Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ida Agricultural Experiment Station, and 'Beverly Hills'. Some of these variet-
ies can be grown successfully in areas that receive 100 to 200 chilling hours.
Cold hardiness is a concern for northern growers. Fortunately, we have
many good cold-hardy apple varieties suitable even for the Prairie Provinces
and parts of Alaska. Particularly cold-hardy varieties include 'Norson', 'Nor-
an', and 'Norda'. With the introduction of extra-cold-hardy varieties for the
north and very low-chilling varieties for the south, apples can now be grown
reliably from Zones 3 to 9 and, with extra effort, in Zones 2 and 10.
Frost injury can be a serious problem for apples in many areas, although
somewhat less so than for earlier-blooming stone fruits. Some apple varieties
bloom up to 30 days later than others and are good for areas prone to late
spring frosts. 'Rome Beauty' and 'Northern Spy' are popular late-blooming
varieties. If you select one of these late-blooming varieties, make sure that
you have a long enough growing season to mature the fruits. Also, in areas
with severe fire blight problems, late-blooming varieties are more suscept-
ible to the disease than earlier blooming varieties. In such areas, you might
be better off planting early-blooming varieties and providing some form of
frost protection, such as orchard heaters or wind machines.
Summer heat is critically important in developing and ripening your crop.
Growing season length requirements vary tremendously among varieties.
Some apple varieties mature in as little as 70 days from pollination, while
others require 180 days or more. In areas with short growing seasons, variet-
ies that ripen early are usually the best choice. Long-season varieties 'Granny
Smith' and 'Mutsu', for example, can be difficult to ripen in short-season loc-
ations.
Soil conditions.
Apples are relatively adaptable to soil conditions, but they
perform best on deep, well-drained soils with a pH between 6 and 7. Some
rootstocks are better adapted than others to poorly drained soils, but such
