My apple harvest

[Guest]

csgray asked me what kind of apples I have that are nice and crisp in this climate.

I have 5 and they are either 2 or 3 varieties of apples that pollinate each other. They don't really set fruit without a pollinizer.

The one that's been fruiting great is ANNA.

The tag says to plant with a pollinizer such as GOLDEN DORSET and I know he planted the pollinizers ... and I just found a golden delicious type ripe apple on one of the untagged trees (just the one apple), so I'm guessing that's Golden Dorset. Will have to see if it's crisp.

The ANNA apple is not a "pretty apple" - oblong, not round, and irregular, with a blush of red on one side and the other green, it can be eaten at that point, but will go all red. Not a bright solid red like a Delicious. The tag affirms it's a good pie apple. []
I prefer green and golden apples, and this is a green blushing red apple that tastes more green with some tartness to it.

It is only two years old at most, about ten feet high, and has about thirty apples on it in varying degrees of size and ripeness. It also had a small crop last spring.

I just looked it up online and it was developed by Israeli scientists.

http://www.aaronsfarm.com/product/Anna+Apple+Tree

Explains why it does well in a warm climate at low elevation with no winter chill.
I am not more than 100 feet above sea level, if that.

Here is another link on it ...http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pd_e41c.html

I haven't done any of the right things. Haven't pruned them and should have, and when the leaves get eaten I don't fight it. Liming the soil helped all my fruit trees. I didn't know to do that until Jeff at Garden Exchange explained that the iron and nutrients are locked up in the acidic PH of this soil and it has to have the PH raised or they starve even when fertilized.

Moved here from a place with clay soil that I was always acidifying, so this is contrary to my habits, but it sure did help!

[Nalu]

Hi Kathy,
I have a Golden Dorsett all by itself. It's about two years old too, and has made about 5 or 6 small fruits. They are yummy, but maybe it would do better with another apple tree beside it like you said. I'll have to investigate into that. I did find mine did really well after I cut out most of the holey leaves. it lushed out. It's about 7 feet tall. I got mine at Paradise Plants, is that where you got yours? Angela

[Hotzcatz]

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/gard...an_07.html
http://www.davewilson.com/br40/br40_trees/apples.html
http://www.baylaurelnursery.com/

The first link is a site about required chilling hours for fruit trees. Much more important information for us than how much freezing they can handle. The second link is to a description of the different apple varieties along with the required chilling hours noted by each description. The third link is to Bay Laurel nursery where I ordered my fruit trees from. They ship them to you directly via air mail so the trees get here in much better condition than the ones shipped in via containers which are sold through local retailers. I ordered several Dave Wilson fruit trees from Bay Laurel last year and got several fruit trees locally that were from the same source (Dave Wilson). The trees shipped in by container did not thrive while the air mail ones did really well. Bay Laurel also has nice grapes and berry bushes as well as fruit trees.

I also have a small red apple tree which was a sucker taken from a tree that someone who used to grow a lot of fruit trees had planted in the neighborhood decades ago. So far my tree isn't old enough to fruit, but it should produce small red apples. Also have a "Filipino wine grape" from the same sort of old garden planting. That was just a stick stuck in the ground and it does really well - got a bucket full of seeded concord type grapes last year and would have had more if the chickens hadn't of eaten half of the crop.

[Liz]

Looked for the Golden Dorsett & the Anna apples at Rozett's but they didn't have them. I'll keep looking though...
It's awesome that you can actually get apples - real apples - to grow here. Very exciting!
:-)

aloha, Liz

"The best things in life aren't things."

[dcl]

I went ahead and ordered a couple from the link above for bay laurel nursery, they are to be shipped in January. Shipping is not to bad if you order several, and they are supposed to come in through UPS. I never thought we could do apples either, but now I am hopeful after seeing that a few people on here have managed to get some going.
Carole

[gtill]

Like the Sasuma(sp?) Plum in Volcano, fruits poorly if at all on warm years. It tried but was never commercial. Wonder if you could induce a few cold days with a CO2 fire extinguisher?

[peteadams]

We had a neighbor in Cupertino (south Bay area) who grew up in some cold state and insisted on having a lilac shrub. She had it growing in a big container but it wouldn't flower until she started pouring ice cubes over it's roots several times in the winter. Probably not very practical method around here!

[Liz]

LOL!! I grew up in the south Bay Area and moved to a very cold northern state... tried growing my beloved azaleas there, babying them along with lots of extra protection...they never made it long and I soon learned what new plants grew better there.
Eventually we learn to love what actually grows in the area. I'm still learning about my new tropical home and what will and won't grow here. It's all a grand adventure!

aloha, Liz

"The best things in life aren't things."
lizinhawaii.blogspot.com

[oink]

There is always Syzygium malaccense, AKA Eugenia malaccensis, AKA Malay Apple, AKA Mountain Apple, AKA Ohi'a-'ai

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[Nalu]

I got my apple tree and others at Paradise Plant's bare root spring sale. I think it was in Feb. or March? You can call them and ask when it will be again. They had a real intersting selection. Aloha, Angela