Over the weekend I was in San Diego, CA. I saw an apple tree in the backyard of a friend's house. 

It's located very close to here:  (32.759706,-117.203847  the intersection of Interstate 8 and Interstate 5)  Being so close to the Pacific Ocean (3 miles) and Mission Bay (.75 mile), the climate is about as mild as San Diego can produce and I have NEVER seen an apple tree in the area.

The neighbors [who knew the previous owners who planted the apple tree at least 15 years ago] did not know the variety. My friend invited me to take an apple and try it.  Without trying to sounds like an apple snob, I have a somewhat discerning palate for apples but I found the apple to be quite tasty. My dad grew up on a farm with apple trees and he felt the same way.

Because the tree is misshapen and ungainly, my friend was about to cut it down, but my dad and I talked him out of it. Dad volunteered to prune the tree once it was dormant.

I found a few 'low chill' apple varieties (Anna, Ein Shemer and Dorsett Golden)  online but none of them look similar to the apples.

Has anyone else found a productive apple tree in such a climate?

I wonder if its Pink Lady ( patented name in GB). It's actual name is Cripps Pink. Bred in Austraila as a cross of a Lady Williams ( Australian) and a Golden delicious.

An update on the apple tree. I sent the picture to the daughter of the original owners. She said it was her mom's tree and was planted before she moved away from home [probably in the early 1970s].

She said that she tried an apple once and it was the mealiest, worst apple she had ever eaten. I did tell her that the one I tried was quite good both in texture as well as flavor. I figure that since she lives halfway across the US from there, it might have been on the tree for months by the time she tried it.

I am still amazed that it produces fruit there, because the proximity to the ocean means it never gets very cold there....very few chill hours. 

I have a friend in SD who grows Pink Ladies.  I hear that there is some way to grow low or high chill apples there by forcing them into dormancy.  I didn't actually hear how because I don't have room for applies and there are so many good ones at the store, but I'm sure you can look it up if you want to grow them. 

I live in that neighborhood!   You can grow plenty of apples around here... check out this site for more info on apples in low to no chill climates.  http://www.kuffelcreek.com/apples.htm

Oh and you can induce dormancy by stopping irrigation until the tree drops its leaves.

I read somewhere that cutting off apple tree leaves while they are still green helps them go into dormancy. I'll check on that again.  I did notice no codling moth damage on the fruit....because there aren't any other apple trees around for miles! :-)

Today was 'jar up the home-cured olives' day!  :-)

I love the home cured olives!  OMG!  I want an entire orchard!  Those things are so yum!!  I get the water so salty a fresh egg will float, and I brine them for days.  I cover them with part brine and part red wine vinegar along with some lemon/orange/garlic/herb slices.  Deelish!!

Suzi