Powdery Mildew Resistant Fruit Trees & Berries

Fruit trees, berries and vines that hold up to powdery mildew. Unlike most leaf diseases, mildew doesn't need wet leaves to get going, so it shows up even in dry country like ours. Picking resistant varieties is the easiest way to stay ahead of it.

More about powdery mildew

On apples, mildew stunts new shoots and can russet the fruit. Liberty, William's Pride, Nova Easygro and Pristine resist it along with scab. For colder spots, Wolf River, Spartan and Lodi are rated to zone 2b, and Dolgo crabapple (zone 1b) and Chestnut applecrab (zone 2) resist it too.

Gooseberries are where mildew does the most damage, and every gooseberry we grow resists it: Hinnomaki Red, Captivator, Black Velvet, Jeanne, Invicta, Pixwell and Jahn's Prairie. Titania black currant and honeyberry do well against it too.

For grapes, Itasca, Sabrevois and Somerset Seedless are the ones to look at. Good airflow and a healthy soil food web still matter. Our disease resistance charts break it all down plant by plant.

Questions we get

What gooseberries resist powdery mildew?

All of ours. Hinnomaki Red, Captivator, Black Velvet, Jeanne, Invicta, Pixwell and Jahn's Prairie all resist it and are hardy to zone 3.

Which apple trees resist powdery mildew?

Liberty, William's Pride, Nova Easygro, Pristine, Wolf River, Spartan, Lodi, Zestar and Arkansas Black, among others. Dolgo crabapple resists it too and takes zone 1b.

Why do I get powdery mildew in a dry climate?

Powdery mildew doesn't need rain or wet leaves to infect, just humidity and mild temperatures. That's why it's one of the few diseases that's a real problem out here.

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