How is this possible??

[stevethegator]

I was walking my dog and stumbled upon this....a fruiting red apple tree! These don't even grow well in Georgia so how is it even alive all the way down here??

[stevethegator]

Just to prove I'm not making this up, here's a larger shot showing what the apple tree is growing under, a huge bismarckia! (Oh and some cocos nucifera in the background)

[Chasrobin]

PROOF! the end of the world is coming Coco's and Apples living together!

OMG....

[_Keith]

I have seen many "low chill to no chill hour" apples. I have never been successful at growing them, and have tried several, but they are known to exist. I think Fuji and Gala are both categorized as Zone 10.

[Pando]

I have Anna apple tree growing in my yard. For a second year now, this small tree about 5 feet high has produced over 10 massive size fruit (size of a large fist).

Zone 10b.

[_Keith]

I have Anna apple tree growing in my yard. For a second year now, this small tree about 5 feet high has produced over 10 massive size fruit (size of a large fist).

Zone 10b.

I killed one of those, and Ein Shemer , too. But that was in the early days of my garden, maybe I need to try again.

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

That is pretty cool! My next door neighbor used to have a couple of apple trees that big. They never looked nearly as happy though, and they never fruited so he cut them down.

[DoomsDave]

There are a number of apple varieties that require little or no winter chill, which the more common varieties have to have to set fruit.

When I worked in the Nursery of Doom all those years ago, we sold lots of Red Delicious apple trees, which, as we warned, didn't set fruit. So, they bought others instead, including Yellow Delicious, Anna, Beverly Hills, and others. Some are still there, 20 feet tall or more.

Many of the deciduous fruit trees have to have some winter chill to do well, including peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and all the rest. Cherry Valley California is where to be when the trees are fruiting. Lots of cherry-everything, including diarrhea . . It's in the low mountains near Yucaipa.

[Pando]

Yeah Dave, Oak Glen is a place to go for apples late summer!

Florida Prince peach is one of those requiring very few chill hours. I have one, about 3 feet tall, that I bought from Home Cheapo last year. This winter it was full of flowers and probably had over 30 peaches on it this spring. Unfortunately a squirrel managed to completely clean it out before I could react. Next year I'll use aluminum foil on the branches, seemed to work very well on my apple tree.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Pando

[stevethegator]

Cool! I knew about the no chill peaches but always thought apples needed Washington state conditions to fruit well.

How do the no chill types compare taste-wise to the regular ones?

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I grow Anna and dorsett golden, both give me more apples than I know what to do with. They bloom in late December to early January and ripen anywhere from late April through mid July. I also grow medium chill apples with success but I fail most years on some of the high chill apples I've tried. This year, even my medium chill apples have failed due to the warm Winter. My neighbor took out some trees that took away a bit of Winter shade, which made chill accumulations even more difficult.

Some of the best apples come from low to medium chill environments. Granny Smith originated in the outskirts of Sydney and is actually considered to be a subtropical apple. It needs a 300 day growing season. It is actually a sweet yellow apple and the green ones at the store are a result of not being able to ripen properly north of 39 degrees latitude. Pink lady is an offspring of lady Williams, which originates from Eastern Australia, not too far from where Tyrone lives. Lady williams actually needs a 365 day growing season. Ours ripen in early February after about 300 days on the tree.

Bottom line is that many apples are home to lower latitudes. Dorsett golden comes from the Bahamas and is a seedling of golden delicious.

[MattyB]

Like Axel I grow Anna and Dorsett Golden both suited to warm climates. I have tons of apples right now.

[Jubaea]

I have an Anna that will even bloom in summer sometimes and set a few fruit, but I don't like the texture of it much as it is quite soft. How is the flavor and texture of Dorsett Golden?

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

You have to pick it before it turns to mush. Both anna and Dorsett golden are like that. Make sure fruit is shaded.

[rprimbs]

I have found that Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple "Esopus Spitzenburg" does quite well in my Southern California (Escondido) climate. I have gotten many apples from it every year since I planted it. I do strip the leaves in the Fall -- like some people on Axel's "Cloudforest Cafe" forum recommend to put the apple into "dormancy" -- but I am also under the impression that it requires much less chill than is typically thought.

I've been to one of Axel's talks on apples and there many varieties that I want to try. I am espaliering them on a fence on one side of my property, so I've got room for many. Sadly gophers have already taken out four of my apples, so I definitely have to cage the ones I plant in the future.

[stevethegator]

Thanks for all of the great info everyone! We don't get many "chill hours" here at all, even fewer than SoCal, Sydney, etc. so I was very suprised to see that tree setting fruit. Maybe I will try one of the no-chills someday!

[Jimbean]

cool!

I have never seen anything like that here in Florida. I want to say that I personally have not seen fruiting apple trees further south of central South Carolina.

[stevethegator]

I never saw one when I lived in Atlanta, there are a few commercial orchards in the north GA mountains but even there production is limited. Maybe we're just not trying the right varieties here in the South?