Fruit Trees for Bangor, Brewer, Orono and the Penobscot, Maine

On the morning of January 16, 2009, the NOAA station 2 miles west of Old Town read −30°F. The Bangor airport read −25°F, Sunkhaze Meadows −22°F, and the Dixmont station, 657 feet up in the hills on the southwest edge of this map, read −12°F. That's 18°F across one stretch of the Penobscot on one still morning, and it's why fruit trees for Bangor, Brewer, Orono and the Penobscot come down to where you plant more than which town you're in.

The map runs from Hampden and Orrington up through Bangor, Brewer, Veazie and Orono to Old Town, Milford and Bradley, west through Hermon, Glenburn, Levant, Kenduskeag, Carmel and Newburgh, and east into the hills of Eddington, Holden, Dedham and Lucerne-in-Maine. 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 runs cautious, so treat it as a safe number to plan for, not a forecast 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 Bangor on a still, clear night at bloom.

The middle of the growing ground here plans for −29°F, the coldest 5 percent for −31°F or colder and the warmest 5 percent for −25°F or warmer. Downtown Bangor, the reference town, sits at the bottom of the bowl and plans for −31°F (MFTC 3b, typical winter −17°F). That's colder than anything the Bangor airport station has recorded since 1995 (−29°F on January 22, 2005) and 1°F past its all-time low of −30°F. The cold end is the northwest corner toward Corinth and Exeter, where McGregor Mill plans for −33°F. The warm end is the hills: Copeland Hill and Hog Hill above Holden plan for −23°F to −24°F, and the high ground on Piper Mountain and Big Hill for −21°F to −22°F.

Why the map looks the way it does

This whole airshed drains to the tidal Penobscot. Bangor, Maine's Queen City, grew up at the head of tide where Kenduskeag Stream comes in, and a trolley magnate's 1909 description of the city as "sort of in the form of a bowl" holds for cold air too. Kenduskeag Stream drops 100 feet in its last 2 miles through a ravine downtown, and on a still night it and the river carry cold off the upland to a riverfront only about 20 to 60 feet above the sea. Most of a cold pool is made right where it sits, though, as low ground loses heat to a clear sky, and the lowest, most enclosed floors finish coldest. So the tidal floor from downtown Bangor and Brewer down to East Hampden and South Brewer plans for −31°F to −32°F, while West Bangor and Northern Maine Junction on the West Side plateau, about 160 feet higher, plan for −28°F.

The second cold country is the flat bog and lake ground to the north: the Orono Bog and the rest of the Caribou Bog complex, Pushaw Lake, and across the river the raised peat bogs of Sunkhaze Meadows. It isn't the lowest ground, but a wide, flat, wet basin can pool harder than a deeper valley that drains, and peat and wet meadow are frost-prone. A station NOAA lists as Old Town FAA Airport (1949 to 1971; we haven't been able to confirm exactly where it stood) ran a median 10°F colder in its yearly low than Orono, 4 miles away. It hit −40°F on February 2, 1962, when the Bangor airport read −30°F.

The hills that ring the valley sit in the thermal belt: the cold slides off them on a still night and milder air rides over the pool. The Dixmont station at 657 feet shows how big that edge gets. On January 22, 2005 it read −13°F while the Bangor airport and Old Town 2 W both read −29°F. The planning low gives the hills less credit than that (it's built to run cautious, and the fine terrain goes in at only a quarter strength), so Copeland Hill, 630 feet above its floor, plans for −24°F against −31°F downtown. On the spring layer, which carries the terrain at full strength, it runs 17°F warmer than downtown. You don't need a mountain: a 1936 Michigan State bulletin found orchard ridges only 25 to 30 feet above the surrounding plain could be nearly as frost-free as high hills, and Hampden Highlands, 110 feet above its floor, runs 9°F warmer than downtown at bloom.

Water does less than you'd hope. The Penobscot at Bangor is tidal, but it isn't open when it counts: a century ago the port closed for ice around December 10 in an average year, and in 2015 a Coast Guard cutter broke ice as far as Brewer, ice that refroze overnight. A lake only shelters its shore while it's relatively free of ice, and every lake here freezes, even Green Lake, 170 feet at its deepest. Town heat counts for little; downtown plans for −31°F, the same as the floor around it, though the old Bangor station (1926 to 1947) ran 3°F to 6°F milder than Orono and Old Town in the 1933 to 1935 outbreaks, so treat any downtown edge as a bonus. Snow helps roots: Bangor averages about 75 inches a year, and 4 to 10 inches insulates the soil well, even though the air over it runs colder. On a windy night, when arctic air pours in on a front, the hills lose much of that edge, but the still, clear night is the one that does the damage at bloom.

