Our collection of fruit trees, shrubs, and vines have all proven successful in Missoula, where our extreme winter low is -30°F. However, the genetics from which we select the vast majority of items in our collection are sourced from cold-climate analogs even colder than ours — including areas within Russia, Mongolia, China, Canada, Scandinavia, and colder parts of the U.S. such as Alaska, eastern Montana, and the northern plains, among many others not listed here.

These genetics are either the result of years of breeding work — as is done at the South Ural Research Station with our cold-climate Russian pears, or at the University of Saskatchewan with our dwarf cherries — or they come from other players that deserve mention. These include home growers who find something interesting for us to propagate, as in the case of our Tipson Plumcot, discovered in Missoula by our friend Doug Hawes-Davis and selected by us, or people who discover something growing in the wild that, for one reason or another, we decide to select. The Madeline apple is an example of this latter case.

We also grow many things from seed, with parentage that must meet the first litmus test of “the lowest common cold-climate denominator.” This means the parents can survive temperatures worth passing on to their progeny (that’s the hope, at least) — down to -40°F or colder. Lastly, we’ve even done our own breeding work (see SnowCzar almond and others).

This is a deep, fun, and oftentimes exhausting rabbit hole — one that, hopefully, we can all join together in exploring for further discovery, envelope-pushing, and the eating of lots of yummy fruits! Here's to the never ending love of pomology!