Zone 3 Apple Trees

MFTC Zones, Not USDA Averages: Look Up Your Address →

43 apples for zone 3, listed A to Z. The ones rated only to 3b, the warmer half of the zone (-35°F to -30°F), have a 3b tag on them. Everything else is hardy through all of zone 3, down to -40°F.

More About Zone 3 Apples

Hardy through all of zone 3: Alexander, Arkansas Black, Binet Rouge, Cortland, Crimson Beauty, Franklin Cider, Fred's Mac, Golden Russet, MN 1628, Malinda, Northfield Beauty, Northwest Greening, Paula Red, Prairie Spy, Red Baron, Sandow, Snowsweet, Spartan, Spartan x Mac seedlings, Spencer, Sweet Sixteen, Swiss Gourmet, Tropical Winter and Zestar!.

Rated to 3b, the warmer half: Ashmead's Kernel, Black Oxford, Blue Pearmain, Colorado Orange, Cox Orange Pippin, Empire, Goblin, Hidden Rose, Liberty, Macoun, Mother, Nova Easygro, Pink Pearl, Reinette Simirenko, Ribston Pippin Cider, Spokane Beauty, Sunrise, Triumph and William's Pride. Save these for a 3b site. If you're in the colder half (3a), skip the ones with the 3b tag.

Every apple here needs a second variety blooming at the same time to pollenize it. Crabapples and applecrabs count, and they make some of the best pollenizers there are. Our apple pollination map shows which ones bloom together.

Other zones: Zone 2 Apples · Zone 4 Apples · Zone 5 Apples · Everything for Zone 3.

Questions We Get

What does zone 3 mean on your scale?

On our MFTC scale, zone 3 means the coldest night you should plan for (the 1-in-30-year low) falls between -40°F and -30°F. Zone 3a runs -40°F to -35°F and zone 3b runs -35°F to -30°F. That is colder than a USDA zone 3, which is built on the average yearly low, so run your address through our cold hardiness calculator instead of going off a USDA map.

Can I plant the 3b apples in zone 3a?

We don't recommend it. A 3b rating means it has come through -35°F, not the -40°F a cold zone 3a winter can bring. Not sure which half you're in? Our cold hardiness calculator will tell you.