Fruit Trees for Cleveland, Akron and the Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio

In the February 2015 cold snap, NOAA's Chardon station, out in the Geauga County snowbelt, bottomed out at −29°F. Hiram read −24°F, the Hopkins airport station on Cleveland's West Side −17°F, and Burke Lakefront Airport, on the shore downtown, −7°F. That's a 22°F spread over about 25 miles, and it's why fruit trees for Cleveland, Akron and the Cuyahoga Valley come down to where you plant.

The map covers Northeast Ohio from the lakeshore at Lakewood, Cleveland and Euclid south over the Heights to Akron and Barberton, west to Medina and Rittman, east to Hudson, Kent and Hiram, and northeast through the Chagrin valley to Chardon, with Cuyahoga Valley National Park down the middle. 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 build a planting around. It leans cautious on purpose: a safe number to plan for, not a forecast of how often that night shows up. The MFTC zone puts it in half zones. The typical winter is an average year's coldest night, the kind of figure USDA's map uses, and here it reads 13°F to 17°F warmer. The spring layer shows how many degrees warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Cleveland on a still, clear night at bloom.

The middle of the growing ground plans for −18°F, the coldest 5 percent for −24°F or colder, the warmest 5 percent for −13°F or warmer. Downtown Cleveland, the reference town, plans for −13°F (MFTC 5b, typical winter 1°F). The warmest named places we checked are on the shore east of downtown, like West Lakeshore at −11°F; the coldest are Jeddoe and Hiram Rapids, near Hiram, at −27°F (MFTC 4a). Akron plans for −15°F (5a), Medina and Kent −20°F (5a), Chardon −21°F (4b). Most of what we sell has come through colder, so spring frost does the sorting here: the spring layer runs from 5°F warmer than downtown on the knobs near Kirtland to 18°F colder on the Chagrin River bottom below Mayfield Village.

Why the map looks the way it does

Cleveland sits on the lake plain, which climbs from the water at about 569 feet to the foot of the Portage Escarpment. Near the city the escarpment rises 440 to 540 feet over 2 to 4 miles onto the Appalachian Plateau, where Akron sits mostly at 950 to 1,100 feet. Then the rivers cut back down. The Cuyahoga runs a U, south from Geauga County through Kent to Akron, then north through a trench to the lake; at Boston Mill its floor is 722 feet, about 300 feet below Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson. The Rocky River gorge runs up to 150 feet below street level, Tinkers Creek cuts a gorge of its own, and the Chagrin has its own valley floor.

On a still, clear night those trenches fill with cold. We haven't found a published measurement of it, but the map and stations line up with the physics. Boston, on the river bottom in the national park, plans for −21°F (4b) and reads 14°F colder than downtown at bloom; Boston Heights, about 2.5 miles east and some 400 feet higher, plans for −15°F and reads even with downtown. Hiram, on its hill at 1,250 feet, plans for −22°F; Hiram Rapids, on the river bottom 2 miles northwest and 150 feet lower, −27°F. NOAA station records agree: the old Garrettsville station, 225 feet below Hiram's and 2 miles away, ran 6°F colder than Hiram on the year's coldest night (median over 19 years).

The lake does less in winter than people think. Erie is the shallowest Great Lake and the first to freeze (98 percent iced over by March 2015, completely in the late January 2026 cold), and a lake only shelters its shore while it's open. Illinois State Water Survey researchers put Erie's lift to mean winter lows at about 1.8°F, the smallest of the five lakes. Still, Burke Lakefront runs 4°F warmer than Hopkins on the year's coldest night (median over 26 years), and Chardon 11°F colder than Burke. Burke sits at the edge of downtown, so some of that may be town heat.

Inland, higher isn't always colder. Hopkins, at 777 feet on the flats about 5 miles from the water, has run 4°F colder than the old Akron station at 1,080 feet, and Brook Park, next to it, plans for −16°F and reads 11°F colder than downtown at bloom. We haven't found a published explanation; it fits flat, open ground making its own cold. East of the river, lake-effect snow piles on as the land climbs: in 2014-15 Euclid got 65 inches, Beachwood on the escarpment 104 and Chardon 116. Snow keeps roots warm but chills the air over it. And the plateau across Portage and Geauga counties is broad, flat glacial till, with marshes, bogs and fens in the Tinkers Creek headwaters around Streetsboro and Aurora; a wide, shallow basin can pool cold harder than a deep valley that drains. The old Hudson station ran 5°F colder than the Akron airport station, Hiram 3°F colder over 74 years.

