DecidFruit

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, Bushes, &Vines

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.

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.

CHERRIES

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.

Brown Turkey Fig

Black Mission Fig

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 Excel: Medium sized yellow fruit with amber pulp. Rich sweet flavor, used fresh. Resistant to splitting under adverse conditions. Superb all purpose fig. 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 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.

Babcock Peach

August Pride

Peach

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 Mid Pride: Best yellow freestone for Southern California. Exceptional flavor and dessert quality. Ripens July. 250 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 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 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 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 SpiceZee Nectaplum: Nectarine X Plum hybrid. Red skinned, white fleshed fruit is sweet and bursting with flavor, boasting traits of both parents. Self fruitful, and very productive. Ripens mid-late summer. Beautiful rich red leaves in spring make it an attractive landscape tree as well. 500 hours

Burgundy Plum

Santa Rosa

Plum

Flavor Delight Aprium

POMEGRANATE:

à Wonderful: Extra large bright red fruit. Rich red, juicy flesh with a sharp flavor. Most well known of all pomegranates. 100 hours. Ripens in Sept. Self fruitful.

GRAPES:

à Concord Seedless: American grape, a sport of Concord. Berries very similar to Concord, but seedless, or seeds very rare. Bluish-black skin, green flesh, distinctive Concord flavor.

à Perlette: Large seedless green grape. Crisp and juicy. More widely adapted than Thompson Seedless. Requires less summer heat to ripen. Mid July.

à Ruby: Medium sized fruit with crisp dark red skin. Firm flesh, sweet mild flavor. Heavy producer. Ripens August.

BLUEBERRIES:

à Jewel: Large excellent quality fruit. Vigorous growth, most productive when planted with other varieties. 200 hours. Ripens early-mid season.

à Misty: Medium large size berries, excellent quality. Yields best when planted with other varieties. 150-300 hours. Ripens early.

à Sunshine Blue: Evergreen, compact bush growing only 3’ tall. Tolerates higher pH soils better than other varieties. Heavy crops. 150 hours. Ripens mid-season

BERRIES:

à Boysenberry: Large reddish black fruit. Soft sweet-tart tasting berry. Delightful aroma. Ripens in June.

à Olallie Blackberry: Large shiny black fruit. Less tart than others. Vigorous, and very productive. Ripens Late May– Early July.

à Sequoia Strawberry: Very large fruit. Sweetest, best tasting strawberry for backyard use. Everbearing.