Fruit Trees for Hornell, Bath and the Canisteo Valley, New York

In the January 22, 2022 cold snap, NOAA's station at Alfred, up at 1,924 feet, bottomed out at −3°F. The Almond Dam station, about 600 feet lower in the Canacadea Creek valley west of Hornell, read −21°F. That 18°F gap between the high ground and the valley floors is most of what you need to know about fruit trees for Hornell, Bath and the Canisteo Valley: on a still night the floors fill with cold, and the hillsides above them sit out of it.

The map covers this part of the Southern Tier in Steuben County and the east edge of Allegany County: the Canisteo from Alfred and Almond down through Hornell, Arkport and Canisteo toward Cameron, with Andover in the southwest corner; the Cohocton from Avoca and Kanona through Bath and Savona to Campbell; the high farm country of Howard, Burns and Wheeler; and Pleasant Valley north from Bath to Hammondsport at the south end of Keuka Lake. 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 on purpose, a safe number to plan for and not a promise of how often that night comes. The MFTC zone is that number in half zones, and 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 Hornell on a still, clear night at bloom.

The middle of the growing ground plans for −25°F; the coldest 5 percent plans for −28°F or colder and the warmest 5 percent for −21°F or warmer. Downtown Hornell, the reference town, plans for −28°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F), right at the cold end. Bath plans for −25°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −10°F). The coldest named place we checked is Alfred Station at −30°F; Andover, Hartsville and North Hornell plan for −29°F. The warmest are the hills over Bath: Sharps Hill and Hickory Hill, about 600 feet above the floor, plan for −20°F (MFTC 5a). Hornell's −28°F is colder than anything the Almond Dam station has recorded since its record starts in 2001 (its coldest is −22°F, most recently on February 24, 2015). That's the planning low leaning to the safe side.

Why the map looks the way it does

Two Susquehanna tributaries cross this map from northwest to southeast, cut into the dissected Allegheny Plateau. The Canisteo and Cohocton floors sit about 1,000 to 1,200 feet above sea level, and the ridges between them stand roughly 600 to 1,300 feet higher. Keuka Lake drains the other way, north to Seneca Lake and Lake Ontario. The divide crosses the low valley floor between Bath and Pleasant Valley, and from there the floor drops about 350 feet to the lake at 715 feet, the lowest ground on the map.

On a clear, calm night those floors fill with cold. Most of a pool's cold is made right on the flats as the ground loses heat to the sky, and side valleys like Canacadea Creek, Crosby Creek, Bennetts Creek and Mud Creek carry more down off the hills and pour it out where they meet the river. The stations show it: in the January 18, 2009 snap Alfred read −3°F while Bath read −16°F and Addison and Corning −17°F. On the map, the benches 100 to 700 feet up within 3 miles plan 3°F to 4°F warmer than the floor around Bath, Savona, Campbell and Hammondsport, about 3°F warmer around Hornell and Alfred, and only 1°F to 2°F warmer around Burns.

The belt doesn't always hold. When arctic air pours in on a wind there's no inversion and higher ground runs colder, and some nights the high stations here have run coldest: in the February 9, 1934 cold snap Alfred read −35°F and Andover −34°F, while Addison, at 999 feet just past the map's edge, read −26°F. Over the years the long-record stations land close together on the year's coldest night (no pair differs by a median of 3°F or more). The winter numbers spread only about 7°F across the growing ground, while the spring layer, the still-night pattern at full strength, runs from 7°F colder than downtown Hornell in the creek bottoms to 16°F warmer on the hills.

The Canisteo end runs about 3°F colder than the Cohocton end, and the stations agree: the Almond Dam and Alfred stations each have a 30-year number of −27°F, Bath's is −24°F. Almond Dam, in the narrow Canacadea Creek valley, was the coldest station on the list in four of the seven big cold snaps since 2005, though in 2009 and 2011 Bath ran 3°F colder. We haven't found a published explanation; the upper Canisteo sits higher, but Hornell sits only about 50 feet above Bath.

Water does less than you'd hope. Keuka is deep (101 feet on average) and freezes over only in the coldest winters, and the Finger Lakes are known for keeping shore vineyards warmer in winter and cooler in spring. But only its south few miles are on this map, and Hammondsport, at the bottom of the long Pleasant Valley run, plans for −24°F, the same as the valley floor behind it. Towns don't show much either: downtown Hornell plans the same −28°F as the floor around it, and Bath the same −25°F. The Cohocton floor at Bath is glacial outwash sand and gravel, and the gravelly terraces drain fast, while the bottomland by the river sits low in the cold pool.