Downtown Cleveland, the Flats and the East Side shore

Downtown sits on bluffs about 90 feet over the river bottom and plans for −13°F (MFTC 5b, typical winter 1°F). The Flats, at 581 feet on the Cuyahoga bottom, plan for the same −13°F but read 7°F colder at bloom as cold slides off the bluffs. Hingetown and the Civic Center read 2°F warmer than downtown, Ohio City 1°F colder, and Tremont, on the high ground south of the Flats, plans for −14°F and reads 2°F colder.

East along the water the winter numbers are the best on the map: Bratenahl −12°F, North Collinwood and Euclid −13°F. But these are flat lake-plain lots 30 to 50 feet above the local floor, and bloom nights read 4°F to 7°F colder than downtown (Bratenahl 4°F, North Collinwood 6°F, Euclid 7°F). Back at the foot of the escarpment, Glenville, Hough, Fairfax and Slavic Village plan for −13°F to −14°F and read 7°F to 9°F colder. Everything rated −20°F or colder clears all of this, including Bing cherry, Santa Rosa plum and Flavortop nectarine (all −20°F), and Chicago Hardy Fig (−10°F) is worth a try against a south wall. So choose by bloom: stone fruit on the bluffs that read warm; apples, currants and haskap on the flats.

Lakewood, Rocky River, Parma and the West Side

Lakewood sits on the lake plain with its west edge on the Rocky River gorge. It plans for −14°F (MFTC 5b, typical winter 0°F) and reads 3°F colder than downtown at bloom; its floor within 3 miles plans for −17°F, its benches −14°F. The Gold Coast, on the lakefront, reads 1°F warmer. Rocky River plans for −15°F (5b) and reads even with downtown. The gorge between them is a cold-air channel to the lake, so keep tender trees on the rims, not on the Rocky River Reservation floor. In West Park, Kamm's Corners reads 4°F colder and the Hopkins neighborhood 9°F colder, both planning for −15°F.

South of the city it cools as you go inland and drops hardest in the creek bottoms. Parma plans for −14°F (5b) and reads 4°F colder at bloom, Seven Hills −15°F and 10°F colder, Independence, on the rim 230 feet over its floor, −14°F and 2°F colder. Strongsville and North Royalton plan for −16°F and −17°F and read 6°F colder, and Berea, in the East Branch of the Rocky River, −17°F and 11°F colder. Trees rated −20°F still fit; keep peaches and sweet cherries on the rims.

The Heights, on top of the escarpment

Cleveland Heights plans for −12°F (MFTC 5b, typical winter 2°F), 240 feet above its local floor. University Heights, Mayfield Heights and Beachwood also plan for −12°F, South Euclid and Lyndhurst −13°F, Shaker Heights −14°F. Winter barely separates them; bloom nights do. The escarpment top is a broad, nearly flat upland that makes its own cold on a still night with nowhere to send it, and Shaker Heights and Lyndhurst read 10°F colder than downtown at bloom, South Euclid and Mayfield Heights 9°F, University Heights and Shaker Square 8°F.

The brow is the warm spot, because cold drains off it down the face toward the lake. The Cleveland Heights center and Euclid Heights read 1°F colder than downtown, Garfield Heights, 310 feet over its floor, 1°F colder, and Euclid-Green, on the escarpment face, 2°F warmer. Coventry Village reads 7°F colder and Cedar Fairmount, in a draw, 8°F. Plant apricots and sweet cherries near the brow, and on the flat interior lots lean on apples, plums and bush fruit.

The Chagrin valley, Willoughby, Kirtland and Chardon

The Chagrin runs 49 miles from Bass Lake in Munson Township to the lake at Eastlake, and it holds the coldest bloom readings we found. The Wilson Mills Settlement, on the river bottom at 693 feet, plans for −16°F but reads 18°F colder than downtown at bloom; Mayfield Village, under 2 miles away and 170 feet over its floor, plans for −12°F and reads 2°F colder. Hunting Valley plans for −18°F and reads 15°F colder, Gates Mills −17°F and 14°F colder, Kirtland, on the East Branch, −16°F and 13°F colder. Up on the sides, Chagrin Falls reads 2°F colder and steep Kirtland Hills even with downtown. The two knobs near Kirtland have the warmest spring readings of any named places we checked: Little Mountain, about 410 feet over its floor, plans for −14°F and reads 4°F warmer than downtown, and Gildersleeve Mountain −14°F and 5°F warmer.

