Top Five Stone Fruit Choices For Southern California- #2
Being a gardening professional in Southern California for a long time, I have truly heard just about everything. In fact, I sometimes feel like a horticultural therapist. "Please bring in your potted petunias and have a seat... please relax, and tell me why you are here"; more accurately, it is more like "tell me why you have asked me to visit your garden today." People call because they have garden problems or need advice. Lots of the problems I encounter are a result of ignorance or bad advice. I often meet with clients that say they would love to grow stone fruits, but are under the impression we don't get enough winter chill to grow them. I especially hear this lament concerning apples.
When we think of apples, most likely Washington state comes to mind; or perhaps images of driving excursions for fall cider and pie in Julian spring to mind. I confess, apples are not the first fruits that I associate with coastal southern California, but believe it or not apples are probably the most adaptable of all stone fruits for our coastal gardens. Many apple varieties have very high chill hour recommendations, often 800-1,000 hours. Clearly, you are never going to have that many chill hours on the beaches and mesas around here. However, many high chill varieties experimentally grown in southern California have been shown to be highly adaptable to our climate, and are growing and bearing fruit here. Many folks are even successfully growing Red Delicious (800 hrs) in our area; although I don't know why anyone would plant it, it doesn't taste very good. The truth is, I could give you at least a dozen recommendations for really terrific apples that grow and bear well here, and are absolutely delicious. Some of my favorite low chill apples that I will list quickly are deserving of an article in their own right: Sundowner, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Petingill, Winter Banana, Beverly Hills, White Winter Pearmain, Tropical Beauty, Yellow Bellflower, and Gordon.
My number three recommendation turned out to be a two-fer. My number two choice is a three-fer, a trifecta of easy to grow, highly productive, and very tasty apple varieties. My number two choice is/are:
Anna / Golden Dorsett / Ein Shemer apple
Have you ever noticed how many great things occur in three's? In my pro soccer days, all Manchester United fans were mad about the"United trinity;" the best forward line ever to play the game: Georgie Best, Denis Will, and Bobby Charlton. In Japanese gardens, things are often grouped in threes. There are three types of Japanese gardens, and a group of gardens known as "the three great gardens" of Japan. In Judaism, when something was especially important or significant, it was repeated three times. In Christianity, the holy Trinity is a necessary component of understanding God.
It just so happens, the lowest chill apples that are the best pollinators for each other, and perform the best in our area are a triad: Anna, Golden Dorsett, and Ein Shemer. Each has its own unique history, are from different parts of the world, but perform best together. Each of these trees are self-fruitful, and will certainly give modest amounts of fruit alone, but when the three are grown together the yields increase geometrically. They all pollinate each other in a marvelous way. You can plant all three in the same planting hole, make a hedgerow, or grow them as an espalier. Apples are the best type of fruit tree to grow as espaliers. If you plant all three apples, you will have a ton of fruit in no time. We would give fruit away by the box full. We would also make a lot of cider, really a LOT of cider. One of my favorite things to do, is to let the cider go just hard...it develops a little tang, a bit of carbonation, and just a little pop. My son in law makes a very delicious hard cider. And if you have ever been in the west country of England, you likely remember the remarkable cider of Somerset and environs called scrumpy. Plant these trees, and you will have gallons of cider to make your own.
Anna apple: Anna is an orange pippin class apple, a close relative of a Golden delicious apple, but is much more red when ripe. It looks half way between a Red and a Golden Delicious. The fruit is basically yellow green overlaid with red. It was developed in Israel by Abba Stein in 1959. In my garden, it is almost always in bloom, and almost always has some fruit hanging on the tree, but the real harvest comes for about a month to six weeks beginning in late June. It is a lovely tree, and has gorgeous fragrant blooms. The fruit is sweet with a tang; very crisp, and full flavored. Delicious fresh or cooked. Produces very heavy yields. 150 hrs.
Golden Dorsett: Golden Dorsett was discovered in a place which will surprise you a great deal. It was found growing on the island of Bermuda. An island in the tropics is not really where one would anticipate finding a bearing apple tree. If it will bear in Bermuda, it certainly can bear here. Dorsett closely resembles a Golden Delicious. It is firm and crisp, is very sweet, nicely grained, not at all mealy. Better eaten fresh than cooked. Very good in cider. Very good yields, a heavy producer. Probably needs no chill at all, but 100 hours are recommended. Bears throughout the month of July.