Downtown Bangor, Brewer and the tidal floor

Downtown and West Market Square sit at about 18 feet where Kenduskeag Stream meets the river: −31°F, MFTC 3b, typical winter −17°F. Within 3 miles the floor runs a median −31°F, the benches −29°F and the warmest tenth of the growing ground −28°F. Stetson Square, just up the slope at 65 feet, still plans for −31°F but runs 7°F warmer at bloom, because the cold keeps moving past it to the river. Chapin Park (118 feet) and the Tree Streets (129 feet) plan for −30°F and run 6°F and 3°F warmer, and French Street, where Broadway Historic District houses look down on downtown from a bluff, gets the same drainage. West Bangor and Northern Maine Junction (176 to 182 feet) plan for −28°F and run 5°F warmer, while North Bangor and East Bangor, on low ground north of the center, plan for −31°F and −32°F.

Brewer, across the river at about 41 feet, plans for −31°F and runs 2°F warmer than downtown at bloom; North Brewer does a little better at −30°F. South Brewer, the old industrial stretch at 18 feet, has the worst spring reading on the river: −32°F, and 5°F colder than downtown. On this floor, stick with Haralson and Honeycrisp apples (−45°F), Luscious and Summercrisp pears (−40°F), Toka plum and Evan's Bali tart cherry (−45°F). In town, put the tenderest tree within a few feet of a south or west wall and expect it to bloom a little early. Up on the West Side at −28°F you can add Liberty apple (−30°F), Superior plum and Lapins sweet cherry (−35°F).

Orono, Veazie and Marsh Island

Orono village sits on a toe slope 60 feet above its floor and plans for −27°F, MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F, running 8°F warmer than downtown Bangor at bloom. Basin Mills, on a hillside where cold drains past, plans for −26°F and runs 9°F warmer; Webster, on the river bottom, plans for −28°F and only 2°F warmer. Within 3 miles the floor runs a median −28°F and the benches −25°F. The University of Maine sits on Marsh Island, between the Penobscot and the Stillwater. Over 41 shared winters Orono's old NOAA station ran a median 3°F milder than the Bangor airport. West of the village, Kelley Hill and Bangor Hill plan for −24°F (MFTC 4b) and run 15°F and 11°F warmer at bloom. Veazie plans for −28°F and runs 3°F warmer, and Buck Hill, a mile north of it, −24°F and 15°F warmer.

Village lots here handle Northern Spy and Liberty apples, Stanley plum, D'Anjou pear and Rainier cherry (all −30°F). The hillsides on Kelley, Bangor and Buck hills are good enough for Contender peach (−30°F) and Blushingstar (−25°F; it came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024 without damage).

Old Town, Milford, Bradley and Indian Island

Old Town's downtown is mostly on Marsh Island at about 106 feet. It plans for −29°F, MFTC 4a, typical winter −15°F, and runs about even with downtown Bangor at bloom; the Stillwater neighborhood plans for −29°F and runs 4°F warmer. Indian Island, home of the Penobscot Nation, sits on river bottom at −28°F. Across the river, Milford plans for −28°F and runs 2°F warmer at bloom, while Bradley, in a drainage channel, plans for −30°F and runs 4°F colder. The rises north of town are the warm ground: French Settlement plans for −28°F and runs 7°F warmer, Pea Cove −27°F and 8°F warmer.

The low ground west toward Pushaw is the cold side. Old Town Landing plans for −31°F, and the Old Town 2 W station, 2 miles west of town, backs that up, with the latest spring frost in the area and 133 frost-free days, under the 135 that UVM uses to mark short-season country. In the low ground, stick with trees rated −35°F and colder, like Zestar!® (−40°F), Wealthy (−50°F) and Honeycrisp, and save plums for the rises.

Pushaw Lake, Glenburn, Levant and Kenduskeag

Pushaw Lake is 4,680 acres but averages only 11 feet deep, with the Caribou Bog at its southeast end. A shallow lake freezes early and does nothing for its shore in midwinter, and Pushaw holds its ice late, going out between March 18 (2024) and April 22 (2019) in the state's reports, about a week behind Brewer Lake. The camp landings on its south and west shores plan cold: Lakeside Landing −32°F, Sandy Beach, Elliot Landing and Villa Vaughn −31°F, Gould and Double A landings −30°F, and most run 1°F to 3°F colder than downtown at bloom. Glenburn Center plans for −28°F and runs 4°F warmer, and West Glenburn, on a bench at 300 feet, −27°F and 9°F warmer.

