Fruit Trees for Augusta, Waterville and the Kennebec Valley, Maine

In the cold snap of early January 1981, the NOAA station at Gardiner, in the Kennebec valley, bottomed out at −34°F. The station at the Augusta airport, 7 miles away on high ground about 200 feet higher, got down to −12°F. That 22°F gap is the heart of growing fruit trees for Augusta, Waterville and the Kennebec Valley: where you plant matters more than which town you're in.

This map covers central Maine from Madison and Skowhegan down through Waterville, Augusta and Hallowell to Gardiner, with the Belgrade Lakes and Winthrop to the west and China Lake and Albion to the east. Type your address in the box on the map to get the number for your own place, and the list of what we sell that has come through it.

How to read this map

The big number at any spot is its 30-year planning low, the bad winter night we'd plan a tree around. It's built to run cautious, so treat it as a safe number to plan for, not a promise of how often that night comes. The MFTC zone is that number in half zones. The typical winter is an average year's coldest night, the kind of number USDA's map is built on. The spring layer shows how many degrees warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Augusta on a still, clear night at bloom.

The middle of the growing ground here plans for −27°F; the coldest 5 percent plans for −31°F or colder and the warmest 5 percent for −23°F or warmer. Downtown Augusta, the reference town, plans for −25°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F). That's colder than anything the airport station has recorded (−23°F in 1962, and nothing below −17°F since 1995), but the airport sits on high ground some 300 feet above downtown, and the Gardiner station in the valley has hit −41°F. The warm end of the map is the hills along the river: Granite Hill and Lithgow Hill above Hallowell plan for −20°F. The cold end is the east side, where West Palmyra plans for −33°F and Albion −32°F.

Why the map looks the way it does

The Kennebec runs down the middle of this map and everything drains to it. Above Waterville the river comes down a string of falls, and from Augusta down it's tidal, with Hallowell, Gardiner and Randolph at about 20 to 40 feet. Every stream that comes in is a path for cold air on a still night: the Sandy River at Norridgewock, Messalonskee Stream out of the Belgrade Lakes at Waterville, the Sebasticook at Winslow, Bond Brook through Augusta, Vaughn Brook at Hallowell and Cobbosseecontee Stream at Gardiner. Most of a cold pool is made right where it sits, though, as low ground loses heat to a clear sky. NOAA station records show the result. Over 66 years the Gardiner station (133 feet) ran a median 6°F colder in the year's coldest reading than the Augusta airport (349 feet), and over 77 years the Waterville treatment plant (62 feet, by the river) ran 5°F colder.

Up the sides of that trench is the thermal belt, where the cold slides off on a still night and milder air rides over the pool. Granite Hill and Lithgow Hill, near the Hallowell-Manchester line and 340 to 370 feet above their floor, plan for −20°F. Burnt Hill and Winter Hill, on either side of Augusta, plan for −22°F. Mayflower Hill, where Colby College looks down on Waterville from about 270 feet above the floor, plans for −24°F against −27°F downtown. On the spring layer, which carries the terrain at full strength, all of them run 14°F to 15°F warmer than downtown Augusta. A Hungarian study of 69 clear, calm nights found a valley floor averaged 6.7°F colder than a slope only 230 feet higher. Above the belt it turns colder again: Round Top, at 1,111 feet west of the Belgrade Lakes, plans for −26°F.

The floor gets colder going up the river. Over 106 years the Madison station ran a median 5°F colder than the Waterville plant, and the river towns go from −25°F at Augusta to −28°F at Fairfield and Madison and −30°F at Skowhegan. Lake ice follows suit: the small ponds near Augusta and Winslow go out first in spring, and Lake Wesserunsett at Madison 13 to 20 days after Togus Pond (2016, 2019 and 2026). The east side runs cold too. A NOAA station at Albion kept only 11 years of records (2000 to 2011), but in the January 2009 cold snap it read −28°F while the Waterville plant read −22°F and the Augusta airport −15°F. The map gives short records less weight and the east side still comes out coldest, so treat it as the cautious end.

