in wait for gardeners on this path are associated with the quality of the planting material. Ziziphus seeds will not germinate:

1. If taken from single growing specimens. This does not affect the fruiting of unabi in any way, but cross-pollination is necessary to ensure the possibility of seed reproduction.
2. Even if several varieties of ziziphus grow nearby, it is not a fact that the seed will germinate. Some gardeners, who deliberately damage the hard shell to facilitate emergence, complain that it is rarely possible to do this normally with unabi. Often the seed breaks and becomes unsuitable for germination. And they (gardeners) notice that inside is often ... empty.
3. Pits taken from unripe fruits plucked will not germinate.
4. After the unabi have been eaten, there may be non-hardened, soft seeds inside, which does not happen so rarely. They are not suitable as planting material.
5. If the seeds become moldy (which is often the case) during preparation for sowing, they can be thrown away.

What else can you say about unabi bones? Gardeners involved in the cultivation of ziziphus can tell from one species which plant they are taken from:

• in large-fruited varieties, there are more unabi and bones than in species, and in proportion to the size of the fruit;
• dessert ziziphus, although they have small seeds, are thin, long, and beautifully regular in shape.

There are different ways to grow and propagate Chinese dates or bone unabi. The time-tested and probably the simplest will be presented to the attention of novice (and not so) gardeners. In addition, this is how you can get a strong, truly healthy ziziphus plant with a powerful root - frankly, the culture does not like transplants, even at a young age.

Preparation of containers and soil

No matter how much the inhabitants of the Moscow region want to grow ziziphus, it remains a southern culture. And there, in winter, the soil does not freeze very much, and it is better to sow unabi directly into the ground, in a permanent place.

Ziziphus in the first year forms a long taproot, and the pot, firstly, limits its growth, and secondly, any transplantation of the underground part causes injury.

How to plant unabi from a bone

It makes no sense to plant dry bones of ziziphus, especially in a permanent place - most of them will not germinate. You need to be prepared for this. They are germinated first.

From the moment of harvest, the seeds of ziziphus are stored in a dry place. They need to be prepared for sowing in about a month:

1. First, the unabi bones are thoroughly washed to remove the remnants of the pulp and soaked in water at a temperature of 30 ° C for 60 minutes.
2. Ziziphus seeds are wrapped in a damp piece of burlap, wrapped in a plastic bag and stored at a temperature of 20-25 ° C.
3. Be sure to remove the film every day, unfold the fabric. If necessary, the burlap is moistened, and the unabi bone is rinsed - it is difficult to completely remove the remnants of the pulp, it may begin to grow moldy.
4. As soon as the root begins to hatch, the ziziphus can be planted in the ground. This happens in about a month.

Experienced gardeners may be outraged, and note that if unabi seeds are intentionally damaged, germination occurs much earlier. Yes, this is true. But it is with the bones of the ziziphus that a certain skill is needed to carry out this operation. And the method described here, as promised, is the simplest.

Landing dates

The ideal time for planting the hatched seeds of ziziphus in the ground in a permanent place is when the soil warms up to 10 ° С. It depends on the region, weather and many other factors.

How to grow unabi from a bone

Holes are dug onto the bayonet of the shovel. Ziziphus seeds are buried 5 cm. If there are a lot of seeds, 2-3 pieces can be placed in each hole for reliability. When planting single plants, the distance between the holes should be at least 2-3 m, if you want to grow a hedge from ziziphus - from 50 to 100 cm. In this case, it all depends on how quickly you want to get the finished “wall”.

First, until the unabi sprout appears above the soil surface, the planting site should be marked so as not to trample. Then the ziziphus needs regular watering, weeding and loosening. When the seedling grows up a little, the soil under it will need to be mulched, and best of all with grass cut from the lawn.

Ziziphus will become a drought-resistant, non-capricious plant by the end of the season or next spring. In the meantime, it needs care.

Features of reproduction of unabi cuttings

Ziziphus can be propagated by green cuttings, this will preserve all varietal characteristics. But there are several subtleties that even experienced gardeners do not always know or think about:

1. In plants grown from rooted cuttings, not a tap, but a fibrous root is formed.
2. You need to take care of such a ziziphus more carefully. It will not be as resistant to external adverse factors as seed-grown or grafted.
3. Such unabi will not live and bear fruit for 100 years.
4. Zizyphus grown from cuttings are less hardy.

Otherwise, nurseries would have grown all planting material from cuttings, rather than practicing complex procedures such as grafting or budding.