Up in Geauga County it's deep snowbelt, with Hambden Township at 123 inches in 2014-15. Chesterland plans for −17°F (5a) and reads 7°F colder at bloom. Chardon's courthouse square, on the ridge, plans for −21°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −5°F) but reads just 1°F colder than downtown because cold drains off the ridge; the floor within 3 miles plans for −25°F. The Chardon station sits lower, at 1,130 feet, with a 30-year number of −27°F. Burton, on its hill, plans for −21°F and reads 1°F colder, while Burton Lake, on the bottom ground southwest of the village, plans for −24°F and reads 12°F colder. Trees rated −25°F and colder fit the towns, and the ridges give peaches like Redstar (−25°F) and apricots like Harlayne (−30°F) good bloom readings.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park and its rims

The Cuyahoga's trench between Akron and Cleveland is the biggest cold-air channel on the map. Valley View, on the floor near the Tinkers Creek mouth, plans for −16°F and reads 13°F colder than downtown at bloom; Everett and Ira −21°F and 13°F and 14°F colder; Peninsula, on a toe slope 40 feet over the river, −19°F and 5°F colder. On the rims, Brecksville plans for −16°F (5a) and reads 1°F colder than downtown, Sagamore Hills −15°F and 4°F colder, Richfield −18°F and 3°F colder. The 12°F to 14°F gap between floor and rim on a bloom night matters more than the 5°F to 6°F winter gap. On the floor, plant apples like Liberty (−35°F), Honeycrisp (−45°F) and Golden Russet (−40°F), plus Honeyberry (−50°F) and currants, and save stone fruit and pears for the rims.

Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Barberton

Akron sits at 945 feet on the Little Cuyahoga. It plans for −15°F (MFTC 5a, typical winter −2°F) and reads 9°F colder than downtown Cleveland at bloom; its floor within 3 miles plans for −17°F, its benches −14°F. The hills are the stone-fruit ground. Highland Square, 200 feet over its floor on the west side, plans for −13°F (5b) and reads 3°F colder than downtown Cleveland, and Sherbondy Hill −14°F and 2°F warmer. Firestone Park reads 14°F colder, as cold as the national park floor. Merriman Valley, on the Cuyahoga floor, plans for −18°F and reads 11°F colder, while Merriman Heights, less than 2 miles south and 240 feet over its floor, plans for −13°F and reads 4°F colder. The Portage Lakes plan for −18°F and read 10°F colder.

Cuyahoga Falls plans for −15°F (5b) and Stow −16°F (5a), both 6°F colder at bloom. Barberton, on the river bottom, plans for −18°F and reads 10°F colder, and Ghent, down on the valley floor, reads 14°F colder. The Akron airport station's 30-year number is −19°F and its median last 32°F frost April 30. Everything rated −20°F and colder fits the town lots. Put peaches like Contender (−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), apricots and sweet cherries on the west-side hills and keep the bottoms for apples.

Hudson, Kent, Ravenna and the Hiram end

Northeast of Akron the plateau flattens and runs colder. Hudson plans for −20°F (MFTC 5a, typical winter −5°F) and reads 8°F colder than downtown Cleveland at bloom; Reminderville, Aurora and Streetsboro plan for −21°F (4b) and read 11°F, 4°F and 7°F colder. Kent plans for −20°F (5a) and reads 9°F colder, but Kent State's Front Campus, up on the hill, plans for −18°F and reads just 2°F colder. Ravenna plans for −20°F (4b) and reads 6°F colder.

Hiram, on its hill, plans for −22°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −7°F) and reads 1°F warmer than downtown Cleveland at bloom; its station's median last 32°F frost is April 30, the same as the Akron airport's. Hiram Rapids, on the river bottom below, plans for −27°F (4a) and reads 12°F colder. On the hills, trees rated −25°F and colder fit, and Hiram's bloom reading suits peaches like Blushingstar (−30°F), which came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024. On the bottoms, stick with trees rated −30°F and colder and skip the stone fruit.

Medina, Brunswick, Hinckley and Rittman

Medina plans for −20°F (MFTC 5a, typical winter −5°F) and reads 4°F colder than downtown Cleveland at bloom; its floor within 3 miles plans for −22°F, its benches −19°F. Brunswick plans for −20°F (4b) and reads 9°F colder. Hinckley, on a bench 160 feet over its floor, plans for −21°F and reads 5°F colder, but Echo Lake Glen, in a draw near Hinckley, plans for −23°F and reads 15°F colder. Wadsworth plans for −19°F and reads 3°F colder, Rittman −21°F (4b) and 6°F colder. Medina's square and Wadsworth fit everything rated −25°F and colder and read fair for peaches; Brunswick's flats are apple and bush-fruit ground.