Water does little in winter. Every lake here freezes, and a lake only shelters its shore while it's relatively free of ice; the Kennebec itself froze hard enough that crews cut and shipped its ice from Gardiner and Hallowell starting in 1826. So the lake villages, on the lowest ground of their basins, plan cold; Lakewood, on Lake Wesserunsett, plans for −31°F. We haven't found a published study of town heat in Augusta or Waterville, and the map gives built-up ground only a little credit (up to 2.5°F). Snow counts for more, below ground: Augusta averages about 71 inches a year, and 4 to 10 inches insulates the soil well. After the 2012 frosts in northern New England, low-lying orchards and orchards hemmed in by dense trees took more damage. And on a windy night the hills lose their edge, as the May 2023 freeze showed.

Augusta, Hallowell and Gardiner

Augusta grew up at the head of tide, with Fort Western on the east bank. Downtown sits at about 40 feet on a toe slope at the edge of the pool, where Bond Brook comes in: −25°F, MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F. Within 3 miles the floor runs a median −26°F and the benches −23°F. Sand Hill, just north of downtown and 90 feet up, plans for −24°F and runs 10°F warmer than downtown at bloom, because the cold keeps draining past it. Mayfair, on a flat bench 120 feet up southeast of downtown, also plans for −24°F but runs only 1°F warmer; flat ground keeps the cold it makes. North Augusta, at 295 feet, plans for −23°F and runs 5°F warmer, while Togus, out by the VA, sits on its own floor at −27°F, 2°F colder.

Hallowell lines Water Street at river level with Vaughn Brook draining the town, and its town spot sits in a cold-air channel: −26°F (MFTC 4a) and 4°F colder than downtown Augusta at bloom. The hills behind it, Howard Hill (−21°F) and Granite and Lithgow hills (−20°F, MFTC 4b), are the warmest named places we checked and run 14°F to 15°F warmer at bloom. Across the river, Chelsea's village, on a hillside 170 feet up, plans for −23°F and runs 10°F warmer.

Gardiner sits where Cobbosseecontee Stream falls about 130 feet to the river, with Randolph across the water. Gardiner and Pittston plan for −27°F, Randolph −28°F and Farmingdale −26°F, all MFTC 4a. Iron Mine Hill, 250 feet up southwest of the city, plans for −23°F and runs 13°F warmer at bloom, and West Gardiner, on the upland toward Cobbossee, −25°F. On the river lots, Liberty and Northern Spy (−30°F) and Black Oxford and Paula Red (−35°F) apples clear the number. Save the early bloomers for the hills: on Granite Hill, Howard Hill, Chelsea or Iron Mine Hill, plant Contender peach and Harlayne apricot (−30°F), Rainier cherry (−30°F) and Blushingstar peach (−25°F), which came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024 without damage.

Waterville, Winslow and Oakland

Waterville grew at Ticonic Falls, where navigation stopped and Messalonskee Stream comes in from the Belgrade Lakes. Downtown, on river-bottom ground, plans for −27°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F) and runs 2°F warmer than downtown Augusta at bloom; the floor within 3 miles runs −28°F and the benches −24°F. Two NOAA stations in town agree: the treatment plant by the river and the automated station NOAA lists as Waterville (AWOS), at 331 feet, both have a 30-year number of −26°F. Mayflower Hill plans for −24°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −10°F) and runs 14°F warmer at bloom, the best named spot in the city for an apricot, a peach or a sweet cherry.

Winslow faces Waterville at the mouth of the Sebasticook, the Kennebec's largest tributary, and its town spot sits in that draw at 48 feet: −28°F and 5°F colder than downtown Augusta at bloom. Up out of the bottom, Hayden Corner, 60 feet up, plans for −26°F and runs 5°F warmer, and Lambs Corner, on a hillside 110 feet up, −25°F and 7°F warmer. Oakland, by the dam at the north end of Messalonskee Lake, plans for −28°F, and Toulouse Corner, on the hills north of the village 250 feet above its floor, −24°F and 11°F warmer. City lots handle Freedom and Empire apples, Italian plum and Seckel pear (all −35°F), the pear on a higher lot. Leave Winslow's bottom to apples and bush fruit.

