Fruit Trees for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Lockport and the Niagara Frontier, New York

In the February 14, 2016 cold snap, NOAA's North Tonawanda station bottomed out at −15°F and the Buffalo airport at −12°F. Up at Youngstown, where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, the low was only −4°F. That's 11°F between two places in the same county, and it's the first thing to know about fruit trees for Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Lockport and the Niagara Frontier, the western corner of Western New York: Lake Ontario stays open and keeps its shore mild, Lake Erie freezes, and the land between is a set of steps that cold air drains off or sits on.

The map runs from the Lake Ontario shore at Youngstown, Wilson, Olcott and Barker, up the Niagara Escarpment at Lewiston, Lockport and Gasport, across the flat bed of old glacial Lake Tonawanda (Pendleton, the Tonawandas, Amherst, Clarence), through Grand Island and Buffalo, and into the Southtowns at Orchard Park and East Aurora. It also takes in the Ontario side from Niagara-on-the-Lake down to Fort Erie. 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

Each spot gets a 30-year planning low, the hard winter night we'd plan a tree around, built cautious on purpose and not a promise about how often that night shows up. The MFTC zone is that number in half zones; the typical winter is an average year's coldest night, the kind of figure USDA's zones use. The spring layer shows how many degrees warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Buffalo on a still, clear night at bloom.

Half the growing ground here plans for −17°F or warmer; the coldest 5 percent plans for −21°F or colder and the warmest 5 percent for −14°F or warmer. Downtown Buffalo, the reference point, plans for −18°F (MFTC 5a, typical winter −5°F), colder than anything the airport station has recorded since 1995 (−12°F, in February 2016). Niagara-on-the-Lake and Lewiston Heights plan for −13°F (5b); East Aurora −21°F (4b) and Wales Center −22°F. Nearly everything we sell is rated −20°F or colder, so across most of this map the winter low won't decide your picks. Bloom-night frost will.

Why the map looks the way it does

The land here comes in steps. Lake Ontario, at about 243 feet, is the lowest ground. The lake plain rises gently to Ridge Road, which follows the old beach of glacial Lake Iroquois. Then comes the Niagara Escarpment, a band about 200 feet tall between the 400 and 600 foot contours, from Lewiston east through Cambria, Lockport and Gasport. On top sits the flat old Lake Tonawanda bed and the Erie plain, about 570 to 600 feet up, with Buffalo on Lake Erie. South of the city the Southtowns climb into the northwestern foothills of the Appalachians, with Orchard Park at 866 feet.

The two lakes don't act alike in winter. Lake Ontario averages 283 feet deep and has frozen all the way over only five times on record, the last in 1934, so its open water feeds heat to the shore through the coldest nights. Lake Erie averages 62 feet, the shallowest Great Lake, and it's the first to freeze: ice usually forms in late November and locks in by January, and frozen water doesn't warm anything. Scott and Huff's study of Great Lakes shore climates put the boost to average winter lows at about 3.6°F along Ontario and 1.8°F along Erie. So Youngstown and Wilson plan for −14°F, while Buffalo, right on Lake Erie, plans for −18°F like the floor behind it. The stations agree: over 33 years the Buffalo airport ran a median 3°F colder than Lewiston, down on the lower river at 355 feet.

The escarpment is the warm belt. The 2005 federal rule that created the Niagara Escarpment wine area says its slope lets cold air drain away, so it misses the frost pockets that form on flat ground. The warmest named places sit right along the brow: Lewiston Heights and the Escarpment and Rumsey Ridge neighborhoods, 280 to 290 feet above the plain, plan for −13°F and read 6°F to 10°F warmer than downtown Buffalo at bloom. Back from the edge the flat top pools its own cold, and downtown Niagara Falls, New York plans for −18°F. The Niagara Falls Ontario Hydro station, at 650 feet, ran a median 4°F colder than Lewiston, 7 miles away.

The old lake bed is the brow's opposite. It falls less than 20 feet per mile, parts of it were marsh before they were drained, and the swamps along Tonawanda Creek are what's left of the lake. On a calm night the cold made on that flat has nowhere to go but slowly down the creek to the river. The winter numbers barely show it, but the spring layer does: Rapids and Pendleton read 8°F colder than downtown Buffalo at bloom. The North Tonawanda station's median last 32°F frost is May 4, with 160 frost-free days; the Buffalo airport, about 130 feet higher, gets April 24 and 182 days.

