Drying

Our use scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings, adapted from the grades S. A. Beach used in The Apples of New York (1905). A 6 is a solid good, and 8 and up are his higher grades, the ones that land on our Best Of lists. For drying, Italian plum tops the group at 10 out of 10. It's a sweet freestone prune plum, rated to zone 3b and ripe in late September. Bartlett pear and Montmorency tart cherry each scored 9. Balaton, Meteor, Golden Russet apple, Stuttgarter Gaishirtle pear and goji all scored 8.

In cold country, check your winter low with the cold hardiness calculator before you pick. Meteor, Golden Russet and goji are rated to zone 3 (-40°F). Evan's Bali tart cherry and Manchurian apricot (zone 2b) and Juliet dwarf cherry (zone 2) go colder, and all three scored 7 for drying. Montmorency needs zone 3b.

If you only have room for one, go self-fertile. Montmorency, Balaton, Meteor and Evan's Bali all are, and so are goji and Zard apricot. The apples need a second apple that blooms at the same time, and Stuttgarter Gaishirtle needs another pear. Our pollination maps show what blooms together.

You can keep the dehydrator going from midsummer into fall. Montmorency ripens late July in Missoula, Meteor about a week later, Bartlett in September and Italian plum in late September. One heads-up: the plums, cherries and apples here are all deer favorites, so plan on a fence.