Northwest along Kenduskeag Stream it all runs colder, benches included; within 3 miles of Levant the floor runs a median −31°F and the benches only −28°F. Levant plans for −31°F, MFTC 3b, typical winter −17°F. Kenduskeag village, right on its floor, plans for −31°F and runs 3°F colder than downtown Bangor at bloom, and Higginsville −31°F and 5°F colder. Toward Corinth and Exeter is the map's coldest ground: McGregor Mill plans for −33°F (typical winter −19°F) and Exeter Mills −32°F. It's also the corner farthest from any station, so it's the least proven part of the map. Carmel plans for −30°F. Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant grows Cortland and McIntosh apples along with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, which fits this corner. Here I'd plant Haralson, Wolf River and Frostbite (−45°F), Kerr and Trailman applecrabs, Bolshaya pear, Brookred plum, Honeyberry and Montana Black Currant (−50°F and colder).

Hampden, Hermon and Newburgh

Hampden village, on a hillside 60 feet above its floor, plans for −30°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −15°F) and runs 7°F warmer than downtown at bloom. Hampden Highlands plans for −28°F and Hampden Center −27°F, both 9°F warmer at bloom. Within 3 miles the floor runs a median −30°F and the benches −27°F; Souadabscook Stream is the drain, so keep fruit out of its bottoms. Hermon sits higher and flatter at −29°F, 5°F warmer at bloom. North Hermon and Hermon Hill plan for −27°F and run 9°F and 12°F warmer, and Hinkley Hill, west of Hermon Pond and 340 feet above its floor, −25°F, MFTC 4b, and 16°F warmer. The cold spots are on low ground: Fowler Landing, a mile from Hermon Pond, plans for −32°F and Snow Corner −30°F.

Newburgh Center plans for −28°F, but Newburgh Village, on its floor, plans for −31°F and runs 4°F colder than downtown at bloom. South Newburgh and Arnold Corner, 130 feet up, plan for −27°F and run 10°F to 11°F warmer, East Dixmont (494 feet) −26°F and 11°F warmer, Kelly Mountain −24°F and the upper slopes of Piper Mountain −22°F, both 16°F warmer. This is the hill country where the Dixmont station ran 13°F to 18°F milder than the valley on three of the four big outbreak mornings since 2005. On these hills Siberian C (−35°F) and Contender peaches, Harlayne apricot and Stella cherry (−30°F) all clear the number.

Orrington, Holden, Eddington and the eastern hills

East of the river the land climbs into the best fruit ground on the map. North Orrington, on a bench 130 feet above its floor, plans for −28°F and runs 9°F warmer than downtown at bloom, and the Orrington village point, on a hillside where cold drains past, plans for −30°F but runs 11°F warmer. Eddington village, by the river, plans for −30°F, but Coffey Hill east of it plans for −24°F (MFTC 4b) and runs 14°F warmer. Holden village plans for −28°F and runs even with downtown at bloom, while East Holden, on a river bottom, plans for −30°F and runs 5°F colder. The standouts are south and southwest of Holden village: Hog Hill (782 feet) plans for −23°F and runs 16°F warmer at bloom, and Copeland Hill (741 feet) −24°F and 17°F warmer.

Dedham village sits in a drainage channel at −29°F and runs 4°F colder than downtown at bloom, while Lucerne-in-Maine, the summer resort village beside Phillips Lake, sits on a hillside at −27°F and runs 3°F warmer. The Green Lake point, where cold drains down to the shore, runs 6°F colder at bloom. Above them, Big Hill (1,124 feet) and Bald Mountain plan for −21°F and Blackcap −22°F, all 14°F to 16°F warmer at bloom. Toward the Bucksport line, East Bucksport (412 feet) plans for −25°F, MFTC 4b, and runs 12°F warmer.

This is where I'd put peaches and apricots. On Hog, Copeland and Coffey hills, Contender (the only commercial peach we know of that has taken −32°F; Tom McCamant grows it at Forbidden Fruit in Paradise, Montana), Siberian C, Blushingstar and PF-24C Cold Hardy (−25°F) clear the −23°F to −24°F, along with Harlayne and Westcot apricots and Lapins, Gold and Rainier sweet cherries. North Orrington suits Italian and Superior plums (−35°F).