Breeding rules for ziziphus by cuttings

Ziziphus is propagated by green cuttings in the first half of June.Healthy, strong branches from the growth of the current year are cut into a length of 12-15 cm. The lower section should be under the bud, at a distance of 5 mm.

Unabi cuttings are soaked in a rooting stimulator for the period specified in the instructions. All leaves are removed, except for the top two - they are shortened by half.

The school is located in a place that is lit for part of the day. Even better - under a tree with an openwork crown.

A loose, not too nutritious substrate is covered with a layer of sand 5-6 cm. Cuttings of ziziphus are planted, watered, covered with plastic bottles with a cut bottom and an open neck.

The unabi planting must be kept constantly moist. When new shoots appear, the bottles are first removed for several hours in the afternoon, then removed completely.

The ziziphus seedlings are moved to a permanent place next spring.

How to plant unabi outdoors

The most crucial moment in growing and caring for unabi is planting. If done correctly, in a place suitable for culture, there should be no problems.

When to plant: in spring or fall

Ziziphus is a southern culture, therefore, it needs to be planted only in the fall. An exception is container plants, which can be placed on the site in early spring. But not in the summer! Zone 6 is not the middle lane! Even when transferred to open ground from a container, Ziziphus will suffer from the heat for the first season, despite its resistance to high temperatures.

Read to the end what those who advise doing a spring planting write! "So that the plant has time to take root before the onset of severe frosts." Sorry. What "severe frosts" can there be in the sixth zone ?!

Yes, and in the fifth, you can land in September, and at the end of November, cover the unabi for the winter. And "severe frosts" usually start there not earlier than December. If during this time the ziziphus does not have time to take root enough to overwinter, it is unlikely that it will take root at all and will bear fruit normally.

Site selection and soil preparation

The place for planting ziziphus is chosen as sunny as possible, protected from the wind. Any soil is suitable, as long as it is loose and drained. Dense soils are brought in accordance with the requirements of the ziziphus by the addition of peat or sand. On the locking ones, drainage must be done with a layer of at least 20 cm.

The pit for the ziziphus is prepared in advance, preferably from spring, but no later than 2 weeks before planting. Its size depends on the age of the unabi, and should be 1.5-2 times the volume of the root. After the hole is dug and the drainage is laid, 70% of it is covered with a substrate and filled with water.

How to properly plant unabi

For planting ziziphus, you should choose a cloudy cool day. They produce it in the following sequence:

1. In the center of the planting pit, a recess is made, corresponding in volume to the root of the ziziphus.
2. If the unabi is taller than 60-70 cm, drive in a strong peg for the garter.
3. Zizyphus is installed in the recess, the root is covered, constantly squeezing the ground. This will prevent voids from forming to prevent rooting.
4. Unabi is watered abundantly, the trunk circle is mulched.

Two points in the landing of the ziziphus should be considered separately:

1. Usually, when planting crops, the position of the root collar is clearly specified. The distance to which it should rise above the surface of the earth, or, conversely, deepen, is indicated. For Ziziphus, this is not critical. Even for plants grafted in the area of ​​the root collar. Some gardeners generally advise to deepen the graft site by about 15 cm, especially in cooler areas. So, when the ziziphus freezes in the spring, not just shoots of the species rootstock will grow from the root. From the bottom of the varietal scion, the growth of the cultivated unabi will be beaten off.
2. Planting ziziphus with an open root. Some inexperienced gardeners may be unhappy with the description of the process.Where is the mound around which the unabi roots straighten out when landing? How can it be without him? Ziziphus has a well-developed taproot, under which an additional depression must be dug. And not to think how it can be spread around the "mound". If a gardener was sold a ziziphus with a fibrous root, then he was deceived - the plant was not grafted, but grown from a cuttings. It does not have the resistance to adverse factors and longevity of seed grown or grafted unabi. It's one thing when a gardener himself propagates zizyphus in this way, another is a purchase in a nursery or garden center. Such plants should not go on sale!

Ziziphus care after planting in the open field

Everything is very simple here. Zizyphus requires some kind of care for the first season after planting, then the owners' task is usually to harvest on time.

Watering and feeding schedule

Unabi adapts well to soil moisture. In irrigated areas and where it often rains, the ziziphus root grows 80 cm.In arid regions, in the absence of irrigation, it penetrates into the ground by 2-2.5 m.

They specially moisten the soil immediately after planting the ziziphus, and, as a safety net, the next season. If it is a dry autumn, moisture charging is carried out in the fifth zone - this way the unabi will winter better. All.

