When to Plant Jujube in Cairns, Tropical Guide
What this month normally looks like in Tropical
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
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This Jujube guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Sun
- Full sun
Jujube, the Chinese date, is a thorny deciduous tree for warm temperate and arid gardens with hot dry summers (Daleys, NMSU).
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Best Planting Window for Tropical
Jujube is not recommended for Tropical.
Daleys lists jujube for warm temperate and arid climates, not the tropics, and warns that in dry tropical areas trees can form dense thorny thickets on farmland. The related chinee apple is a restricted invasive plant in Queensland and the NT. We do not list planting months.
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How to Grow Jujube in Tropical Australia
- Soil
- Perfect to good drainage (Daleys); sandy, loam or clay, even poor soils (NMSU).
- Salt
- Sensitive. Struggles with salty bore water or salty soil. Give it rainwater if you can.
- pH Range
- 6.6-7.3 (Daleys); tolerates 5.0 to 8.5 (NMSU)
- Sunlight
- Full sun (Daleys, NMSU).
- Keep away from
- Vegetable beds that get dug, which triggers suckers, Bushland edges in the dry tropics
Tropical Growing Tips for Jujube
Recommended Varieties
- Li
- Si Hong
- Sugar Cane
- Porterville (early)
Key Challenges
- Spiny suckers
- Birds
- Fruit cracking after rain
Pro Tips
- Do not dig near the roots
- Collect fallen fruit
- Prune to 2 m
Pests and problems for Jujube in Tropical
Harvesting Jujube
When ready: Fruit goes from green to creamy yellow, then brown red spots, then fully red brown (NMSU). Eat fresh from the creamy stage; dry at full red.
How to harvest: Hand pick fresh fruit; shake drying fruit onto a tarp (NMSU).
Storing and preserving jujube
How to keep it
- Drying. Pick fully red, dry at 60 to 63 C (NMSU, NDSU). Keeps: 6 to 12 months.
- Fresh. Fridge at 4 C. Keeps: 2 weeks or more.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Jujube
When do you plant jujube in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): not recommended
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Jul to Sep
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jul to Sep
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Aug to Sep
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Sep
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Jul to Sep
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jul to Sep
When should I plant Jujube in Cairns?
Daleys lists jujube for warm temperate and arid climates, not the tropics, and warns that in dry tropical areas trees can form dense thorny thickets on farmland. The related chinee apple is a restricted invasive plant in Queensland and the NT. We do not list planting months.
How do I know when Jujube are ready to harvest?
Fruit goes from green to creamy yellow, then brown red spots, then fully red brown (NMSU). Eat fresh from the creamy stage; dry at full red.
What are the best Jujube varieties for Cairns?
Recommended varieties for the Tropical zone include: Li, Si Hong, Sugar Cane, Porterville (early).
Are jujube salt tolerant?
No. Jujube are salt-sensitive, one of the more sensitive veggies. Use rainwater if your bore water is salty, or grow them in a raised bed of fresh mix if your soil is.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.