Spring frost and bloom around Bangor

NOAA station records for 1991 to 2020 put the median last 32°F frost at the Bangor airport on May 9 and the last 28°F on April 25, with the first fall 32°F around October 5 and 148 frost-free days. At Old Town 2 W it's May 18, May 4 and September 27, with 133 frost-free days. That's nine days later in spring and eight earlier in fall, on lower ground out toward Pushaw Lake and the bogs.

The spring layer follows the same drainage as winter. On a still bloom night the higher hills read 14°F to 17°F warmer than downtown, benches like Hampden Highlands, North Orrington and West Glenburn about 9°F warmer, and the draws and bottoms colder: Green Lake 6°F, South Brewer, East Holden and Higginsville 5°F, Newburgh Village and Dedham 4°F. Open fruit blossoms start dying at about 28°F (Michigan State's numbers), and NC State's fruit people figure 3°F to 4°F can be the difference between no crop and a full one.

Maine learned that in 2023. Frosts in May hit apples at full bloom, and UMaine's Renae Moran estimated about half the state's apple crop was lost. Higher orchards did better than low-lying fields, and many old Maine orchards sit on hilltops because farmers knew air drainage saved crops. In one southern Maine orchard the early bloomers, Honeycrisp and Evercrisp, were lost and the later bloomers spared. That February, Moran recorded −17°F, cold enough to kill peach flower buds, and Maine's commercial peaches lost their crop.

Put apricots, peaches, sweet cherries and plums on your highest ground, and apples and haskap lower. Only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set for a crop, and haskap (our Honeyberry) flowers take 19°F wide open. Keep the grass mowed under 2 inches through bloom, don't till, and water a day or two before a forecast frost. And don't dam the slope: a hedge, fence or tree line across it backs cold air up into the trees just uphill.

What the weather records say

The coldest readings in NOAA station records here are −40°F at Orono on January 17, 1907 and −40°F at the old Old Town airport station on February 2, 1962, the same morning the Bangor International Airport station set its 71-year low of −30°F. Old Town 2 W hit −30°F on January 16, 2009, Sunkhaze Meadows −26°F on January 4, 2014 and again on February 14, 2015, while Dixmont, up at 657 feet, never went below −21°F in its 13 years. The Bangor airport's average yearly low is −17°F, Dixmont's −11°F (over different years). The state climatologist says Maine has warmed about 3°F since 1895, and that Bangor's late-1800s weather was as cold as Caribou's is now.

Older zone listings put Bangor in USDA 5a, and the 2023 USDA map moved interior Maine up from 4a and 4b to 5a and 5b. USDA's zones are built on an average winter's coldest night, so they read warmer than our MFTC zone, which is built on the bad night we plan for. UMaine says the same thing its own way: pick plants rated a half or full zone colder than your site.

What you can grow here

Hills and high benches that plan for −26°F or warmer (the hills around Holden, Eddington, Orono, Hermon and Dixmont, East Bucksport, Basin Mills). Stone-fruit ground: Contender and Siberian C peaches, Harlayne and Westcot apricots, Lapins, Gold, Rainier and Stella cherries, Superior, Italian and Stanley plums, D'Anjou pear, and apples down to Northern Spy and Cox Orange Pippin (−30°F). Blushingstar and PF-24C Cold Hardy (−25°F) are good picks where it plans for −25°F or warmer and worth a try on the rest.

The middle ground, −27°F to −30°F (Orono, Veazie, Old Town, Milford, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Glenburn, Carmel, Orrington, the West Side). Apples: Honeycrisp, Haralson, Zestar!®, Cortland, Prairie Spy (−40°F), Freedom (−35°F) and Liberty. Pears: Luscious, Flemish Beauty (−40°F), Seckel (−35°F), Clapp's Favorite (−30°F). Plums: Toka, Superior, Alderman, Pipestone and La Crescent (−40°F). Cherries: Evan's Bali, Meteor (−40°F), Lapins. Apricots: Westcot and Sungold (−40°F), high on the lot.