Fairfield, Skowhegan, Madison and the upper river

Fairfield sits on the floor at about 147 feet: −28°F, MFTC 4a, typical winter −14°F, and 4°F warmer than downtown Augusta at bloom. North along the river it gets colder: Shawmut, at the dam site, −29°F and Hinckley −30°F. In the Sebasticook valley, Benton plans for −29°F, Clinton (home of Fedco Seeds) −29°F on river bottom, and Burnham, at the east edge, −31°F (MFTC 3b).

Skowhegan sits at about 172 feet around the Island, where the river splits at the old falls and the Weston Dam: −30°F, just into MFTC 3b, typical winter −17°F, with the floor within 3 miles at −30°F and the benches at −27°F. Loomis Hill, the town's high point, 570 feet above its floor, plans for −26°F and runs 15°F warmer than downtown Augusta at bloom. The low ground north and northeast of town is colder: Gould Corner plans for −31°F and Mitchell Corner −32°F, both MFTC 3b. Norridgewock, where the Sandy River comes in, plans for −29°F, and the river bottom west of the village that OpenStreetMap calls Sandy River plans for −31°F and runs 5°F colder at bloom. Bigelow Hill, east of the village at 765 feet, plans for −25°F and runs 15°F warmer.

Madison, at Norridgewock Falls, sits on the floor at about 295 feet: −28°F, typical winter −15°F, and 4°F warmer than downtown Augusta at bloom. Its NOAA station holds the valley's coldest outbreak reading, −40°F on December 30, 1933. Anson, next door, plans for −28°F but sits in a cold-air channel 5°F colder at bloom, and Lakewood, on Lake Wesserunsett, plans for −31°F. Cornville, on a bench 200 feet up, plans for −28°F but runs 9°F warmer at bloom. Up here, go with the hardiest apples, Haralson and Honeycrisp (−45°F) and Wealthy (−50°F), with Toka plum and Evan's Bali tart cherry (−45°F), and put Westcot apricot (−45°F) up on Loomis Hill or Bigelow Hill. North Star Orchards in Madison overlooks the Kennebec, and Cayford Orchards in Skowhegan keeps 1,200 trees on 18 acres.

Winthrop, Monmouth, Readfield and Manchester

Winthrop's nickname is Apple Valley, and the Winthrop Lakes drain through it to the Kennebec at Gardiner. The village sits on the floor at about 213 feet: −26°F, MFTC 4a, typical winter −14°F, and 2°F colder than downtown Augusta at bloom. The lake shores and draws are the cold ground: East Winthrop on Cobbossee plans for −28°F, Island Park −29°F, and Tallwood, in a cold-air channel, −29°F and 4°F colder at bloom. An old NOAA station at East Winthrop hit −31°F in February 1948, in the same cold snap that took Madison to −34°F. The hills are another climate. Sturtevant Hill, the neighborhood west of ME 41, sits 340 feet up at −23°F (MFTC 4b) and runs 13°F warmer, and Mount Pisgah plans for −22°F and runs 16°F warmer, as good a spring reading as any named place we checked.

Kents Hill, Readfield's hilltop school village 260 feet above its floor, plans for −25°F (MFTC 4b) and runs 10°F warmer, and Kents Hill Orchard grows there. Manchester's village sits on the floor at −26°F, but Allen Hill and Monks Hill, at 640 to 670 feet, plan for −21°F and −22°F and run 14°F and 15°F warmer. Monmouth, home of UMaine's Highmoor Farm, plans for −25°F and runs 4°F warmer, and Prescott Hill nearby −23°F and 12°F warmer. On the lake shores, stick to apples like Macoun (−35°F) and Cortland (−40°F). On the hills, add Cox Orange Pippin and Tolman Sweet (−30°F), Stella cherry (−30°F) and Baldwin (−25°F), one of the export apples Highmoor's 1880s orchard was planted to.

