Fruit Trees for Illinois

These are the cold hardy fruit trees, berries and vines that grow in Illinois, picked against real winter lows, not an average. Across the 4 areas we've mapped in Illinois, the cold to plan for runs from −20°F on the warmest ground around Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley to −37°F in the cold pockets around Dubuque, Galena and the Mississippi bluffs. Pick your area below and the list trims itself to what has come through that cold. Everything here ships bare root in spring 2027.

What fruit trees grow in Illinois?

The best fruit trees for Illinois are the ones that have already lived through the cold your spot gets. On typical Illinois ground (−28°F, the middle of our mapped areas), 239 of the plants we're selling for spring 2027 have come through that cold: apples like Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite and Haralson; pears like Larinskaya, Krazulya and Bartlett; plums like Italian, Tipson and Native American plum; tart and bush cherries like Montmorency, Romeo and Juliet; apricots like Westcot and Manchurian. Berry bushes are the safest bet anywhere in the state.

Peaches are a stretch on most of the ground we've mapped in Illinois. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley; Davenport, Moline and the Quad Cities; and Rockford and the Rock River. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot. Plant them up on a bench or slope, never the low spot.

For your exact address, the cold hardiness calculator gives you the number to plan for and every plant we grow that has survived it.

Illinois growing zones for fruit trees

Most of the ground we've mapped in Illinois falls in MFTC zones 3 and 4, with the warmest spots in zone 5a (−20°F) and the coldest bottoms down in zone 3a (−37°F). That's colder than USDA's map, and it's on purpose: USDA's zone comes from an average winter's coldest night, ours from the bad winter a tree has to live through. Every plant we sell is zoned to the coldest temperature it has actually survived. Here's each area we've mapped, with the planning low for most of its ground and the range from its warmest benches to its coldest bottoms.

Shopping by zone instead? Start with our zone 3 fruit trees, zone 4 fruit trees and zone 5 fruit trees. A few spots on each map run a zone colder than the town next door, and that's what the maps are for.

Dubuque, Galena and the Mississippi bluffs. In the January 2009 cold snap, NOAA's Lock and Dam 11 station on the river at Dubuque read −37°F while the airport station, 420 feet higher on the upland, read −30°F.

Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley. On January 31, 2019, the Aurora airport in Sugar Grove read −32°F while O'Hare read −23°F.

See every Illinois map on our Illinois microclimate maps page.

Native fruit we grow

If you're after native fruit, huckleberry, Native American plum, American elderberry, Montana black currant and serviceberry are the ones we grow. They feed birds and wildlife and shrug off cold that would kill a lot of grafted trees.

Getting fruit trees to make it in Illinois

Cold is only part of it. Plant on a slope or bench, not the bottom of a draw, since cold air drains downhill and pools in the low spots on a still night, and that's where blossoms get frosted. Give trees shelter from the wind, put them on drip so the soil never dries out through the summer, then taper it off from mid August so they harden off before the first hard freeze. Paint the trunks white against sunscald (how we do it) and put a quarter inch hardware cloth guard, at least two feet tall, around each trunk for voles and ground squirrels.

Rootstock matters as much as the variety. In the coldest ground we graft onto hardy standard rootstocks, and our rootstock guide explains the tradeoffs. Most apples, pears, plums and sweet cherries need a second variety blooming at the same time to pollenize them; our pollination maps show which ones pair up. Short on room for two? Lapins sweet cherry, Contender peach and Westcot apricot are self fertile, and so is everything in our self fertile fruit trees collection.

Ordering bare root trees for Illinois

Everything on this page ships bare root in spring 2027, dormant, with the roots wrapped in moist sawdust and a vapor barrier, so you can plant as soon as your ground can be worked. Put your order in over the winter, since the best sellers run out. Not sure what to pick? Fill out our We Pick Your Trees form and we'll put a list together for your spot, or email us through the contact page with where you are and what you want to grow. Every plant is guaranteed to bud out (details in our FAQ).

Questions people ask about fruit trees in Illinois

Can you grow fruit trees in Illinois?

Yes. The trick is picking varieties zoned to the cold your spot actually gets. Our maps put most of the Illinois ground we've mapped at −28°F for planning, and 239 of the plants we're selling for spring 2027 have come through that, from hardy apples and pears to plums, tart cherries and berries.

What are the best apple trees for Illinois?

For most of the Illinois ground we've mapped we'd start with Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite, Haralson and Zestar!®. Each has come through −28°F or colder. All of them clear even the coldest pockets we've mapped in Illinois (−37°F).

What growing zone is Illinois for fruit trees?

Most of the ground we've mapped in Illinois is MFTC zones 3 to 4, running from −20°F on the warmest ground around Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley down to −37°F around Dubuque, Galena and the Mississippi bluffs. USDA's map reads warmer because it's built on an average winter, not the bad one.

Can cherry trees grow in Illinois?

Tart and bush cherries, yes: Montmorency tart cherry, Romeo dwarf cherry and Juliet dwarf cherry all fit most of the Illinois ground we've mapped. Sweet cherries can too. Lapins sweet cherry, one of the hardiest we sell, has come through −35°F, colder than most ground here plans for. Plant it up on a slope, since bloom frost is the bigger risk.

Can you grow peaches in Illinois?

On the warmest ground, yes. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley; Davenport, Moline and the Quad Cities; and Rockford and the Rock River. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot.

Where is the warmest ground for fruit trees in Illinois?

On our maps the warmest growing ground is Westmont in Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley (−20°F), then Davenport and Rock Island bluffs in Davenport, Moline and the Quad Cities (−25°F) and Caledonia in Rockford and the Rock River (−26°F). Those numbers are the planning lows, the cold a tree there has to live through in a bad winter.

Where are the coldest frost pockets in Illinois?

The coldest spots on our Illinois maps are Rodden in Dubuque, Galena and the Mississippi bluffs (−37°F), Hickory Grove in Davenport, Moline and the Quad Cities (−31°F), and Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley (−30°F). Low ground like that is where cold air pools on a still night, so it runs colder than the town nearby.

What's the coldest temperature on Illinois's microclimate maps?

The coldest reading on our Illinois maps is −37°F at Lock and Dam 11 on January 17, 2009, on the Dubuque, Galena and the Mississippi bluffs map.

When is the last frost in Illinois?

It depends a lot on where you are. On the maps that give a typical last 32°F spring frost, it runs from April 21 at O'Hare and Aurora (Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley) to April 30 at the Dubuque airport (Dubuque, Galena and the Mississippi bluffs). Open the map for your area to see the station closest to you.

How long is the growing season in Illinois?

Our maps put the frost free season anywhere from about 150 days at the Streamwood station (Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox Valley) to about 198 days at Lock and Dam 15 at Rock Island (Davenport, Moline and the Quad Cities). That's why the area you're in matters as much as the state.

When should I plant fruit trees in Illinois?

In spring, as soon as the ground thaws and can be worked, while the trees are still dormant. We ship bare root in spring 2027 so the trees arrive dormant and ready to go in the ground.

Do you ship bare root fruit trees to Illinois?

Yes. We ship bare root trees, berries and vines to Illinois every spring, and you can also pick up in Missoula, Montana, if you choose that at checkout.

Fruit trees for other states

Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Or start from the fruit trees by state page.