The floors and cold pockets, −31°F to −33°F (downtown Bangor, Brewer, South Brewer, East Hampden, the Pushaw shore, Levant, Kenduskeag, McGregor Mill). Trees rated −35°F and colder: Haralson, Honeycrisp, Wealthy, Frostbite, Snowsweet® and Zestar!® apples; Kerr, Trailman and Centennial applecrabs (Ed Schultz saw zero winter injury on Centennial after a winter that hit −47°F); Luscious, Summercrisp and Bolshaya pears; Toka and Brookred plums; Evan's Bali and Romeo cherries; Honeyberry, Montana Black Currant, Red Lake currant, Boyne raspberry and Valiant grape. Debbie's Gold apricot (−50°F) will live here, but don't count on fruit.

Snow protects roots, the weak link in a hard winter, so mulch the root zone on a windswept hilltop or a plowed town lot. In zone 4 and colder we taper water from mid-August so trees harden off; on October 25, 2020, Missoula dropped to −7°F almost overnight and killed trees rated plenty hardy on paper, including almost all of our own young Bing cherries, because they hadn't gone dormant. UMaine says Japanese plums get hurt by a winter warm spell followed by hard cold, so stick with the hybrids. Most of those want a pollenizer nearby (Toka is a good pollenizer for Superior); our pollination maps show what pairs with what. UMaine wants a site free of frost pockets with slopes no steeper than 8 percent, and Bob Purvis's rule is an east-facing slope if you can get one. The local troubles are deer, voles and birds on cherries, and for apple scab UMaine points to Pristine, Enterprise, Freedom and Liberty.

Our cold hardiness calculator sorts everything we sell by the coldest temperature it has come through. If you're down the bay in Belfast or Camden, the Midcoast map covers you, and west toward Waterville and Augusta, the Kennebec map takes over.

Fruit history here

From 1890 the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station orchard at Orono tested Russian and other hardy apples, and its 1902 bulletin recommended Alexander and Yellow Transparent among the Russians and Wealthy among the others. By about 1913 Bangor was the center of the region's apple trade, with thousands of small farm orchards a trolley or train ride from downtown, and that November the Chamber of Commerce and University of Maine experts put on a fruit show at City Hall under the slogan "Boom Maine by eating Maine apples." Gravenstein, Northern Spy, McIntosh, Ribston Pippin, Wealthy and Tompkins King were on the tables. The trade was already in trouble: western apples were taking the city markets, tent caterpillars and browntail moths were bad, and cold weather cut the Bangor-area crop in half that year. Today pick-your-own orchards in Levant and Dixmont carry it on.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Bangor, Maine?

Older listings put Bangor in USDA 5a, and the 2023 USDA map moved interior Maine up to 5a and 5b; those zones are built on an average winter. On the bad night we plan for, downtown Bangor is −31°F, MFTC zone 3b (typical winter −17°F), and the map runs from 3b on the river floor and the Pushaw shore to 4b on the hills around Holden, Orono and Dixmont.

When is the last frost in Bangor, Maine?

At the Bangor airport the median last 32°F frost is May 9 (1991 to 2020), and one year in ten it comes after May 21. At Old Town 2 W, on lower ground, it's May 18, and one year in ten after May 31.

Can you grow peaches in Bangor, Maine?

Yes, on the right ground. Siberian C has come through −35°F, which clears even downtown's −31°F, and Contender (−30°F) fits anywhere that plans for −30°F or warmer. For fruit, plant them on hills that run 14°F to 17°F warmer at bloom, like Copeland Hill or Hog Hill.

Why is Old Town colder than Bangor?

It depends where in Old Town. The cold numbers come from an old station NOAA lists as Old Town FAA Airport, which hit −40°F in 1962 and ran a median 7°F colder than the Bangor airport, and from Old Town 2 W, 2 miles west of town, with a median last frost of May 18. Downtown Old Town on Marsh Island plans for −29°F, milder than downtown Bangor's −31°F, while Old Town Landing out toward Pushaw Lake plans for −31°F.

Where are the frost pockets around Bangor?

The tidal floor and the bog and lake flats. South Brewer plans for −32°F and runs 5°F colder than downtown on a bloom night, the Pushaw Lake landings plan for −30°F to −32°F, and McGregor Mill, out toward Corinth, is the coldest named spot at −33°F. The worst spring reading is Green Lake, 6°F colder than downtown.

Which apple trees do best around Bangor?

On the river floor and the Pushaw shore, go with apples rated −35°F and colder: Haralson, Honeycrisp, Wealthy, Frostbite, Zestar!® and Cortland. On middle ground like Orono, Hampden or Holden (−27°F to −30°F), Liberty, Northern Spy and Freedom fit too, and Liberty and Freedom resist scab.

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.