Belgrade Lakes, Rome and the Kennebec Highlands

The Belgrade Lakes chain runs from East Pond through Smithfield to North Pond, Great Pond and Long Pond, then out past the Wings Mills Dam to Messalonskee Lake. The villages sit low by the water. Belgrade Lakes, The Village, plans for −29°F, Belgrade village −27°F, and Locks Corner −29°F and 5°F colder than downtown Augusta at bloom. Smithfield, where the Serpentine carries East Pond's water to North Pond, plans for −29°F and has the worst spring reading of any named place we checked, 6°F colder. Rome, on a hillside, plans for −27°F and runs 7°F warmer. Mount Vernon village plans for −28°F, Vienna −30°F, and New Sharon, in the upper Sandy valley, −29°F. The hillsides between the lakes and up into the Kennebec Highlands are the place to plant: The Mountain plans for −24°F and Hornbeam Mountain −26°F, and they run 15°F and 16°F warmer at bloom. Around the lakes, Liberty (−30°F) and Honeycrisp are safe apples, with Summercrisp pear (−40°F) on a bench. On the slopes, try Sungold apricot (−40°F) and Lapins cherry (−35°F). If you're over in Farmington or Wilton, the western Maine mountains map covers you.

Sidney, Vassalboro, China and the east side

Between Augusta and Waterville, the best ground is up the slope from the river. Sidney's village spot, on a hillside 180 feet above its floor, plans for −24°F (MFTC 4b) and runs 10°F warmer than downtown Augusta at bloom, while North Sidney, on the river side, plans for −27°F. Across the river, Vassalboro village plans for −26°F, and Center Vassalboro, on a bench 130 feet up, −25°F and 10°F warmer. North Vassalboro, home of Lemieux's Orchard, sits low at −28°F, and East Vassalboro, at the China Lake landing, plans for −27°F with a spring reading 5°F colder. Getchell Corner shows how flat ground fools people: it's on a bench 100 feet up at −24°F, but it reads even with downtown Augusta at bloom.

China village plans for −29°F, with the floor within 3 miles at −30°F and the benches at −27°F. Windsor is the warm township on this side: the village, on a bench 100 feet up, plans for −24°F and runs 7°F warmer. West and South Windsor plan for −24°F and North Windsor −23°F, and all three run 8°F warmer. Palermo has a floor at −29°F and benches at −26°F. Albion is the cold corner: −32°F (MFTC 3b) even on a hillside 100 feet up, with the floor within 3 miles at −34°F. West Palmyra, at the northeast corner, plans for −33°F, the coldest named place we checked. Bessey Ridge Farms in Albion lists peaches in season, mid-August to early September. On the Sidney and Windsor benches, Shiro plum (−30°F), Hardired nectarine (−25°F) and Contender peach fit. Around Albion, plan for −32°F to −34°F: Siberian C peach (−35°F), Haralson and Wealthy apples, Toka plum, honeyberry and Montana Black Currant (−50°F).

Spring frost and bloom on the Kennebec

The spring layer follows the same drainage as the winter low, only stronger. The hills read 12°F to 16°F warmer than downtown Augusta on a still bloom night. The draws and lake bottoms read colder: Smithfield 6°F, Winslow, East Vassalboro, Anson and Locks Corner 5°F, Hallowell and Tallwood 4°F. NC State's fruit people put 3°F to 4°F as enough to separate no crop from a full one, and open blossoms of nearly every tree fruit start dying at about 28°F.

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 frost dates show the same split. At the Augusta airport the median last 32°F frost is April 26 and the last 28°F April 13, with 168 frost-free days, and one year in ten the last 32°F comes after May 10. At Gardiner it's May 5 and 157 days, at the Waterville plant May 6 and 156 days (with a late year running to May 20), at Madison May 10 and 148 days, and at New Sharon May 13 and 138 days. Farmington, just west of the map, waits until May 20.

The freezes that hurt come after early warmth. In 2010 early bloom met a hard mid-May frost, and Lakeside Orchards in Manchester lost crop to it. In 2012 temperatures reached the low 80s°F on March 21 and 22, then frosts in March and late April killed flower buds at Highmoor Farm. In 2023 UMaine recorded −17°F on February 5, enough to kill peach flower buds, and Maine had no peach crop; then a May 18 freeze reached every commercial apple orchard in the state. That one came with wind, so the damage was patchy, and even high ground at Ricker Hill in Turner, just southwest of the map, got hurt. In a windy freeze the hills lose their edge.