Two more things shape the map. The Fort Erie station, at 591 feet on the Ontario side of the upper river, runs 4°F to 5°F colder than the Buffalo airport, North Tonawanda, Lockport and Niagara Falls stations, and read −24°F on February 18, 1979 when the airport read −18°F. We haven't found a published explanation, but the planning low leans on the nearest stations, so that station pulls the numbers down around Fort Erie and Buffalo's waterfront. And south of the city, height and distance from the lake take over. The Elma station, at 775 feet, ran a median 6°F colder than the airport 8 miles away. The Southtowns also catch far more lake-effect snow than the Northtowns (the prevailing southwest wind carries Lake Erie's bands south of the city), and air over snow cools hard on a clear night.

Buffalo: downtown, the West Side, Elmwood Village and South Buffalo

Buffalo sits at about 600 feet, flat except for the rises in University Heights and the Fruit Belt. Downtown plans for −18°F; within 3 miles the floor plans for −20°F and the higher ground −16°F. Town heat helps on a still night, but here the bigger swings follow the ground. University Heights, at 667 feet, and Kensington plan for −16°F. Allentown, the Elmwood Village, the West Side, Five Points and the Fruit Belt plan for −17°F, North Buffalo and North Park −18°F. South Buffalo, right on the floor at 580 feet, and Kaisertown plan for −19°F, and RiverBend and Canalside −20°F.

At bloom, Allentown and the Upper West Side read within 1°F of downtown, the Elmwood Village 3°F colder and Parkside 4°F colder. On a city lot, put the early bloomers on the higher blocks or a few feet from a south or west wall: Harlayne apricot (−30°F), Contender peach (−30°F; Tom McCamant grows it at Forbidden Fruit Orchard in Paradise, Montana, and it's the only commercial peach we know of that has taken −32°F) and Black Gold sweet cherry (−35°F). Across the river, Fort Erie plans for −18°F and reads about even with downtown at bloom, while Ridgeway and Crystal Beach plan for −17°F and read 5°F colder.

The Tonawandas, Kenmore, Grand Island and Amherst

This is the old lake flat in the heart of the Northtowns. Tonawanda and North Tonawanda plan for −19°F (5a, typical winter −6°F); the North Tonawanda station's coldest in 41 years is −15°F, so that's a cautious number. Kenmore plans for −17°F and the Town of Tonawanda −16°F. Tonawanda, on the river, reads about even with downtown Buffalo at bloom, Kenmore 3°F colder.

Grand Island splits the Niagara into the Chippawa and Tonawanda channels, and Erie County's lowest ground, about 560 feet, is on the island at the river. The middle of the island plans for −17°F and reads 5°F colder at bloom, but the edges next to the open river do better: Sheenwater reads 1°F warmer than downtown and Ferry Village about even. The riverbank lots are the ones for apricots and sweet cherries.

Amherst plans for −17°F and reads 5°F colder at bloom. Much of the town was marsh before it was drained, and homes on the old lake bed have had foundations fail, so test drainage first (dig 2 feet down, fill it, let it drain, refill: under 10 hours is well drained). Williamsville, 70 feet above its floor, reads just 1°F colder. North of there the flat takes over: Getzville and East Amherst read 6°F colder and Audubon 7°F. On that ground stick with apples, Honeyberry (−50°F; open haskap flowers take 19°F) and currants, and keep pears and stone fruit off the low spots.

Pendleton, Clarence and the east suburbs

Pendleton sits right on the floor at 580 feet and plans for −18°F, but reads 8°F colder than downtown Buffalo at bloom, and Millersport and Wolcottsburg 7°F. Clarence Center plans for −16°F and reads 6°F colder. These are apple towns: Honeycrisp (−45°F), Cortland (−40°F) and Golden Russet (−40°F) have over 20°F to spare, and only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set for a crop.

The Onondaga Escarpment, a second limestone belt, runs through northern Erie County, and the ground steps up again. East Hill, by Clarence, sits 130 feet above its floor and reads 3°F warmer than downtown at bloom; Akron, 90 feet up at 740 feet, plans for −18°F and reads 2°F warmer. Those rises are for plums and cherries: Superior (−35°F) with Toka (−45°F), since Toka is a good pollenizer for Superior (our pollination maps show what pairs with what), and Lapins (−35°F), which a grower of ours in Cowley, Wyoming reported undamaged at −33°F. Closer in, Cheektowaga plans for −16°F and Depew −19°F; out east, Lancaster plans for −20°F (5a) and Alden −20°F (4b).

