Fall Treat

Featured Plant of the Month

GROWING FRUIT IN SMALL SPACES

Apple

partnered with
UC Master Gardeners
of Placer County

Apple

Malus spp.

By Debbie Arrington, Sacramento Digs Gardening

How about them apples? With beautiful spring blossoms and abundant fall fruit, apples are America’s favorite backyard fruit tree. (And they need half the water of lawn!)

Apples require winter “chill hours” (time spent under 45 degrees) to produce fruit. Placer County apple lovers in Auburn, Loomis and Rocklin should look for varieties that need less than 700 total chill hours (such as Fuji, Anna, Gala, Pink Lady and Granny Smith); for higher elevations such as Colfax, look for varieties that require under 1,000 chill hours (such as Red Delicious).

With the universal popularity of apples, some plant breeders keep new apple varieties coming. Pint-size trees with full-size fruit, these new dwarf apples are bred for small spaces—they stay under 6 feet tall and can be picked without a ladder.

Apples also can be grown on a fence or wall. The Placer County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden at the Loomis Library features dwarf apple trees that have been “espaliered”—pruned to grow on a fence or trellis. Instead of vertically, branches are trained to grow horizontally along the fence rails. That keeps the fruit in easy reach. The demonstration garden features a “6-in-1” tree with six apple varieties – Gala, Fuji, Anna, Dorsett Golden, Braeburn, and Granny Smith – grafted onto one trunk; all of those varieties do well with less chill in winter and tolerate hot summers. The garden also has a Ghost apple, a new low-chill dwarf variety with white skin and sweet flesh.

Bloom: In April, apples bear sweet-smelling white flowers—a honeybee favorite.

Water needs: Medium. Once established, irrigate apples deeply once a week during spring and summer; and twice a month in fall. Older trees with deep roots can be cut back to twice monthly summer irrigation. Apples are dormant in winter and, with winter rain, usually need no additional irrigation.

Sun: Full sun.

Size: Dwarf and semi-dwarf varieties stay under 6 to 12 feet.

Care: Deep water to promote deep roots. Prune while dormant in winter to shape and keep the tree compact.

Availability: Most nurseries offer popular apple tree varieties such as Golden Delicious, Gala, or Granny Smith. Dave Wilson Nursery grows at least 64 varieties. Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply (www.groworganic.com) in Grass Valley stocks about 90 varieties. For the 2024/25 bare-root season (which starts after Thanksgiving), Peaceful Valley will offer several heirloom varieties from the Felix Gillet Institute, which grows about 85 varieties of rare fruit and nut trees. The institute also sells direct online (felixgillet.org).

Bonus plants: In a water-wise landscape, apples mix well with shrubs and perennials that can take a little extra irrigation including ‘Hot Lips’ little leaf sage (Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’), dwarf bottlebrush (Callistemon), and catmint (Nepeta).

partnered with
UC Master Gardeners
of Placer County