So site first: the FAO's frost protection manual calls it "the single most important method of frost protection." Put apricots, peaches and sweet cherries (UMaine calls sweet cherry blossoms very frost-prone) on ground that reads 8°F or more warmer than downtown Augusta, and keep apples, sour cherries and haskap (open flowers take 19°F) lower. An east-facing slope is ideal, and a north slope holds apricots and plums back. UMaine's Renae Moran says losing about 10 percent of the flowers barely touches the crop, and in our experience most fruit, cherries and grapes aside, can lose half its bloom with little effect. Through bloom, mow under 2 inches, don't till, and water a day or two before a frost night.

What the weather records say

The coldest readings on file at NOAA stations here: Gardiner −41°F (January 24, 1907); Madison −40°F and the Waterville plant −39°F (both December 30, 1933); Farmington, just off the map, −39°F (January 20, 1994); the old Fairfield station −37°F (1893); and the Augusta airport −23°F (February 2, 1962). In the January 1994 cold snap Madison read −39°F, Waterville −32°F, Gardiner −31°F and the airport −14°F, a 25°F spread. Since 1995 the coldest readings have run milder (Madison −26°F, the Waterville plant −24°F, Gardiner −22°F, the airport −17°F), so our planning lows on the floor sit colder than anything these four stations have recorded since 1995, but well inside these stations' full records.

Zone guides online put Augusta and Waterville in USDA 5b and Skowhegan in 5a, and one puts the region at 4b to 5b on USDA's 2023 map. Those come from an average winter; downtown Augusta's typical winter on our map is −13°F, right in 5b. NOAA station records show the worst night in about 30 winters runs a median 13°F below a station's average winter low, so our MFTC zones read colder: 4a for downtown Augusta and Waterville, 3b for Skowhegan and Albion.

What you can grow here

Every plant we sell is zoned to the coldest temperature it has actually come through, not an average, so compare it straight to your planning low, or put your address into the cold hardiness calculator.

Hills and benches that plan for −24°F or warmer

Granite Hill, Mayflower Hill, Sidney, Chelsea, Windsor and the Winthrop and Manchester hills. Contender and Blushingstar peaches, Harlayne and Tomcot apricots, Rainier, Stella and Lapins sweet cherries, D'Anjou and Harrow Sweet pears (−30°F), Stanley plum (−30°F), and apples like Northern Spy, Cox Orange Pippin, Blue Pearmain (−30°F) and Baldwin.

The river towns and middle ground, −25°F to −28°F

Augusta, Hallowell, Gardiner, Waterville, Oakland, Belgrade, Winthrop, Monmouth and Fairfield. Apples: Liberty and Pristine (−30°F), Freedom, Black Oxford and Macoun (−35°F), Cortland (−40°F). Pears on the higher lots: Seckel and Bartlett (−35°F). Plums: Superior and Italian (−35°F). Tart cherries: Montmorency (−30°F) and Evan's Bali. Peaches: Siberian C and Contender. Blushingstar is worth a try close to a south wall in town.

The upper valley, lake bottoms and the east side, −29°F to −33°F

Skowhegan, Norridgewock, Clinton, Burnham, Vienna, Island Park, Lakewood and Albion. Apples: Haralson, Honeycrisp, Wolf River and Lodi (−45°F), Wealthy (−50°F), Zestar!® (−40°F), Black Oxford (−35°F) and Chestnut applecrab (−50°F). Pears on a rise: Luscious and Ure (−40°F). Plums: Toka and Pipestone (−40°F). Cherries: Evan's Bali, Meteor (−40°F) and Nanking (−50°F). Apricot: Westcot, on the hills. Peach: Siberian C, which ripens very late, so give it your warmest spot. Liberty and Contender are worth a try only on the warmest ground here.

