As it seems, it's still a thing. Even for those who keep their game fully maintained.
The thing was that I did send my sims from Willow Creek to Oasis Springs and the plants down by the food stall in Bedrock Strait did not seem to evolve at all. And the wild plants in the area (sage) could just be viewed. In other areas like Skyward Palms and Acquisition Butte everything worked fine. The family who had apple Trees outside their lot lives in Ridgeline Drive, Newcrest. I can be OK with plants glitching out on lots as I can restore them with the Testingcheats cheat but outside lots?