Fire Blight Resistant Fruit Trees
Apples, pears and crabs that resist fire blight, the bacterial disease that blackens shoots like they've been torched and can kill a tree outright. It spreads at bloom in warm, wet weather, and once it's in a susceptible tree it's hard to stop. Resistance is the best defense.
More about fire blight
Pears get hit the hardest, so start there if you want pears. Fire blight resistant pears include Harrow Sweet, Honeysweet, Seckel, Summercrisp, Cold Snap and Ubileen.
For apples and crabs, Trailman applecrab takes zone 1, Dolgo zone 1b, and Chestnut and Centennial zone 2. Liberty, William's Pride, Black Oxford, Roxbury Russet and Belle de Boskoop are good full size apples that resist it.
Heavy nitrogen and lots of soft, fast growth make fire blight worse. Go easy on the fertilizer and let the soil do the work. Our disease resistance charts have the full breakdown.
Questions we get
What pear trees resist fire blight?
Harrow Sweet, Honeysweet, Seckel, Summercrisp, Cold Snap and Ubileen. Summercrisp and Cold Snap are hardy to zone 3.
What apple trees resist fire blight?
Liberty, William's Pride, Black Oxford, Roxbury Russet, Belle de Boskoop, Blue Pearmain and Kandil Sinap, plus Dolgo crab and the Trailman, Chestnut and Centennial applecrabs.
What makes fire blight worse?
Warm, wet weather during bloom and lots of soft, fast growth from too much nitrogen.
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