Niagara Falls, Lewiston, Youngstown and the lower river

Downtown Niagara Falls, New York, on the flat above the falls at about 573 feet, plans for −18°F (5a) and reads 6°F warmer than downtown Buffalo at bloom, right beside the river. Away from the river, LaSalle and Little Italy along Pine Avenue read 2°F colder.

Below the falls the river runs in a deep gorge cut back about 7 miles over some 12,000 years, and it comes out at Lewiston. Lewiston village, at 373 feet, plans for −13°F (5b, typical winter −1°F) and reads 3°F warmer at bloom; the old Lewiston station never read colder than −11°F in its 36 years. Up top, Lewiston Heights reads 9°F warmer, and along the river Riverside Manors reads 8°F warmer and Stella Niagara 5°F. It's the best spring ground of any named place on the map.

Youngstown plans for −14°F (5b) and reads 6°F warmer at bloom, and its station's coldest in 16 years was −10°F. A few miles inland, Porter Center plans for −16°F and reads 6°F colder. Across the river, out on the Niagara Peninsula, Queenston plans for −13°F and reads 4°F warmer, and Niagara-on-the-Lake −13°F, even with Buffalo at bloom. Ontario's agriculture ministry has measured night inversions as strong as about 18°F in Niagara, which is why wind machines are standard in vineyards over there. Down here even trees rated −20°F have room: Bing cherry and Arctic Glo nectarine (both −20°F), Glohaven peach (−25°F) and Tomcot apricot (−30°F). Chicago Hardy Fig (−10°F) is worth a try at the −13°F spots against a south wall.

Lockport, Gasport, Middleport and the escarpment towns

Lockport sits where glacial Lake Tonawanda once spilled over the escarpment and where the Erie Canal climbs a 60 foot drop through its flight of locks. The city plans for −16°F (5a, typical winter −3°F), about 140 feet above the plain, and reads 2°F warmer than downtown Buffalo at bloom; within 3 miles the floor plans for −17°F and the benches −15°F. The Lockport 2SE station read −24°F on February 9, 1934, but its coldest since 1995 is −11°F.

The brow is the good ground again. Nottingham Estates, about 200 feet over its floor, plans for −13°F (5b) and reads 3°F warmer at bloom, while South Lockport, back on the flat, plans for −16°F and reads 4°F colder. East along the escarpment, Gasport and Middleport plan for −16°F; Gasport reads even with downtown at bloom, Middleport 3°F colder. West toward Lewiston, Pekin, on a hillside 230 feet above its floor, plans for −14°F and reads 7°F warmer. Off the slope, Sanborn on the flat above and Ransomville on the plain below plan for −15°F but read 3°F and 5°F colder. The brow is for grapes and stone fruit: Marquette (−35°F) and Brianna (−40°F) grapes, Redstar peach (−25°F) and Goldrich apricot (−30°F).

Wilson, Olcott, Newfane, Barker and the Lake Ontario shore

This is the Lake Ontario fruit belt, and the lake does two jobs. In winter its open water keeps the shore mild: Wilson and Appleton plan for −14°F and Barker −15°F (all 5b). In spring it holds things back. The federal wine-area rule, citing the county soil survey, says land within about 2 miles of the shore can see bud break delayed about two weeks, while the escarpment, 6 to 8 miles back, sees little or no delay. The spring layer shows how cold a spot gets on a still bloom night; it doesn't count that later bloom, so near the shore you get both kinds of help.

The shore reads about even with downtown Buffalo at bloom (Olcott 1°F warmer, Sunset Beach 3°F). The hollows and creek bottoms a few miles in are the frost spots: East Wilson, South Wilson and Corwin read 6°F colder and North Hartland 7°F. Newfane, on the bottom along Eighteen Mile Creek, plans for −16°F and reads 3°F colder.

Bittner-Singer Orchards in Appleton, about half a mile from the lake, grows around 50 acres of cherries plus apples and peaches, and credits the open lake and well-drained soil. In the May 18, 2023 freeze it dropped to about 30°F and still expected about 80 percent of a normal crop. Small height differences split the farm: some blocks got hit hard while nearby ones came through full, and treetops above the cold layer beat the bottoms. Here, Skeena sweet cherry (−30°F), Montmorency tart cherry (−35°F) and Siberian C peach (−35°F) have 14°F or more of winter room; keep them near the water and off the hollows. The lake plain gets less snow than Buffalo (about 55 inches at Youngstown to Buffalo's 95), so mulch the roots: dormant apple roots get seriously hurt near 10°F while the wood above takes about −40°F.