Hornell, North Hornell and Arkport

Hornell, the Maple City, grew at 1,159 feet where Canacadea Creek and Crosby Creek come into the Canisteo. Those side valleys bring cold off the hills on a still night, and the city sits on the flat floor where it collects. Downtown plans for −28°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F), the same as the floor within 3 miles; the benches plan for −25°F and the warmest tenth of the growing ground −24°F. North Hornell, across the bridge on the river bottom, plans for −29°F and runs 3°F colder than downtown at bloom. South Hornell, on a toe slope along NY 36, plans for −27°F. Webbs Crossing, by the interstate on County Route 66, plans for −28°F but reads 7°F colder at bloom, tied for the coldest spring reading of any named place we checked. Arkport, upstream on the east bank, plans for −28°F and runs 3°F colder.

Climb out of town and it changes fast. Bald Hill, about 690 feet above the floor, and Pennsylvania Hill, west of North Hornell, plan for −24°F (MFTC 4b) with bloom nights 15°F to 16°F warmer than downtown. Cook Hill and Ashbaugh Hill south of the city plan for −24°F and −25°F and run 14°F warmer. If you're in a hilltop neighborhood like Heather Heights in the town of Hornellsville, type in your address.

On the floor, plant trees rated −35°F and colder: Honeycrisp (−45°F), Haralson (−45°F), Cortland (−40°F), Zestar!® (−40°F) and Empire (−35°F) apples, Toka plum (−45°F) and Evan's Bali cherry (−45°F). Trees rated −30°F, like Liberty and Northern Spy, clear downtown with little to spare. Save the stone fruit for the hills: Westcot apricot (−45°F), Siberian C peach (−35°F) and Lapins cherry (−35°F), which a grower of ours in Cowley, Wyoming reported undamaged at −33°F.

Almond, Alfred and Andover

This is the coldest corner of the map. Almond sits at about 1,330 feet in the narrow Canacadea Creek valley, with Almond Lake, the flood-control reservoir in Kanakadea Park, just northeast of the village. It plans for −28°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −13°F) and reads even with downtown Hornell at bloom. Alfred, at about 1,760 feet, fills the bottom of its valley between Alfred University on the east hill and Alfred State on the west. The village plans for −28°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −12°F); the floor within 3 miles plans for −29°F and the benches −26°F. Alfred Station, northeast of the village, plans for −30°F, the coldest number of any named place we checked. Andover, in the southwest corner, plans for −29°F (typical winter −14°F), and Hartsville, in a draw, −29°F and 5°F colder than Hornell at bloom. Up high it's better: North Almond, on a bench 500 feet up, plans for −24°F with bloom nights 11°F warmer.

The old records here go deep (Alfred −35°F and Andover −34°F in February 1934), so leave room to spare. On the floors stick with trees rated −40°F and colder: Wealthy apple (−50°F), Kerr (−50°F) and Centennial (−50°F) applecrabs (Ed Schultz saw zero winter injury on Centennial after a winter that hit −47°F), Haralson, Bolshaya pear (−50°F) on any rise, Brookred plum (−50°F), Juliet dwarf cherry (−50°F) and Honeyberry (−50°F).

Canisteo, Cameron and the Howard uplands

Canisteo village sits at about 1,130 feet where Bennetts Creek joins the Canisteo. It plans for −27°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −12°F) and runs 1°F colder than Hornell at bloom, with benches at −25°F. Downstream the floor plans a little warmer, but the creek bottoms read cold at bloom: Canisteo Center (Carson) plans for −26°F and runs 6°F colder, Browns Crossing on County Road 119 −26°F and 7°F colder, Cameron −26°F and 3°F colder. Up on the hill farms, Hinkley Hill, southwest of the village and about 860 feet over the floor, plans for −24°F with bloom nights 15°F warmer, and South Cameron, on a hillside 320 feet up, −23°F and 9°F warmer. Up there apricots like Westcot and Sungold (−40°F), Siberian C and 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 Lapins and Rainier (−30°F) cherries all fit.