Ein Shemer: This is my favorite apple of the three, as much for the story of its background, as for the quality or abundance of its fruit. I discovered this apple almost four decades ago through my friends Ira and Golda Stein, and Abraham Klein from kibbutz Ein Shemer in Israel. This apple is named after, and was developed at this little kibbutz in the north of Israel in the foothills of the sheffela, between the coast and the sea of Galilee. This kibbutz was founded in 1913 by HaShomer as a watch tower guard post. The early pioneers were a group of 18 women and 36 men in their late teens and early twenties that had a dream to settle in their ancient homeland, and make a beautiful life there. Those early Sabras were very hardy souls. There was little water, malaria was rampant, the remoteness of the area made life difficult, and there were frequent armed conflicts. Initially water was brought in by horse cart. Eventually, the brave young kibbutzniks caused the desert to bloom and grow; they named their settlement Ein Shemer. Ein for the Hebrew word spring, and Shemer for the ancient king named Shemer of Shomron. The area is known for its wonderful citrus, and fruits of various types. I received a tree from Ira and Golda, and was able to stay at the kibbutz while in Israel. The food at the kibbutz was amazing, and the fruit was the best part of each meal. Ein Shemer closely resembles a Golden Delicious. It is highly productive, and a great pollenizer for Anna. A sweet, crispy, and juicy apple. Bears mid June-mid July. 100 hrs.
This trio of delicious and productive pommes can cause your little bit of desert to bloom and flourish as well.
When we think of apples, most likely Washington state comes to mind; or perhaps images of driving excursions for fall cider and pie in Julian spring to mind. I confess, apples are not the first fruits that I associate with coastal southern California, but believe it or not apples are probably the most adaptable of all stone fruits for our coastal gardens. Many apple varieties have very high chill hour recommendations, often 800-1,000 hours. Clearly, you are never going to have that many chill hours on the beaches and mesas around here. However, many high chill varieties experimentally grown in southern California have been shown to be highly adaptable to our climate, and are growing and bearing fruit here. Many folks are even successfully growing Red Delicious (800 hrs) in our area; although I don't know why anyone would plant it, it doesn't taste very good. The truth is, I could give you at least a dozen recommendations for really terrific apples that grow and bear well here, and are absolutely delicious. Some of my favorite low chill apples that I will list quickly are deserving of an article in their own right: Sundowner, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Petingill, Winter Banana, Beverly Hills, White Winter Pearmain, Tropical Beauty, Yellow Bellflower, and Gordon.
My number three recommendation turned out to be a two-fer. My number two choice is a three-fer, a trifecta of easy to grow, highly productive, and very tasty apple varieties. My number two choice is/are:
Anna / Golden Dorsett / Ein Shemer apple
It just so happens, the lowest chill apples that are the best pollinators for each other, and perform the best in our area are a triad: Anna, Golden Dorsett, and Ein Shemer. Each has its own unique history, are from different parts of the world, but perform best together. Each of these trees are self-fruitful, and will certainly give modest amounts of fruit alone, but when the three are grown together the yields increase geometrically. They all pollinate each other in a marvelous way. You can plant all three in the same planting hole, make a hedgerow, or grow them as an espalier. Apples are the best type of fruit tree to grow as espaliers. If you plant all three apples, you will have a ton of fruit in no time. We would give fruit away by the box full. We would also make a lot of cider, really a LOT of cider. One of my favorite things to do, is to let the cider go just hard...it develops a little tang, a bit of carbonation, and just a little pop. My son in law makes a very delicious hard cider. And if you have ever been in the west country of England, you likely remember the remarkable cider of Somerset and environs called scrumpy. Plant these trees, and you will have gallons of cider to make your own.
Golden Dorsett: Golden Dorsett was discovered in a place which will surprise you a great deal. It was found growing on the island of Bermuda. An island in the tropics is not really where one would anticipate finding a bearing apple tree. If it will bear in Bermuda, it certainly can bear here. Dorsett closely resembles a Golden Delicious. It is firm and crisp, is very sweet, nicely grained, not at all mealy. Better eaten fresh than cooked. Very good in cider. Very good yields, a heavy producer. Probably needs no chill at all, but 100 hours are recommended. Bears throughout the month of July.
Ein Shemer: This is my favorite apple of the three, as much for the story of its background, as for the quality or abundance of its fruit. I discovered this apple almost four decades ago through my friends Ira and Golda Stein, and Abraham Klein from kibbutz Ein Shemer in Israel. This apple is named after, and was developed at this little kibbutz in the north of Israel in the foothills of the sheffela, between the coast and the sea of Galilee. This kibbutz was founded in 1913 by HaShomer as a watch tower guard post. The early pioneers were a group of 18 women and 36 men in their late teens and early twenties that had a dream to settle in their ancient homeland, and make a beautiful life there. Those early Sabras were very hardy souls. There was little water, malaria was rampant, the remoteness of the area made life difficult, and there were frequent armed conflicts. Initially water was brought in by horse cart. Eventually, the brave young kibbutzniks caused the desert to bloom and grow; they named their settlement Ein Shemer. Ein for the Hebrew word spring, and Shemer for the ancient king named Shemer of Shomron. The area is known for its wonderful citrus, and fruits of various types. I received a tree from Ira and Golda, and was able to stay at the kibbutz while in Israel. The food at the kibbutz was amazing, and the fruit was the best part of each meal. Ein Shemer closely resembles a Golden Delicious. It is highly productive, and a great pollenizer for Anna. A sweet, crispy, and juicy apple. Bears mid June-mid July. 100 hrs.
This trio of delicious and productive pommes can cause your little bit of desert to bloom and flourish as well.
Comments
Post a Comment