Growing stone or pome fruit in the low desert of Arizona is a trip. Citrus on the other hand is easy. You really would have to be careful of your selection to grow stone or pome fruit. 'Tom' of this forum had a script where he could tell you the chilling hours based on the reports from weather underground. Something like that would be absolutely invaluable if not essential, and I don't know why its not more widely available if not built into the higher tone home weather stations. Tucson would not have quite the extreme climate of Phoenix, but on the other hand, it lacks the unbelievably fertile soil of the Salt River Valley. If I still lived there, I would do the basics. Citrus has few pests and no birds, hangs on the tree ripe for weeks or months, and everyone take it for granted. I would get me some high class citrus. In Phoenix, anything other than Key lime does well. I would go for 'Moro' blood orange, for example, or perhaps a 'Bears' lime. (An unbelievably beautiful fruit tree in my opinion. You could grow the lime tree on the front of the house without worrying too much about fruit thieves.) Figs do very well too, and some of the varieties have two crops a year. Figs for some reason have a kind of 'Geeter Lester' image in Arizona. You won't find too many growing in the foothills of Tucson for that reason. Mulberries do well, but until recently it was almost impossible to get a fruiting variety. Don't plant it too close to the house. A Rosemary hedge is a no-brainer too. You have never lived as a gardener until you trimmed the hedge one hot summer morning turned around when you were done and contemplated the $1,000 worth of trimmings you will be throwing into the trash. Pecan trees do well around there, but they are rarely grown. Too big and too much water I suppose. I always wonder why you don't see Pistachios down there, but you don't. Olive trees thrive in Phoenix. they are outlawed by the yahoos because of the pollen. Almost nobody bothers to harvest them, and the occasional Greek or Italian tourist practically faints at the waste. P.S. Don't try and be a hero and dig through the Caliche. Hire a guy with a backhoe, make sure he calls the Bluestake center, and get a real hole. This isn't Kansas, you know.

I am growing all my blueberries in large pots so I can control the soil pH and nutrients, and all are doing exceedingly well. Just too much effort to try to grow them in our soils. I am growing O'Neal, Jubilee, Emerald, Misty, Sunshine Blue, Sweetcrisp & Windsor. My best tasting are my Sweetcrisp, O'Neal and Emerald. We'll see how Windsor stands up next season to the above 3. I grow them using Dave Wilson Nursery's recommendations on their web site. Just make sure they do NOT dry out, or you'll kill them faster than you can say totally dead brown plant. Patty S. Here is a link that might be useful: DWN: How to Grow Blueberries in Containers

A field test was carried out by Tom Spellman of Dave Wilson Nursery. It was looking to see whether high-chill apple varieties could be grown in the city of Irvine (which only receives about 50-100 chill hours in the winter). The following apple varieties did surprisingly well: King Tompkins, Braeburn, Gravenstein, Cox's Orange Pippin. The trees tended to flower and set fruit throughout the year rather than a specific season. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiEEHRfAEWY

I hear ya. If you're near the beach like me, you have to walk a fine line of something which doesn't need too much chilling (stands a zone 10 climate,) and also doesn't need too much heat. I'm trying several figs, from Italian Everbearing (a turkey like fig,) to White Genoa (which is better for coastal situations they say,) and just reading as much info as I can to guesstimate what will work. I think brown turkey, black mission and some others would do well here too. I have several long lists of named cultivars from searching the websites and reading the fig forum. A number say "Kadota or White Kadota" does best where its very hot and dry, so I eliminated that one, which you'll find commonly in stores. Loquats definitely grow near the beach! Delicious delicious fruit, just be ready to clean it up and make jams when its ready or you can attract animals like rats and such the neighbors don't appreciate. Pick a grafted variety for earliest production. I'm trying Ollaie Blackberries (Its not exactly a blackberry, its a cross, but close enough.) It is suppose to sweeten in cooler coastal situations. But who knows. Its thorny too. The nursery was trying to sell me that any cane berry would do well in my situation, so I dunno. You may grow citrus well... at least basic lemon and lime. I can't grow much else, not enough heat for good growth and production. Meyer lemons are very forgiving. My pineapple guava is doing well, I love eating the flowers more than the fruit. :) Natal Plums are often used for decorative purposes but produce a delicious fruit. Passion Fruit (which I love,) also grow well here, although I sacrificed my plants in the past to butterfly larvae who love to eat the leaves! :) I'll have to find some balance in the future. But I loooooooove that sweet fragrant sweet tart burst of flavor. In the past I've grown bananas here. They appreciate a more protected spot for the extra heat as well as reduced winds which can shred the leaves easily and lower growth/production. I loved "ice cream" and "mysore" and some other small fruited types. That was back when Richardson's Seaside Banana Farm existed and he had the most AMAZING selection you can dream of. AND he carried all the exotics good for coastal locations. I got a lot of trees and vines from him, he really knew where to get them from and sold much of the fruit too. Also try driving around any older homes in your area, they are the ones who sometimes still have their fruit trees and such. Especially in LA. And see what is mature and looks healthy, many gardeners love talking about what works for them. Oh and avocados and pomegranates also do very well on the coast. Plenty of those where I am producing happily. If you get a chance to visit the Exotica Nursery in Vista, down here in San Diego, they have a LOT of plants to choose from, you can see the list on their website, and a lot of knowledge. They are great people! Good luck in searching...