Q: What kind of apples grow well in Southern California? Are they any good, and which ones need a pollen source?
When selecting apple varieties to grow in Southern California, look for ones requiring less than 500 hours of winter chill (this information should be on the plant label). For hot inland regions, heat tolerance will be a factor as well. Remember – just because you can buy it here does not mean that it will thrive here.
Some of our favorite apple varieties that have grown and produced well in our garden (we are in Southwest Riverside County) include the following:
Anna has a very low chill requirement that ripens in early summer and has a crisp texture and sweet flavor. It can be used for fresh eating or baking and should be planted with another early-blooming apple variety, such as Ein Shemer or Dorset Golden (both are also low chill cultivars).
Dorset Golden, a good pollinator for Anna, produces sweet, crisp apples that are also good for fresh eating or baking. They have relatively thin skin that makes them less suitable for storage, but their fragrant, slightly vanilla flavor makes them a worthy choice.
Another popular apple variety is Fuji. This variety ripens later in the summer and is good for both fresh eating and cider. It should be planted with a pollinator variety such as Gala or Granny Smith (both low-chill cultivars as well).
Gala is self-fruitful but will be more productive with a pollinator. They are later blooming, making them a good partner for Fuji. Unfortunately, they are very fire blight susceptible.
Granny Smith trees are self-fruitful but also more productive with a pollinator (this is the case for most fruit trees that are self-fruitful). We have a young tree that is barely old enough to fruit, but it is supposed to produce well in our hotter climate. We’ll see.
Most apple trees sold in garden centers and nurseries are semi-dwarf, meaning they are grafted onto a hardy rootstock. The rootstock can confer disease or pest resistance, but it also limits the size of a mature tree. Dwarf varieties, also known as Natural Dwarf, are specifically bred to grow no taller than 6 or 7 feet, making them especially suitable for small gardens. Both dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties are desirable for most home growers. Standard apple trees can grow to over 20 feet, making harvest both inconvenient and dangerous.