Spring frost and bloom around Cleveland and Akron

Since most of the list clears winter here, bloom nights decide the crop, and the spring layer follows the same drainage as the winter low, only stronger. The coldest readings sit on the Chagrin bottom, the Cuyahoga floor, Glenwillow on Tinkers Creek, Echo Lake Glen and Firestone Park; the warmest on the knobs near Kirtland, the Heights' brow, the bluffs downtown and Hiram's hill. Flat tops like the Heights interior and Brunswick read 8°F to 10°F colder than downtown.

The lake runs its own calendar. From mid-spring into early summer the water is colder than the air, so the shore stays cool and holds trees back; Ohio's coastal atlas credits that moderation with lengthening the season for grapes, peaches and other crops along the shore. We haven't found a published bloom-date comparison for the Cleveland shore, but the frost dates make the case. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 medians put the last 32°F frost on April 6 at Burke Lakefront, April 24 at Hopkins, April 30 at the Akron airport and May 10 at Chardon, with frost-free seasons of 226, 188, 170 and 152 days. One year in ten the last 32°F comes after April 17 at Burke and May 23 at Chardon. The last 28°F, where open blossoms of apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot and plum all start dying, comes by March 27 at Burke in the median year, April 11 at Hopkins and April 24 at Chardon.

The freezes that hurt came after warm spells. Around March 26, 2012, some Northeast Ohio orchards fell to about 22°F, and apples and peaches were nearly wiped out in some of them. In mid-April 2023, after a warm February, a night below 30°F did some damage around Patterson Fruit Farm in Chesterland, which runs sprinklers overnight starting at about 34°F. In 2026, after an unusually warm March, the main damage came early on April 7, with two more April frosts; Quarry Hill Orchards in Berlin Heights, west of the map, lost all its cherries, about 70 percent of its peaches and about 40 percent of its apples. Cleveland Magazine noted those losses were widespread rather than stuck in the usual frost pockets; on still nights, site still decides how much.

So put apricots, peaches, sweet cherries and Japanese plums on the warm-reading ground, east or north facing if you can (a north slope holds early bloomers back), and never on a creek bottom. Apples are the safe bet on colder lots; only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set for a crop. Haskap flowers take 19°F, and our Red Lake and Montana Black currants fruited well in 2026 after their flower buds saw about 22°F. Through bloom, mow the orchard floor short, don't till, and water a day or two before a frost.

What the weather records say

Cleveland's all-time record low is −20°F at Hopkins on January 19, 1994, the same morning Akron-Canton set Akron's record of −25°F; in that cold snap the Chippewa Lake station, just past the map's edge, read −26°F and Hiram −25°F, still Hiram's record. The Chardon station's record is −29°F (February 20, 2015), the Akron airport station's −20°F (February 10, 1899), and Burke Lakefront's −13°F (February 23, 2015, in a record that starts in 1999). Over each station's full record, the average year's coldest night runs 3°F at Burke, −4°F at Hopkins and −10°F at Chardon. USDA's 2023 map puts most of Ohio in zones 6a and 6b, built on the average winter's coldest night; our MFTC zones run about a full zone colder or more (5b downtown, 5a at Akron, 4b at Chardon) because we plan for the bad night.

What you can grow here

The lakeshore, downtown, the Heights and the inner suburbs, −11°F to −15°F (Cleveland, Euclid, Willoughby, Lakewood, Rocky River, Parma, the Heights, Cuyahoga Falls and Akron's west-side hills). Nearly the whole list fits. Apples: Liberty, Enterprise (−35°F), William's Pride (−35°F), Newtown Pippin (−30°F), Baldwin (−20°F) and St. Edmund's Pippin (−20°F). Pears off the low spots: Seckel (−35°F) and Harrow Sweet (−30°F). On the warm ground: Bing, Lapins (−35°F) and Stella (−25°F) cherries; Santa Rosa and Shiro (−30°F) plums; Glohaven (−25°F) and Redstar peaches; Flavortop and Hardired (−25°F) nectarines; Tomcot (−30°F) and Harlayne apricots. Something different: Montana Trial Pawpaw (−30°F) and Persimmon (Montana Trial) (−25°F), with Chicago Hardy Fig worth a try on a south wall where the planning low is −14°F or warmer.

Akron, the southern suburbs, the Chagrin valley and the park rims, −15°F to −20°F (Akron, Stow, Barberton, Brecksville, Strongsville, Berea, Solon, Chagrin Falls, Kirtland, Chesterland, Wadsworth). Everything rated −20°F and colder still clears. Apples: Honeycrisp, Northern Spy (−30°F) and Roxbury Russet (−30°F). Pears: Seckel and Bartlett (−35°F). Plums: Stanley (−30°F), Superior (−35°F) and Toka (−45°F); Toka is a good pollenizer for Superior, and our pollination maps show what pairs with what. Cherries: Lapins and Montmorency (−35°F). Peaches: Contender and Veteran (−30°F). Grapes: Concord (−30°F) and Marquette (−35°F).