Plant two apples, pears or plums that bloom together so each pollenizes the other; the pollination maps show which pairs work. Roots are the weak link (dormant apple roots are seriously hurt near 10°F), so hold the snow over them and mulch. Pick a slope of 4 to 8 percent that isn't a frost pocket, with at least 6 hours of sun. The valley clays can be deep (MaineDOT found Presumpscot silt over clay roughly 28 to 50 feet thick under one Augusta bridge), so test drainage: dig 2 feet, fill it, let it drain, refill, and under 10 hours is well drained. Taper water from mid-August so the trees harden off. Apple scab is a problem here, worst in a rainy bloom, so where they clear your number, lean on the scab-resistant Pristine, Enterprise, Freedom and Liberty; UMaine also lists cedar apple rust, black knot, brown rot, fire blight on pears and Phytophthora root rot on wet soils, plus deer, voles and birds. Seasons are short in the cold spots, and UMaine warns that late apples like Granny Smith may not ripen in northern areas.

Fruit history here

Winthrop was "noted for its orchards and cattle," and Monmouth was counted among Maine's best farm towns. In 1909 the state bought 225 acres in Monmouth and Leeds for an apple research farm, Highmoor, where about 5,000 trees, mostly Ben Davis and Baldwin, had gone in during the 1880s. The winter of 1933 to 1934 killed trees there and started a successful push for hardy rootstocks; NOAA's records show Waterville at −39°F and Madison at −40°F on December 30, 1933. The Brock apple was developed at Highmoor. Sandy River Apples in Mercer, founded in 1852, still grows Wolf River, Wealthy and Blue Pearmain, and John Bunker, who went to Colby, keeps more than 500 rare and historic apples on his Palermo farm and started Fedco Trees, a division of Clinton's Fedco Seeds.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Augusta, Maine?

Zone guides put Augusta in USDA 5b, which is built on an average winter. On the bad night we plan for, downtown Augusta is −25°F, MFTC 4a (typical winter −13°F), and the hills above Hallowell −20°F.

What zone is Waterville, Maine?

Zone guides list Waterville as USDA 5b. On our map downtown Waterville plans for −27°F, MFTC 4a (typical winter −13°F), Winslow −28°F, and Mayflower Hill −24°F, MFTC 4b.

When is the last frost in Augusta, Maine?

At the Augusta airport the median last 32°F frost is April 26 (1991 to 2020), and one year in ten it comes after May 10. Down in the valley it's later: May 5 at Gardiner, May 6 at the Waterville treatment plant and May 10 at Madison.

Can you grow peaches in Augusta, Maine?

Yes, on the right ground, though Maine has only about 25 acres of commercial peaches and the crop fails about every 4 to 5 years. Siberian C (−35°F) clears every named place we checked and Contender (−30°F) fits Augusta and Waterville; plant them on hills that run 13°F to 15°F warmer at bloom, like Granite Hill or Mayflower Hill.

Why are Maine orchards on hills?

Cold air drains off high ground on still nights and pools in the valleys, so killing frosts hit low ground more often, as UMaine's Renae Moran puts it. Here the Gardiner station in the valley runs a median 6°F colder in the year's coldest reading than the Augusta airport on the high ground, and its last spring frost comes 9 days later.

What are the best apple trees for central Maine?

On the cold floors (−29°F to −33°F), Haralson, Honeycrisp, Wolf River, Wealthy and Zestar!®. In the river towns (−25°F to −28°F), Black Oxford, Macoun, Cortland, Freedom and Liberty, and Liberty, Freedom and Pristine resist scab. On the warm hills, add Northern Spy and Baldwin.

Warmer spots, colder spots

Here's the number to plan for at named places on the map, warmest first. Each one is the 1-in-30-year low for that spot: the cold hardiness calculator's number from the same weather stations, sharpened by our microclimate model for the ground right there. Zone is our MFTC zone, set by that one bad night, not by an average.

The weather stations behind it

These are the long-record stations in and around this map, with each one's own numbers since the winter of 1995-96. The last column is this map's 30-year number right at the station, which won't match the station exactly: it's a blend of the stations around it, the way the calculator works everywhere.

Source: NOAA records through ACIS, winters 1995-96 through 2025-26. What the "carried forward," "gaps filled" and AWOS rows mean is explained in how our microclimate maps work.