Howard sits along I-86 at Exit 35, about 1,650 feet up. It plans for −26°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −11°F) and runs 1°F warmer than Hornell at bloom; its floor plans for −27°F and its benches −25°F. The Howard soil series, a deep, well-drained gravelly loam on outwash terraces, is named for this town. Butcher Corner and Jobs Corner, on benches 320 to 340 feet above the floor, plan for −25°F with bloom nights 10°F warmer, and Towlesville, near Lake Demon, −22°F and 12°F warmer. Greenville, on the floor to the north, plans for −26°F but runs 6°F colder at bloom. Burns, on the north edge, plans for −26°F, and its benches only 1°F to 2°F better.

Bath, Kanona, Avoca and Wheeler

Bath, the county seat, sits at 1,107 feet on the Cohocton (also spelled Conhocton). It plans for −25°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −10°F) and runs 1°F colder than Hornell at bloom. The floor within 3 miles plans for −25°F too, the benches −22°F and the warmest tenth of the growing ground −20°F. Haverling Heights, on the village's north side 40 feet above the floor, plans for −23°F. Kanona, on the river bottom near I-86, plans for −25°F (MFTC 4a) and runs 3°F colder at bloom; Avoca, upstream, −25°F (MFTC 4b) and 2°F colder. North along NY 53 and Five Mile Creek, Wheeler and Marshalls plan for −25°F and run 2°F to 3°F colder.

The hills right around Bath are the warmest named places on the map. Sharps Hill, just south of the village and 570 feet above the floor, plans for −20°F (MFTC 5a) with bloom nights 14°F warmer than downtown Hornell. Hickory Hill and Kershener Hill, north of the village, plan for −20°F and run 15°F warmer. South of Bath the upland hamlets do nearly as well: Coss Corners and East Union plan for −22°F and run 9°F and 12°F warmer at bloom, Dudley Settlement and Unionville −23°F and 7°F to 8°F warmer. Buck Settlement, on a toe slope just 30 feet above its own floor, plans for −24°F but runs 2°F colder: high ground only helps if you're above the local low spot.

On the floor at Bath, trees rated −30°F and colder have room: Liberty and Northern Spy apples on the flats, and D'Anjou (−30°F) and Bartlett (−35°F) pears and Stanley (−30°F) and Italian (−35°F) plums on any rise off the low spots. On the hills at −20°F to −22°F, even trees rated −25°F fit, like Blushingstar peach (it came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024 without damage) and Hardired nectarine (−25°F), along with Harlayne apricot (−30°F), Rainier and Lapins.

Savona, Campbell and the Thurston hills

Savona sits at 1,055 feet where Mud Creek joins the Cohocton. It plans for −25°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −11°F) and runs 1°F colder than Hornell at bloom, with benches at −22°F. Campbell, on the river bottom where Michigan Creek comes in at about 1,010 feet, plans for −26°F (MFTC 4a) and runs 3°F colder. Sonora, on a toe slope on Bath's east line, plans for −23°F and runs 3°F warmer. The hills plan for −20°F to −21°F: Irish Hill, 810 feet over the floor, runs 13°F warmer at bloom and Platt Hill 15°F warmer. North Thurston, on a hillside 540 feet up, plans for −22°F and runs 12°F warmer at bloom, while Thurston hamlet, down in its draw, plans for −24°F and runs 4°F colder, and Risingville, in another draw, −26°F and 6°F colder.

Pleasant Valley, Hammondsport and the south end of Keuka Lake

Pleasant Valley, first called Cold Spring Valley, runs north from Bath to the lake, and its floor reads about the same all the way down: Cold Springs, Hermitage, Rheims and Pleasant Valley hamlet all plan for −24°F (MFTC 4b) and read within 1°F of Hornell at bloom. Hammondsport sits at 764 feet at the foot of the long hills that form the Keuka valley, with Kingsley Flats the low ground between the village and the lake. It plans for −24°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −10°F) and runs 1°F warmer than Hornell at bloom; its floor plans for −25°F, the benches −22°F and the warmest tenth −20°F.

The slopes above the lake are the warm ground here. North Urbana, on a hillside 590 feet above the floor, plans for −21°F, the warmest planning low of any named hamlet we checked, with bloom nights 11°F warmer than Hornell. Mitchellsville, 310 feet up, plans for −23°F and runs 7°F warmer. At the map's north edge, Dr. Konstantin Frank picked very steep east-facing slopes 240 to 490 feet above the lake for their "excellent soil and air drainage." That's the move: get up off the flats so the cold slides past you to the lake. Up there Marquette (−35°F) and La Crescent (−40°F) grapes, Contender and Siberian C peaches and Harlayne apricot all fit. If you're over toward Cayuga Lake, the Ithaca, Cortland and Cayuga Lake map covers you.

