Fruit Trees for Laconia, Meredith, Wolfeboro and the Lakes Region, New Hampshire

In May 2023 a freeze hit New Hampshire at peak apple bloom, and Belknap County growers lost half to nearly all of their apples, pears, European plums and sweet cherries. UNH Extension found the higher blocks came through better than the low ones, even on the same farm. Around the lakes of central New Hampshire, where you plant matters about as much as what you plant, and that's what this map of fruit trees for Laconia, Meredith, Wolfeboro and the Lakes Region is for.

It covers the Winnipesaukee shore from Laconia and Weirs Beach around through Gilford, Alton Bay, Wolfeboro, Tuftonboro, Moultonborough and Meredith, plus Squam Lake, Sanbornton, Sandwich and the Ossipee side out to Effingham. Farther south, the Concord, Manchester and Merrimack Valley map covers you; in Conway and North Conway, use the Mount Washington Valley map. 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, a conservative number for the bad winter night we'd plan a tree around. It's the number our cold hardiness calculator uses plus a little terrain detail. 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 zones are built on, which is why theirs read warmer. The spring layer shows how much warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Laconia on a still, clear night at bloom.

The middle of the growing ground plans for −23°F (MFTC 4b), the warmest 5 percent for −18°F or warmer and the coldest 5 percent for −27°F or colder. Laconia, the reference town, plans for −21°F (4b, typical winter −9°F). That's colder than anything the Lakeport 2 or Laconia airport stations have recorded since the 1995-96 winter (−16°F and −17°F), though Lakeport 2 read −24°F in January 1994. The warm end is The Ledges above Lakeport (−17°F) and Lakeport and Gilford village (−19°F), all MFTC 5a. The cold end is the Ossipee Lake country, where Effingham Falls and Effingham's Lords Hill district plan for −30°F, right on the line between 3b and 4a.

Why the map looks the way it does

The Lakes Region drains two ways. Most of it runs to the Merrimack: Winnipesaukee (504 feet) empties through Paugus Bay, the Lakeport Dam and Opechee Bay, runs a mile through downtown Laconia into Winnisquam (482 feet) and goes on to Franklin. The northeast drains to the Saco through Ossipee Lake (407 feet) and the Ossipee River, the lowest ground on the map. On a clear, still night most of a cold pool is made right on the floor as the ground loses heat to the sky, and more slides in off the slopes after sunset. So Effingham Falls and Lords Hill plan for −30°F. North of the lake lies the Ossipee sand plain, the flat bed of a glacial lake that once joined Ossipee and Silver lakes, now pitch pine barrens. The Forest Service finds frost pockets in northeastern pine barrens that freeze in every month of the year; we haven't found published readings from the Ossipee barrens themselves.

Lake Winnipesaukee works the other way. It's 71 square miles of water, 180 feet deep at the most, and it usually doesn't freeze over until late December or January (in the winter of 2023-24 ice-in wasn't declared until February 9, the latest ever). Open water holds heat and hands it to the shore. NOAA station records give Lakeport 2, on the channel between Paugus and Opechee bays, an average yearly low of −9°F, against −15°F at Tamworth 4 on the map's north edge. In the January 21, 1994 cold snap, Lakeport 2 read −24°F, Tamworth 3 −27°F and Plymouth, just west of the map, −35°F. Frozen water doesn't help, so the lake's biggest effect shows in the frost dates: a median 172 frost-free days at Lakeport 2 against 126 at Tamworth 4.

The shore isn't all alike. Wolfeboro Falls (531 feet, on the Smith River between Lake Wentworth and Wolfeboro Bay) ran a median 4°F colder than Lakeport on the year's coldest night over the 12 years both had on file, 14 miles apart. The map carries that east-side cold: Wolfeboro village plans for −26°F, MFTC 4a.

Above the floors sits the thermal belt, the band of slope that stays mild on still nights because the cold drains past it and pools below. Two small ranges give the region plenty of it: the Belknap Mountains above Gilford and Alton, and the Ossipee Mountains, the worn-down ring dike of an old volcano about 9 miles across. Around Tuftonboro the floor within 3 miles plans for −26°F and the slopes 100 to 700 feet up for −22°F. The old Wolfeboro station at 728 feet read −14°F in the February 1962 cold snap while the old Lakeport station read −20°F. On the spring layer the belt shows even more: Meredith Hill and Roland Park read 16°F warmer than Laconia at bloom. A Hungarian study of 69 clear, calm nights found a valley floor averaging 6.7°F colder than a slope 230 feet higher.

Draws and stream bottoms streak cold through the slopes, and the coldest spring readings of any named places on the map sit in them or right on the floor: West Center Harbor, Ames in Gilford and Sandwich Landing on Squam each read 5°F colder than Laconia at bloom.

That's the still-night pattern. Arctic air on a wind is different: there's no inversion, so the benches lose their edge. February 3 and 4, 2023 brought −21°F to the coldest parts of New Hampshire and killed the peach, sweet cherry and plum crops statewide, and in that May's bloom freeze, wind machines in Concord did nothing because there was no warm air above to pull down. The planning low comes from station records that hold both kinds of night. The spring layer is the still, clear pattern, the kind of night that usually does the damage at bloom.

Laconia, Lakeport, Weirs Beach and the Winnisquam shore

Laconia sits between Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam, with Paugus and Opechee bays inside the city; water is about a quarter of its area. Downtown, on the Winnipesaukee River at the south tip, plans for −21°F (4b). Lakeport, about 1.5 miles north on the dam channel, plans for −19°F, MFTC 5a, but it reads 2°F colder than Laconia at bloom, so the water's edge isn't the place for early bloomers. The Ledges, 0.7 miles east of Lakeport and 260 feet above the floor, plans for −17°F and reads 13°F warmer at bloom, the warmest planning low of any named village or neighborhood on the map. Wildwood Village plans for −18°F, