Apple Trees are trees in the genus Malus. They are members of the Maleae (apple) tribe of the Amygdaloideae subfamily of the rose family. Other members of this tribe include pear trees, cotoneaster, hawthorn trees, photinia, and toyon.
Apple Court in Woodland is named after apple trees.
Apple trees with very small fruits are called crabapple trees. These can grow in the wild; the California native crabapple species is called Pacific Crabapple (Malus fusca), although it prefers coastal areas and is not native to Yolo County. Crabapples can also be planted ornamentally for their flowers.
Edible apple trees have been intensively bred four about 4,000 to 10,000 years to produce larger and more appealing fruits than they originally did in the wild. Most cultivars of edible apples cannot pollinate themselves or other trees of the same cultivar, so you must usually buy two different apple cultivars to get an apple harvest. Without pollination, edible apple trees may still produce some fruit, but their unpollinated fruit is small, hard, and unappetizing. There are more than 7,500 cultivars of apples. Different cultivars are bred for various tastes and uses.
Apple trees and their fruits are extremely susceptible to various fungal, bacterial, and insect problems. Apples grown from seed rarely inherit much resemblance to the parent trees; this may be partly an adaptation to try to resist the many pests that apple trees are plagued by. In cultivation, apple trees are typically cloned and then grafted onto rootstocks from other apple cultivars to produce the most desirable characteristics.
Edible Apple (Malus domestica) is a deciduous hybrid tree derived from wild ancestors from Asia and Europe. It can grow to 30 feet tall in the wild but should be kept pruned to 6 to 15 feet tall for best fruit harvest. It has "perfect" flowers (containing both male and female parts). It is ranked 3 to 4 out of 10 on the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale, depending on cultivar; either score indicates a mild tendency to cause hay fever. It is planted as a street tree on Court Street.
Japanese Crabapple (Malus floribunda) is a deciduous tree from Asia. It can grow more than 35 feet tall and bears red or yellow crabapples less than an inch in diameter. It has "perfect" flowers (containing both male and female parts). It is ranked 4 out of 10 on the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale, indicating a mild tendency to cause hay fever. It is planted in Jack Slaven Park. It is also planted as a street tree on County Road 102, Main Street, North Street, Pioneer Avenue, and Sports Park Drive.
Prairie Crabapple (Malus ioensis) is a fast-growing, deciduous tree from the central United States. It usually grows 25 to 35 feet tall and bears small red crabapples. In 20 years, it might grow to 20 feet tall. It prefers full sun and regular watering. It has "perfect" flowers (containing both male and female parts). It is ranked 4 out of 10 on the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale, indicating a mild tendency to cause hay fever. The cultivar Malus ioensis 'Prariefire' grows to only about 20 feet tall and is planted in Jack Slaven Park, Pioneer Park, Rick Gonzales, Sr., Park. The same cultivar is also planted as a street tree on Clanton Way, County Road 102, Court Street, Elm Street, Palm Avenue, and Pioneer Avenue.