Spring frost and bloom in the Canisteo and Cohocton valleys

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 medians put the last 32°F frost at May 16 at Bath and May 19 at Almond Dam, and one year in ten it runs to May 23 and May 27. The last 28°F comes around May 2 to 3, and the first fall 32°F around October 6 to 8, for 144 frost-free days at both. Dansville, down in the Genesee lowland just west of the map at 660 feet, gets 155 days.

On the spring layer the coldest readings are the creek bottoms and draws: Webbs Crossing and Browns Crossing 7°F colder than downtown Hornell, Canisteo Center, Greenville and Risingville 6°F. The best are hillsides and benches where cold keeps moving, 10°F to 16°F warmer, like Pennsylvania Hill, Bald Hill, Hickory Hill and Sharps Hill. NC State's fruit people figure 3°F to 4°F can separate no crop from a full one.

Keuka's south end has a hard spring record. In 2012 a warm spell from March 11 pushed grapes out more than a month early, and in the freezes that followed, Keuka growers reported Concord losses of 50 to 60 percent in some blocks. On May 17 to 18, 2023, with shoots out 1 to 3 weeks early, Hammondsport fell to 28.6°F with 8 hours below 32°F; Keuka Lake Vineyards in Hammondsport estimated 50 to 65 percent losses, and about half of Keuka's vineyard acreage was hit. Cornell's grape people noted the longest cold spells came where the wind was calm and cold air settled, and damage varied between nearby vineyards with elevation and with tree lines or buildings that blocked cold air from draining away. On April 20 to 21, 2026 the worst damage in the Finger Lakes was again around Keuka. In the windy April 2021 freeze, Finger Lakes sites usually thought warmer ran coldest because the wind mixed the air, so the map's warm slopes won't save you in a windy freeze.

Site comes first. Open blossoms of nearly every tree fruit start dying near 28°F (Michigan State's numbers), but only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set for a crop, and fully open haskap flowers take 19°F. Most fruit can lose half its blossoms or more and be fine; clustered fruit like cherries and grapes forgive less. Put apricots, peaches, plums and sweet cherries on slopes that read warm at bloom, and keep apples, applecrabs, haskap and currants for the lower ground. Bob Purvis's rule is an east-facing slope, which warms quickly on a frosty spring morning. Don't dam a slope with a hedge or tree line across it, keep the grass short through bloom, and water a day or two before a frost night.

What the weather records say

The coldest readings in NOAA station records here: −35°F at Alfred (February 9, 1934) and at Addison, just past the map's edge (January 5, 1904); −34°F at Andover (February 9, 1934); −25°F at Bath (February 18, 1979); and −22°F at Almond Dam (most recently February 24, 2015). The planning numbers are built on winters since 1995-96, and nothing since has come near 1934: the coldest reading at Bath, Alfred or Almond Dam since then is −23°F, at Bath in the 1995-96 winter. A 1934 night would run about 7°F past the planning low around Alfred, which is why we'd leave room to spare in the upper Canisteo.

The average yearly low runs −14°F at Bath and Alfred and −11°F at Almond Dam. One county-level zone guide puts most of Steuben County in USDA zone 5b (−15°F to −10°F). USDA's zones are built on the average winter, which is why ours run colder: 4a around Hornell, Canisteo and Alfred, 4b around Bath and Hammondsport, and 5a only on the warmest hills above Bath. Timing matters as much as depth. A tree that hasn't hardened off can die in an early freeze it would shrug off in January, so we taper water from mid-August in zone 4 and colder.

What you can grow here

The hills and benches above Bath, Savona and Keuka Lake, −20°F to −23°F (Sharps Hill, Hickory Hill, Coss Corners, East Union, Unionville, North Thurston, North Urbana, Mitchellsville, Towlesville, Sonora). Trees rated −25°F and colder fit, and these spots read warm at bloom: Northern Spy, Liberty and Cox Orange Pippin (−30°F) apples; D'Anjou, Bartlett and Seckel (−35°F) pears; Stanley, Italian and Superior (−35°F) plums, with Toka to pollenize Superior (our pollination maps show what pairs with what); Rainier and Lapins cherries; Harlayne and Westcot apricots; Blushingstar, Contender and Siberian C peaches; Marquette and Concord (−30°F) grapes.