The Southtowns: Lackawanna, Orchard Park, East Aurora and Elma

Lackawanna, on Lake Erie, plans for −17°F and reads about even with downtown at bloom; the shore south of it reads 1°F to 5°F warmer, while inland West Seneca plans for −19°F and reads 5°F colder. Orchard Park, on a bench about 110 feet over its floor, plans for −19°F (5a, typical winter −6°F) and reads even with downtown. East Aurora, at about 920 feet, plans for −21°F (4b, typical winter −8°F) and reads 4°F colder, while Billington Heights, on the bench above, plans for −18°F and reads 3°F warmer. Elma Center plans for −21°F (4b), with Marilla close behind. Wales Center, right down at its local floor, plans for −22°F and reads 9°F colder, the coldest spring reading of any named place on the map.

Up here trees rated −30°F and colder have 8°F or more of room: Haralson (−45°F) and Zestar!® (−40°F) apples, Kerr applecrab (−50°F), Summercrisp pear (−45°F) on a rise, and Westcot apricot (−45°F) on the benches.

Spring frost and bloom on the Niagara Frontier

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 medians put the last 32°F frost on April 24 at the Buffalo airport, May 1 at Youngstown, May 4 at North Tonawanda and Fort Erie, and May 13 at Wales. One year in ten it runs to May 1 at the airport but May 18 at North Tonawanda and May 26 at Wales. The frost-free season runs 182 days at the airport and 148 at Wales. The National Weather Service says Lake Erie stays chilly through most of May, which slows the season but cuts late frost risk near it.

The 2015-16 winter started very warm (70°F on Christmas Day at one New York peach orchard), then it dropped to −15°F around Valentine's Day and froze again on April 5. Only about 10 percent of the Lake Ontario region's peach crop was estimated to survive, but orchards near the lake stayed cooler and were often still dormant when the April freeze came. On May 18, 2023 a record late freeze hit after some fruit had set. Cornell's Gregory Peck said lake-side orchards didn't get as cold as orchards a few miles south, where some lost everything, and WGRZ noted that inland and low-lying orchards are more exposed because cold air sinks into them.

So pick the spot before the variety. Open blossoms of nearly every tree fruit start dying near 28°F (Michigan State's numbers), but most fruit can lose half its blossoms and be fine; clustered fruit like cherries and grapes forgive less. Put apricots, peaches and sweet cherries on the escarpment brow, the riverbank from Lewiston to Youngstown, or the lake shore, and keep apples, haskap and currants for the flats. Bob Purvis's rule is an east-facing slope, which warms quickly on a frosty morning. Don't dam a slope with a hedge across it, keep the grass short through bloom, and water a day or two before a frost night. The warm brow only works on still nights; in a windy freeze higher ground can run colder.

What the weather records say

The coldest readings in NOAA station records here are on the Southtowns hills at the map's edge: −31°F at South Wales Emery Park (February 9, 1934) and −30°F at Colden 1 N (February 2, 1961 and February 18, 1979). Lockport 2SE and Fort Erie both hit −24°F (1934 and 1979), and Buffalo's airport and old city station −20°F (February 2, 1961 and February 9, 1934). Near Lake Ontario it's milder: −11°F at Lewiston, −10°F at Youngstown. The planning lows are built on winters since 1995-96, and those 1934 and 1979 nights ran 2°F to 8°F colder than the planning lows nearby, so leave room to spare.

Our typical winter at Buffalo, −5°F, is the kind of average USDA builds its zones on, so USDA zones here read a full zone or more warmer than ours; one source puts the Niagara Escarpment wine area in USDA 6b to 7a. Timing matters as much as depth: a tree that hasn't hardened off can die in a November freeze it would shrug off in January.

What you can grow here

The lower river, the escarpment brow and the Lake Ontario shore, −13°F to −16°F (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lewiston, Youngstown, Wilson, Appleton, Barker, Olcott, Lockport, Gasport, Pekin). Everything we sell but the fig clears this, so choose by bloom. Where spring reads warm: Harlayne, Goldrich and Tomcot apricots; Redstar and Glohaven (−25°F) and Blushingstar (−30°F) peaches, Blushingstar having come through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024 without damage; Hardired nectarine (−25°F); Bing and Skeena cherries; Shiro plum (−30°F). In the plain's hollows, stick with apples like Northern Spy (−30°F) and Golden Russet, plus Honeyberry.

