Pink Lady, Sundowner, Gala, Granny Smith.

Thanks Armando ..I tried a Fuji at the end of a row where everything else grew...Anna, White Pearmain, Dorset Golden, and Fameuse/Snow...I put a 'basket' of wire mesh/hardware cloth under the Fuji because of gopher troubles...It's the only one I did that to when planting...and it was the only one that failed (last year) Do you think the wire mesh is the reason the tree didn't take?

I doubt it, unless the mesh holes were very tiny that the roots had no way of going through and spreading out. Out of the 8 trees i planted last year, the Anna was the only one that didn't take even though i planted all of them the same way.

Kuffel creek apples in Riverside. I have 7 kuffel creek apples I planted last Spring that are growing like weeds. All were over 6 foot. Check out the information on his site and look at the apple varieties recommended. Lots of unique varieties. Look hard at Cripps Pink (Pink Lady) for a later apple.

If you are looking for a less common fruit tree varieties, there is Malay Apple. It's not a true Apple species, of course. The fruit is often found being sold at local farmer's markets in Hawaii. The species can have some trouble in the hot dry conditions of Southern California, so just a little partial shade and adequate/consistent watering can really help, especially in the summer.

There are also a number of pear varieties that are lower chill.

Quince is another one well-suited to warm climates, there are even a few varieties that supposedly can be eaten without cooking (the variety now known as Karp's Sweet is even called "Apple Quince" in Peru). Quince grows well in the warm dry Mediterranean climate.

Also I want to mention, if you are having trouble growing apple or stone fruit in Southern California, putting a tarp over it to give it partial shade can really help. (best time to cover it is from late December to January, and also from June to September)

I am thinking the same coastal influence that keeps temperatures from ever having any real chill may also be the same influence that keeps the temperatures from ever having any highs in the winter. This is important, because chill hour accumulation are as much about hot days in the winter as it is the actual number of chill hours a plant gets. An unseasonably warm winter day can really detract from the number of effective chill hours the plant experiences. The plant is going to need several days of cold to make up for one very warm day.

Try planting the tree out in the inland desert region of California and it really will need 800 hours of chill.

The other factor that helps too is that Winter is the rainiest cloudiest time of the year in Southern California; this helps keep the temperature from rising on any particular day. Fruit trees are capable of accumulating some effective chill (albeit only to a small degree) at temperatures that are not as cold, so it is not as if the temperature absolutely has to be below 45 F for the plant to get any chill.

Cool! I've pruned the apples in the orchard in the video and been there when Tom Spellman visited. There are 2 each of a lot of different varieties. He was in Irvine last week.