It is especially important to limit humidity during the formation and ripening of the ziziphus fruit. It is noticed that in rainy summer the ovaries crumble, and the harvest is poor.

Ziziphus is usually not fed. In the first spring, you can slightly stimulate the plant with nitrogen fertilizer.

On poor soils in late autumn or spring, the soil is mulched under the zizyphus humus. But on organic-rich soils and chernozems, fertilization can cause increased growth of shoots, leaves, even abundant flowering. In this case, the harvest of unabi will certainly suffer.

Loosening, mulching

The soil under the ziziphus must be loosened only in the first year after planting. Then the need for this disappears.

Freshly planted and obtained from unabi cuttings should be mulched. For grown from seeds and grafted, well-rooted zizyphus, this procedure is unnecessary - it keeps the moisture unnecessary to the culture under the bush.

How to properly trim the ziziphus

In the first year after planting, ziziphus grows slowly - all efforts are spent on restoring and building up the root system. The formation begins in the third season. Unabi, planted in the fall, will have spent a full growing cycle on the site by this time and winters twice.

If the ziziphus grows like a bush, the branches are thinned out to lighten the crown. When the culture enters full fruiting, and this happens quickly, the skeletal shoots are shortened to enhance lateral branching. It is on the growth of the current year that the harvest is formed. For convenience, you can limit the height of the ziziphus by cutting.

It is important here not to be greedy, and to limit the number of skeletal branches - the bush should be well lit. If many shoots are left for the unabi, the yield will be less, since the fruits will ripen only on the periphery, the sun simply will not break through into the bush, and the ovaries will crumble.

The zizyphus tree is usually formed on a low stem, with 4-5 skeletal branches arranged in a bowl. To do this, the main conductor is cut at a height of 15-20 cm. When the side shoots go, the strongest are left. The next year, they are also shortened, leaving about 20 cm.

It is the open cup-shaped crown of the ziziphus that will help to grow a high-quality crop in the fifth zone of frost resistance, which is not very suitable for the crop. In the future, it will be necessary to maintain shape annually, as well as carry out sanitary pruning. At the same time, all broken, dry, and thickening shoots are cut off from the unabi.

Diseases and pests

Ziziphus as a whole is a healthy culture, rarely gets sick and is affected by pests. The unabium fly, which annoys the plant in the tropics, sometimes appears on the Black Sea coast.In cooler regions, the apple moth can cause problems, but this does not happen often.

Preparing ziziphus for winter

In the first year after planting, the unabi are spud in late autumn, and the crown is wrapped with white agrofibre, secured with twine. Zizyphus will survive subsequent winters in zone 6 without any shelter.

With the fifth zone, things are worse - there unabi will freeze, the question is, to what extent. Slightly damaged branches can be pruned in the spring, often without even affecting fruiting. It happens that the ziziphus freezes to the ground level, and then fights off the root.

You can completely cover it only as long as the plant is small. To do this, the trunk circle is covered with a thick layer of humus, and the crown of the ziziphus is tied with a white non-woven material.

But unabi grows very quickly, and soon it will become problematic to wrap the crown. So you have to put up with the constant freezing of the shoots, or even abandon the cultivation of ziziphus.

Harvesting

Many varieties of ziziphus bloom the next spring after planting. Species plants grown from seed bring their first harvest in the 3-4th season. One adult bush or tree gives about 30 kg of fruit, and record holders - up to 80 kg per year.

Since the flowering of ziziphus is stretched out for several months, the crop ripens unevenly. In the fifth zone, late varieties of full ripeness may not reach full ripeness before the onset of frost.

An unripe unabi that tastes like an apple is consumed fresh and processed. Harvested by hand when the surface of the skin is brown by a third.

Fully ripe ziziphus becomes soft, mealy inside, like a date, very sweet. It can wither right on the branches and hang on a tree until frost - this is how the fruits gain sweetness. Unabi ripen faster in hot dry summers.

Ripe ziziphus can be harvested at one time. To do this, use special combs with teeth spaced 1 cm apart. The fruits are "combed" onto a film, and then manually freed from leaves and twigs.

If prolonged rains began in the fall, the ziziphus must be harvested completely, regardless of the degree of ripeness, so as not to lose the harvest. The fruits will come out indoors, lined in one layer.

Unripe ziziphus is not dried, and the seeds collected from it have poor germination.

Conclusion

Planting and caring for the Chinese unabi date is simple, but it can only be grown in warm regions. There are no varieties that bear fruit without problems in the Middle Lane - ziziphus can winter for several seasons, give a crop, and at the first real frost it freezes out partially or completely.

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