What are chilling hours?

Chilling hours are the cumulative number of hours over the course of the fall/ winter, at or below 45°F, that are required for some trees to flower and set fruit. If your trees are not flowering, they may need more chill than your climate is offering. If they are flowering, and just not producing, they may be a variety that requires another tree for pollination.

Deciduous Fruit Trees, Vines & Berries

Anna Apple

Blenheim

Apricot

Pink Lady

Apple

Gala

Apple

Fuji

Apple

Dorsett Golden Apple

Gold Kist

Apricot

APPLES

à Anna: Green skin with red blush. Heavy crops of sweet, crisp, flavorful apples. Keeps 2 mo. in refrigerator.200 hours. Self-fruitful, but better crops with pollinator. Ripens June.

à Dorsett Golden: Outstanding sweet apple for warm winter areas. Firm, very flavorful, sweet like Golden Delicious. Productive throughout Southern California. Good early season apple, and pollenizer for Anna. 100 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Fuji: Reddish orange skin, sweet, very crisp and flavorful. Excellent keeper. Will take summer heat. Ripens mid September. Excellent pollinator. Less than 500 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Gala: Wonderful dessert apple from New Zealand. Crisp, sweet, tart flavor, excellent keeper. Good pollenizer for other apples. Less than 500 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Pink Lady: Reddish pink over green skin. very crisp, sweet-tart flavor, good keeper. White flesh resists browning. Ripens in late October. 400-500 hours. Self-fruitful.

APRICOTS

à Blenheim (Royal): All purpose freestone, sweet, juicy, aromatic, flavorful. Long time #1 apricot in California. Ripens late June. 500 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Gold Kist: Excellent backyard apricot for warm winter climates. Freestone, very good quality. Ripens early June.300hours. Self-fruitful.

à Katy: Large, all purpose freestone. Tree ripe fruit is subacid (not tart). A favorite apricot for warm winter climates. Ripens early June. 400 hours. Self -fruitful.

CHERRIES

à Lapins: Dark red sweet cherry. Large, firm, good flavor.500-800 hours. Self fruitful. Ripens May-June.

à Minnie Royal: Medium-sized red cherry. Firm with good flavor. Very productive. Mainly used as a pollinator for Royal Lee. Low Chill 400-500 hours. Ripens May.

à Royal Lee: Medium-large cherry. Heart shaped with excellent flavor. Very productive. Pollinated by Minnie Lee. Low Chill 400-500 hours. Ripens May.

à Royal Rainier: Large yellow cherry with red blush. Excellent flavor, taste test winner. Ripens early May-June. Use Lapins as a pollinator. 500-700 hours.

FIGS

à Black Mission: Purplish black skin, strawberry colored flesh, rich flavor. Heavy bearing, long-lived, large tree. Coast or inland. Fresh/can/dry. 100 hours. Self fruitful.

à Brown Turkey(Improved): Large brown skin, pink flesh. Sweet rich flavor, used fresh. Widely adapted- coast or inland climate. Small tree, prune to any shape. 100 hours. Self fruitful.

à Osborne Prolific: Large fruit with very attractive purplish brown skin, amber pulp. Especially pleasing flavor. Small to medium fruit. Inland or coastal. Prune to any shape. 100 hours. Self fruitful.

à Panache Tiger: Especially fine flavor. Small to medium sized fruit with green and yellow stripes. Strawberry pulp is blood-red in color. 100 hours. Self-fruitful.

NECTARINE

à Arctic Star: Low acid, super sweet white nectarine. Beautiful dark red skin, snow-white semi-freestone flesh. Ripens mid-June. 300 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Desert Delight: Large fruit with bright red skin, yellow flesh, and delicious, rich, nectarine flavor. Harvest Mid June. 100-200 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Double Delight: Sensational fruit, consistently the best flavored yellow nectarine- plus magnificent double pink flowers. Dark red skinned, freestone fruit is sweet, with unusually rich flavor. Heavy bearing tree. Harvest mid July. 400-500 hours. Self fruitful.

à Fantasia: Popular yellow freestone. Early harvest fruit is firm-ripe, and tangy., later harvest is sweet with rich flavor. High scoring in taste tests. Ripens late July/ Early August. 500 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Panamint: Attractive red skinned yellow freestone. Aromatic, intensely flavored, nice acid-sugar balance. Dependable long-time favorite. Ripens late July/ early August. 250 hours. Self fruitful.