Medina, Hudson, Kent, Ravenna, Chardon and the park floor, −20°F to −23°F (Medina, Brunswick, Hinckley, Rittman, Hudson, Aurora, Kent, Ravenna, Hiram, Chardon, Burton, Boston). Trees rated −25°F and colder: Honeycrisp, Empire (−35°F), Ashmead's Kernel (−35°F) and Golden Russet apples; Bartlett and Summercrisp (−45°F) pears; Toka and Superior plums; Lapins and Evan's Bali (−45°F) cherries; Redstar, Blushingstar and Siberian C (−35°F) peaches on the hills. Bing and Santa Rosa (−20°F) are worth a try on warm-reading high ground like Hiram's hill, Burton or Chardon's ridge.

The coldest bottoms, −24°F to −27°F (Hiram Rapids, Jeddoe, Burton Lake and the low ground around them). Trees rated −30°F and colder: Honeycrisp, Liberty, Northern Spy and Haralson (−45°F) apples, Evan's Bali cherry, Honeyberry, Red Lake currant (−40°F) and Hinnomaki Red gooseberry (−40°F). These read cold at bloom too, so skip the stone fruit and pears.

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. The west suburbs and Akron get roughly half the snowbelt's snow, so mulch over the roots there. Ohio State says most Ohio soils drain poorly and recommends setting trees 2 to 4 inches higher than nursery level on that ground. Test drainage before you plant (dig 2 feet, fill it, let it drain, refill it: under 10 hours is well drained), and give trees at least 6 hours of direct sun. Ohio State lists apple scab, cedar apple rust, fire blight and black rot among the diseases here, and codling moth, plum curculio and apple maggot among the insects. Hail hits too; Bauman's Orchards in Rittman is expanding its hail netting over Honeycrisp. Our cold hardiness calculator sorts everything we sell by the coldest temperature it has come through, and south of here our Columbus and Central Ohio map picks up.

Fruit history here

Lakewood's early farms ran from Detroit Avenue north to the lake, with orchards, vineyards and brickmaking until oil and gas wells came in the early 1880s; the Orchard Grove and Blossom Park street names recall it. The Cleveland Heights upland had orchards and vineyards too. Beckwith's Orchard in Kent has been family owned since 1878, and Solomon and Mary Lyman Ferry started Patterson Fruit Farm in Chesterland in 1879, selling fruit, eggs and milk on a route in eastern Cleveland; it's in its seventh generation.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Cleveland, Ohio?

On the bad night we plan for, downtown Cleveland is −13°F, MFTC zone 5b, and the shore east of downtown plans for −11°F to −12°F. One guide puts Cleveland in USDA 6a to 6b with 7a pockets on the immediate lakeshore; USDA's map is built on the average winter; our typical winter for downtown is 1°F. The airport flats run colder, about −15°F to −16°F.

What zone is Akron, Ohio?

Akron plans for −15°F, MFTC zone 5a, with a typical winter of −2°F. It's listed as USDA 6b in the city and 6a in the outer suburbs, which reflects the average winter. Highland Square plans for −13°F; Merriman Valley and the Portage Lakes −18°F.

When is the last frost in Cleveland?

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 median last 32°F frost is April 6 at Burke Lakefront downtown and April 24 at Hopkins; one year in ten it comes after April 17 and May 5. The Akron airport's median is April 30 and Chardon's May 10.

Does Lake Erie protect fruit trees?

Some. Burke Lakefront runs 4°F warmer than Hopkins on the year's coldest night and gets 226 frost-free days to Hopkins' 188. But Erie freezes over in hard winters, and a lake only shelters its shore while it's open. In spring the cold water keeps the shore cool, which holds bloom back.

Can you grow peaches in Cleveland?

Yes. Every peach we sell is rated −25°F or colder, and most of Cuyahoga County plans for −17°F or warmer. The catch is bloom: plant them where still spring nights read warm, like the Heights' brow, the bluffs downtown, Rocky River or the rims above the Cuyahoga, not in the Flats or a creek bottom.

Where are the frost pockets around Cleveland and Akron?

On the river and creek bottoms. The Chagrin bottom at Hunting Valley and Gates Mills reads 14°F to 15°F colder than downtown Cleveland at bloom, and the Cuyahoga floor at Boston and Ira, Macedonia, Firestone Park and Ghent 14°F colder. Rims like Brecksville, Boston Heights and Mayfield Village read within 2°F of downtown.

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.