University of Minnesota Fruit Varieties
The University of Minnesota has been breeding fruit for cold winters since 1878, and its fruit breeding farm at Excelsior has given northern growers more of their go-to varieties than any other program. Here's everything we grow that came out of it.
More About University of Minnesota Fruit Varieties
Honeycrisp, Haralson, Frostbite and Zestar! are all Minnesota apples, and so are the Centennial and Chestnut applecrabs. Minnesota also bred the plums that made cold-country plum growing possible (Underwood, Superior, Pipestone and La Crescent) and kicked off the cold-hardy wine grape boom with Frontenac, Marquette, La Crescent and Itasca.
On this page: Bluebell Grape, Centennial Applecrab, Chestnut Applecrab, Frontenac Grape, Frostbite Apple, Haralson Apple, Honeycrisp Apple, Itasca Grape, La Crescent Grape, La Crescent Plum, MN 1628 Apple, Marquette Grape, Meteor Tart Cherry, Oriole Apple, Pipestone Plum, Prairie Spy Apple, Red Baron Apple, Red Lake Currant, Snowsweet Apple, Summercrisp Pear, Superior Plum, Sweet Sixteen Apple, Underwood Plum and Zestar! Apple.
Related: Morden Research Station Varieties · Elmer Swenson Grapes · Zone 3 Fruit Trees.
Questions We Get
Is Honeycrisp from the University of Minnesota?
Yes. It came out of the Minnesota apple breeding program and was released in 1991.
Are University of Minnesota varieties hardy in Montana?
Most of them are. They were bred and tested through Minnesota winters, and each product page shows the zone we rate it to on our own scale.
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