Late-Blooming Fruit Trees

Fruit trees that bloom late for their kind. In cold country it's usually a late frost that takes the crop, not the winter, and every few days of later bloom improves your odds. If you're in a frost pocket or a valley bottom, start here.

More about late bloomers and frost

Late is relative. A late apricot like Zard or Wayne still blooms before most apples leaf out, so apricots always want your warmest, best-drained spot. Late apricots on the list include Precious, Dr 606, Alice Sharp and Harlayne.

For apples, Northern Spy, Wealthy, Arkansas Black, Oriole and Black Oxford are good bets. Sweet cherries Black Gold, Gold and White Gold all bloom late, and so do Superior, La Crescent and Pipestone plums. For peaches, look at Siberian C, Veteran and Redstar. Late pears include Cold Snap, Concorde and Golden Russet Bosc.

Site matters more than variety. Cold air pours downhill and pools in low spots, so a tree halfway up a slope can miss a frost that kills the bloom in the bottom. Our microclimate maps and how they work help you read your own ground. Pair late bloomers with other late bloomers so their bloom overlaps, and check the pollination maps.

Questions we get

What fruit trees bloom late enough to miss spring frost?

Nothing is frost proof, but late bloomers like Northern Spy and Wealthy apples, Black Gold sweet cherry, Superior plum and Zard apricot give you better odds than early ones.

What's the latest-blooming apricot?

Zard and Wayne bloom very late for apricots. Precious, Dr 606, Alice Sharp and Harlayne bloom late too.

What should I plant in a frost pocket?

Late bloomers, and plant them as high on the slope as you can. Skip apricots in the low spots entirely.

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