Growing Apples in the Phoenix AZ Area

[@ghydiany]

Every time I see your yard and trees I want to move to Arizona. Beautiful harvest!

[@stopbeingsoweirdstill]

Mine are just ripening here in El Paso. Love the documentation.

[@GHumpty1965]

lots of apple pies and tarts!

[@inzaratha_superstes_guard]

I have a variety similar to them here also in Phoenix. A lot of fruit this year.

[@nmnate]

Ah, I love apples. We had a massive Jonagold tree when I was a kid. That tree set more fruit than we knew what to do withand they still ended up around soft-ball size. Mmmm. But, as an adult doing research into what trees to plant, I start to understand why pollination can be such a hard thing to understand with apples. Lots of the good apples are triploids (Ashmeads Kernel, Jonagold, Gravenstein, Liberty, etc) and need two other compatible trees to set fruit. At least you can always resort to a crabapple, which can tend to be excellent pollinators.

[@suzyq6767]

I have had a fuji in the ground for 5 years. No fruit still. Does fuji need a pollinizer other than Anna or golden dorset. I have both of those, too. They're the same age and have fruited for two years now.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

I think Fuji is one of those that can fruit on its own but never heavy without a pollinator. I get some fruit and am the only one in my neighborhood with fruit trees and I know my Anna and Dorsett don't set flowers at the same time so they are not helping it in that regard. I'd say its best to get your Fuji a friend or graft on Granny Smith or another pollinator.

[@SuperHemiv8]

Fuji is known to be quite slow to fruit but then does well after about five years in ground on m111 rootstock.

[@lofenoialof5320]

How often and how much do you recommend watering apples ? Do you let them dry between waterings ? Also , how about the same for peaches , figs , and nectarines ? They seem similar . Thank you : )

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Hi--I recently posted a lengthy video all about how I water. It really depends on quite a few factors--kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3Szi2SueruJeck

[@dragonslayer5838]

Love your videos, always very informative. Where did you get the 3 n 1 apple tree?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thanks! I had found it at my local lowes but grafting is pretty easy; you can turn any apple tree into a multi-variety tree.

[@dragonslayer5838]

@Enlightenment Garden thank you for your response! I have limited space in my yard, so a 3 n 1 would be perfect!

[@xianghouzinjianghu5001]

Love your videos. I thought Anna was suppose to have a dominant red blush on the fruit. Do they ever turn red?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Thanks! It may be because this is in full sun but I have not really seen much of a blush on these apples.

[@derickfountain3419]

I have a honey crisp apple tree to pollinate my Fuji tree. Have you had any experience with the Honeycrisp apple trees? I know the chill time is insane.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

I have not tried growing Honeycrisp but sounds like a good potential graft for my Fuji tree to increase fruit set. Thanks for sharing

[@brandasar7913]

I just bought a Anna apple teee, what would the watering be like in Phoenix summer? Thank you

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

IMO and experience--every day or 2 with the volume of the container it came in if planted in ground--kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3Szi2SueruJeck

[@lofenoialof5320]

How do you recommend prepping a dried lawn area ? I just layed down some painting paper upon which I may pile garden soil and amend about 6" and then wood chips above that . THank you !!!

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Sounds like you have a good plan! I did a video a while back when I converted my second lawn area to a living path. I did the same thing; sheet mulching with cardboard and about a foot of mulch. I opted for a 50/50 combo of bagged composted mulch from the big box stores as it is partially broken down and then wood chips on top. The combo seemed to help the quality of the soil faster than wood chips alone and kept the bermuda from coming up. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYXMqGuopbJ1pJI

[@lofenoialof5320]

@@EnlightenmentGarden How about amend mix ? The bags say to mix it with 50% native soil . Would amendment and chips on top work well possibly ? Thanks !

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

@@lofenoialof5320 Good idea! I've used the amend compost with native soil in holes for planting and mixed it up using a cultivator but for the lawn covering did just the mix of composted mulch and wood chips with good results. I also did spread gypsum over the old lawn before covering with cardboard. It seems to help break up clay soil. A layer of straw in between is good too for worms. Any organic material is going to help condition the soil.

[@lofenoialof5320]

@@EnlightenmentGarden Wow! That's really helpful : ) I may go with the 1. gypsum , 2. paper , 3. organic soil 6" , 4. wood chips approach Thanks !~)

[@lettyzane2720]

What recipes do you have for them frozen?

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Like other fruits I freeze, I've thawed them for smoothies, pies, cakes, and applesauce. As long as you thaw them (which can be as simple as putting the bag from the freezer to fridge) you can use them in most recipes that call for apples.

[@beingcivilengineer94]

Aren't FUJI a high chill apple variety. Let me know what type of FUJI apple was that.

[@EnlightenmentGarden]

Yes; Fuji is a higher chill variety and is said to require around 400 hours. We do not get that here in the Phoenix area but it will still set fruit. I've since learned Fuiji is not self-fertile, so I'm experimenting with other grafts to enable cross-pollination. On the other hand, Anna is self-fertile and very productive here in the desert climate.

[@tankchairadventures8339]

We dry a lot of our fruit so we have fruit all seasons 👍