The Cohocton valley, Pleasant Valley and the Hornell and Canisteo hills, −24°F to −26°F (Bath, Kanona, Avoca, Wheeler, Savona, Campbell, Hammondsport, Howard, Burns, Cameron, Bald Hill, Hinkley Hill). Trees rated −30°F and colder: Honeycrisp, Empire and Liberty apples; D'Anjou and Bartlett pears; Toka, Superior and Stanley plums; Lapins, Rainier and Montmorency (−30°F) cherries; Siberian C and Contender peaches; Marquette and Concord grapes. Blushingstar is worth a try on the best ground. In the creek bottoms, skip the stone fruit and pears and lean on apples and bush fruit.

Hornell, the Canisteo floor and the Alfred and Andover corner, −27°F to −30°F (Hornell, North Hornell, Arkport, Canisteo, Almond, Alfred, Alfred Station, Andover, Hartsville). Trees rated −35°F and colder: Honeycrisp, Haralson, Zestar!® and Wealthy apples; Kerr and Centennial applecrabs; Summercrisp (−40°F) and Bolshaya pears off the low spots; Toka, Black Ice (−40°F) and Brookred plums; Evan's Bali and Meteor (−40°F) tart cherries; Honeyberry, Montana Black Currant (−50°F) and Red Lake currant (−40°F), which both fruited well for us in 2026 after their flower buds saw about 22°F. Trees rated −30°F clear Hornell and Canisteo with little to spare; around Alfred Station they'd have none.

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. Test drainage before planting near the river, and stay off the flood plain; these floors flooded hard in 1935, 1936 and 1972. The local troubles on record are spring freezes after early warm spells, hard winter freezes like 2022's, and floods. Our cold hardiness calculator sorts everything we sell by the coldest temperature it has come through.

Fruit history here

The fruit story here is grapes on Keuka Lake. Reverend Bostwick planted vines at Hammondsport about 1830. In 1860 Charles Champlin and 12 investors founded the Pleasant Valley Wine Company at Rheims, recognized as the first bonded winery in the country, and its sparkling wine earned the area the name "the Reims of America." Vineyard acreage around Hammondsport went from 3,000 acres in 1870 to 14,500 in 1889. Dr. Konstantin Frank planted European vinifera on Keuka's west shore in 1958, arguing it could take Upstate New York cold, an idea that was ridiculed at first, and Walter S. Taylor founded Bully Hill in 1970 on French-American hybrids. We haven't found an orchard history for the Canisteo or Cohocton valleys.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Hornell, NY?

On the bad night we plan for, downtown Hornell is −28°F, MFTC zone 4a, and North Hornell, Arkport, Canisteo, Almond and Alfred are 4a too. USDA's 2023 map is built on the average winter's coldest night, and one county-level guide puts most of Steuben County in USDA zone 5b; our typical winter for Hornell, −13°F, fits that. The hills around the city plan for −24°F to −25°F.

What zone is Bath, NY?

Bath plans for −25°F, MFTC zone 4b, with a typical winter of −10°F; the Bath station's coldest on record is −25°F (February 18, 1979). The benches around the village plan for −22°F, and Sharps Hill and Hickory Hill plan for −20°F (5a). USDA's zone runs warmer because it's built on the average winter, not the bad night.

When is the last frost in Hornell and Bath?

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 median last 32°F frost is May 16 at Bath and May 19 at the Almond Dam station near Hornell. One year in ten it comes after May 23 at Bath and May 27 at Almond Dam. Both get about 144 frost-free days.

Can you grow peaches around Hornell or Bath?

Yes, with a hardy tree in the right spot. Siberian C (−35°F) and Contender (−30°F) both clear Hornell's −28°F, and Blushingstar (−25°F) fits the hills around Bath. Plant them on slopes that read 10°F to 16°F warmer than downtown Hornell at bloom, like Bald Hill or Sharps Hill, not in creek bottoms like Webbs Crossing.

Does Keuka Lake freeze over?

Only in the coldest winters, not every year (Glenn Curtiss flew off its ice in 1908). At bloom the south end around Hammondsport is still frost-prone: Keuka was the hardest-hit lake in the May 2023 freeze and again in April 2026.

Is Hornell in the Finger Lakes?

Steuben County lies wholly inside the Finger Lakes wine region and is also part of the Southern Tier. Hornell sits in the Canisteo Valley, which drains south to the Susquehanna, while Keuka Lake and Pleasant Valley, north of Bath, drain to Lake Ontario.

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.