In My Garden: Apples!

Most people in Southern California coastal areas don't know you can grow great apples along the coast. They think of apples being grown in Julian or other cold mountainous areas. But in fact there are many very good apple varieties we can grow.

One of the main issues here is the chill factor requirement for apples, which is the number of hours under 45 degrees during the year. The coastal areas have less cold nights than the mountains so the required chill hours for certain varieties needs to be less, about 200 to 300 hours. Growers achieve this, in part, by grafting a good tasting fruit to a root stock with low chill hours. Grafting trees has been done for hundreds of years and is not new, but as of late much more interest has been shown by home growers in the art of grafting which has pushed more research by both nurseries and home-orchard enthusiasts. 

In my yard I have Fuji, Ana, Sundowner, Golden Dorsett, and Pink Lady apple trees. Because of our mild climate we have varieties ready to pick from late spring to early fall. Right now, in November, I have started to harvest my Sundowner apples, shown in the picture above. They are super crispy and have a sweet-tart flavor. So good! In April or May I will begin to pick my Golden Dorsett apples, as the tree is just now starting to flower.

Don't be afraid to invest in a few apple trees for your coastal gardens. Here in Southern California we are very lucky to be able to grow in our gardens year round, and that includes apple trees. Just make sure to purchase trees with low chill hours.