PEACH

à August Pride: Large all purpose yellow freestone. Sweet aromatic, rich flavor, one of the best. Ripens in August. Less than 300 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Babcock: Long time favorite white fleshed freestone peach. Sweet and juicy, aromatic, low in acid. Widely adapted. Ripens mid July. 250-300 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Donut (Saturn):Unique white-fleshed fruit with a sunken center (shaped like a donut). Sweet with a mild flavor described as almond-like. Ripens late June/ early July. 400-500 hours.

à Eva’s Pride: Delicious, fine-flavored peach with very low-chilling requirements.. Medium to large-sized yellow freestone. Ripens June. 1-200 hours. Self-fruitful.

à  July Elberta: Also called Early Elberta. Reliable heavy crops. Juicy, sweet, very flavorful yellow freestone fruit for canning, freezing, or fresh use. 500 hours. Self fruitful.

à Mid Pride: Best yellow freestone for Southern California. Exceptional flavor and dessert quality. Ripens July. 250 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Red Baron:Large, juicy, firm, richly flavored yellow freestone fruit. Showy double red blossoms. Ripens in mid July. Long time favorite in Southern California. 250-300 hours. Self-fruitful.

PEAR– Domestic

à Bartlett: World's most popular pear. Early mid season, high quality, tolerates hot summers. 800 hours. Self-fruitful

à Red Sensation: High quality Bartlett-type fruit with attractive red skin. Relatively small tree. 700 hours. Self-fruitful. . 

PEAR– Asian

à Shinseiki: Juicy, sweet, refreshing, crisp like an apple. Easy to grow. Harvest late July. Vigorous, heavy bearing. 350-450 hours. Self fruitful.

PERSIMMON

à Fuyu:  Most popular fresh eating persimmon. Bright orange, round, flattened fruit. Eaten when firm. Crunchy, sweet distinct flavor. Ripens in Nov. Self fruitful

à Hachiya: Large bright orange pointed fruit.  Must be soft before eating. Great for cooking. Ripens Nov. Self fruitful.

PLUM

à Beauty:  Sweet, flavorful plum, more widely adapted than Santa Rosa. Red over yellow skin, amber flesh streaked red. Ripens June. 250 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Burgundy: apanese plum. Medium sized, reddish purple skin. Deep red, firm flesh with mellow sweet flavor. Good for mild winter areas, but cold hardy as well. 250-350 hours. Ripens July. Self fruitful.

à Catalina: Large, black, favorite fresh market plum. Sweet and juicy, but still firm when fully ripe. Very high taste test scores. Ripens in late July. Vigorous, productive tree. 400 hours. Self-fruitful.

à Santa Rosa: Japanese Large oval fruit. Purplish red skin. Firm flesh, yellow to dark red near skin. Rich, pleasing, tart flavor. 400 hours. Ripens June. Self fruitful.

PLUM HYBRIDS: APRIUM/ NECTAPLUM/ PLUOT

à Flavor Delight Aprium: Resembles an apricot, but with a distinctive flavor and texture all its own. High scores in taste tests. One of the most flavorful early season fruit. Less than 300 hours. Ripens early June. Self fruitful, but biggest crops if pollinated by an apricot.

à SpiceZee Nectaplum:Nectarine/plum hybrid packs a pile of amazing flavors into an attractive tree. Slightly acidic, and loaded with sugar giving it a spicy sweet flavor. Also an attractive ornamental tree, with a tremendous spring bloom, followed by dark red leaves in the spring. Self Fruitful

à Dapple Dandy Pluot: Taste test winner. Creamy white and red fleshed freestone. with wonderful plum-apricot flavor. Maroon and yellow dappled skin. Pollinated by Flavor Supreme, Santa Rosa, or Burgundy plum.  400-500 hours.

à Flavor Grenade Pluot:  Elongated green fruit with red blush. Crisp texture and explosive flavor. Taste test winner. Pollinate with a Japanese plum. 500-600 hours.

à Flavor King Pluot: Taste test winner. Unique hybrid with a sensational aroma, and sweet spicy flavor. Reddish purple skin, crimson flesh. Ripens August. 400-500 hours. Pollinated by Flavor Supreme, Santa Rosa, or Late Santa Rosa.