WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Ziziphus jujuba, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Chinese jujube in California

In July in the Central Valley, established Chinese jujube in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days: about 55 gallons each time under a 10 foot canopy, about 19 gallons a week. Chinese jujube is a deciduous tree with fissured gray bark and glossy, finely toothed leaves that shelter small clusters of fruit in late summer. A deep taproot helps it handle California's dry heat once established. Thorny suckers can rise from the roots well beyond the trunk, so plan for some cleanup.

TreeRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water Chinese jujube, month by month

Your city
Canopy width
10 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for Chinese jujube and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area under the branches, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure canopy width

A tree with its canopy width marked across the widest branches and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the branches, from the tips of the outer leaves on one side to the tips on the other. A tape works, or pace it out.

Water the whole circle under the branches, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that circle.

A wider canopy means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While the tree is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry several inches down at the trunk's drip line signals a young jujube needs a soak
  • Leaves that curl and drop early in summer heat can follow a root zone left dry too long
  • Thin, pale new growth on an otherwise mature tree can follow underwatering through the growing season
  • Yellowing leaves or soft bark near the base over consistently wet soil point to waterlogged roots

How to water it

  • Water young jujube trees across the full root ball, soaking well beyond the trunk
  • Use drip emitters or a slow soak, since the deep taproot benefits from water reaching down rather than spreading wide
  • Mulch around the base while keeping it clear of the trunk and any emerging root suckers
  • Dig out unwanted root suckers promptly rather than watering directly over them
  • Widen the watered area outward each year as the canopy and root system expand

Through the seasons

Give a newly planted jujube steady soakings through its first few summers while the taproot goes down. Established trees tolerate long dry stretches, though a soil check during flowering and fruit ripening supports a fuller crop. The tree drops its leaves in fall and rests bare through winter, when demand falls sharply. Winter rain can cover the cool months on the coast and in the valley, but low desert and high desert plantings still need checks between storms. WUCOLS rates it low water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley and on the south coast. It rates moderate water in South Inland, in the high desert and in the low desert.

In pots

Jujube does not do well in containers, so plant it in the ground as early as you can. If a nursery tree must wait in its pot, check the mix several inches down through California summer heat and water once it dries there. Let excess drain fully through the holes, then empty the saucer. Ease off through fall as the tree drops its leaves. In winter, check the nursery pot during dry spells before adding water.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
1.07gal per sq ft in JulyLow water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
6.84 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.761.52.33.00.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.761.52.33.00.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Chinese Jujube: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.150.160.310.780.740.78
Feb0.210.260.320.870.930.93
Mar0.350.430.461.31.461.52
Apr0.470.610.561.611.891.95
May0.580.830.641.952.392.45
Jun0.640.990.692.292.852.79
Jul0.641.070.792.513.042.85
Aug0.60.950.742.332.792.6
Sep0.50.720.61.862.142.08
Oct0.350.470.461.331.461.49
Nov0.190.220.330.90.930.96
Dec0.120.140.260.680.650.68
Year4.86.846.218.4121.2721.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated low water in the Central Valley, like Chinese jujube. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Olive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyFig TreesFicus carica ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPomegranate TreesPunica granatumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyEucalyptusEucalyptus polyanthemoslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPine TreesPinus canariensislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyTexas Red OakQuercus buckleyilow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyPortuguese OakQuercus faginealow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySoapbark TreeQuillaja saponarialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyNecklace TreeSophora affinislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBailey AcaciaAcacia baileyanalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySilver WattleAcacia dealbatalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGreen WattleAcacia decurrenslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes Chinese jujube, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water Chinese jujube in summer?

In July, established Chinese jujube in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days in the Central Valley, about every 27 days on the south coast and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does Chinese jujube need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established Chinese jujube needs about 2.7 gallons a day under a 10 foot canopy and about 11 gallons a day under a 20 foot canopy. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for Chinese jujube change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates Chinese jujube separately for each of the six California climate zones: low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, low water in the Central Valley zone, low water in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, moderate water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Why does my jujube tree keep sending up shoots far from the trunk?

Jujube roots send up suckers, sometimes several feet from the trunk, and many carry thorns. Dig these out or cut them below the soil line rather than leaving them to grow. Regular removal keeps the tree's energy in its main canopy.

Does jujube fruit need extra water to ripen well?

Established trees tolerate drought, but they set more fruit with water. A soil check during flowering and fruit development supports a fuller crop. Deep watering that reaches the taproot works better than a light surface wetting.

Can jujube handle low desert heat?

Yes. This tree actually needs hot summers for a good fruit set, and WUCOLS rates it moderate water there. Because desert soil dries quickly, check it more often than a coastal planting of the same tree.

Is jujube fruit ready when it turns brown?

Jujube fruit ripens gradually from green through a mottled tan to fully brown, and it can be picked at any of these stages. This color change tracks the fruit's own ripening rather than the soil's moisture level.

Do thornless jujube varieties need different watering?

No. Thornless cultivars share the same root habit and drought tolerance as thorny types. Water placement and depth stay the same regardless of the variety planted.

More plant watering guides

Creeping SpurgeRigid SpurgeFleeceflowerCarolina JessamineYellow Horned PoppyHoney LocustSilk OakStrawflower

Sources