Buffalo, the Tonawandas, Grand Island, Amherst and the Niagara Falls flat, −16°F to −20°F. Trees rated −25°F and colder have room. Honeycrisp, Liberty (−35°F) and Cox Orange Pippin (−35°F) apples; Seckel (−35°F) and D'Anjou (−30°F) pears on the higher lots; Superior with Toka, and Italian plum (−35°F); Lapins and Rainier (−30°F) cherries; Contender and Siberian C peaches; Concord (−30°F) and Marquette grapes. On the frostiest flats (Pendleton, Rapids, north Amherst), skip the stone fruit and pears.

The Southtowns and the east edge, −19°F to −22°F (Orchard Park, West Seneca, East Aurora, Elma, Marilla, Lancaster, Alden, Wales Center). Trees rated −25°F and colder fit; ones rated −20°F are worth a try on warm benches like Billington Heights. Haralson, Zestar!® and Wealthy (−50°F) apples; Kerr and Centennial (−50°F) applecrabs (Ed Schultz saw zero winter injury on Centennial after a winter that hit −47°F); Summercrisp pear; Black Ice plum (−40°F); Evan's Bali tart cherry (−45°F); Westcot apricot on the benches; Honeyberry and Red Lake currant (−40°F), which fruited well for us in 2026 after its flower buds saw about 22°F.

Roots are the weak link in a hard winter and snow is their best cover; at Ed Schultz's farm in Gallatin Gateway, Montana, Bud 118 apple rootstock has seen near −50°F under snow with no damage. Montana State recommends an uphill site on a 4 to 8 percent grade, and fruit trees need at least 6 hours of direct sun, 8 to 10 is better. Much of the ground is old lake-bed clay and former marsh, and the 1909 Cornell survey tied collar rot to poorly drained orchard land, so pick the better-drained spot. Cornell's list of New York home orchard troubles runs to apple scab, fire blight, black knot on plums, plum curculio and bacterial canker on sweet cherry. Our cold hardiness calculator sorts everything we sell by the coldest temperature it has come through.

Fruit history here

Niagara County was apple country before it was wine country. Cornell's 1909 orchard survey estimated about 24,190 acres of apples, three fourths of them in the northern half on the lake plain, led by Baldwin, Greening, the Russets, Tolman, Oldenburg, Ben Davis and Spy. We still sell Baldwin (−20°F) and Tolman Sweet (−30°F), and both clear the lake plain. The Niagara grape was first grown in the county in 1868 and is the source of most American white grape juice. An 1846 gazetteer noted big shipments of apples, peaches and cider from Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Buffalo, NY?

Downtown Buffalo plans for −18°F, MFTC zone 5a, with a typical winter of −5°F. USDA's zones are built on the average winter's coldest night, so they read warmer; one source puts the Niagara Escarpment wine area in USDA 6b to 7a. Our zones run 5b on the lower river and parts of the Lake Ontario shore and 4b in the high Southtowns.

When is the last frost in Buffalo?

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 median last 32°F frost is April 24 at the Buffalo airport, and one year in ten it's May 1 or later. It's later on the Tonawanda flats (May 4 at North Tonawanda) and in the Southtowns hills (May 13 at Wales).

Can you grow peaches in Buffalo or Niagara County?

Yes. Siberian C (−35°F), Contender and Blushingstar (−30°F) clear the planning low at every named place on this map, and most of New York's peaches grow along Lake Ontario. Plant them where spring nights read warm, like Lewiston Heights or the riverbank at Youngstown, not on the Tonawanda flats.

Does Lake Ontario freeze?

Not as a whole. It has frozen over only five times on record (1830, 1874, 1893, 1912 and 1934), so its open water warms the shore all winter. Lake Erie, the first Great Lake to freeze, often ices over, which is part of why Buffalo plans for −18°F while Youngstown and Wilson plan for −14°F.

Can you grow cherries in Niagara County?

Yes. Bittner-Singer Orchards in Appleton grows around 50 acres of sweet and tart cherries about half a mile from the lake. Lapins (−35°F), Rainier (−30°F), Montmorency (−35°F) and Evan's Bali (−45°F) clear the county's −13°F to −20°F planning lows. Give sweet cherries the shore, the escarpment brow or the riverbank.

Where are the frost pockets around Buffalo?

On a still spring night, the old Lake Tonawanda flats: Rapids and Pendleton read 8°F colder than downtown Buffalo, and Audubon and Getzville 6°F to 7°F colder. The hollows on the Niagara County lake plain (East Wilson, North Hartland) read 6°F to 7°F colder, and Wales Center in the Southtowns 9°F. If you're over toward Rochester, the Rochester and Lake Ontario fruit belt map covers you.

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.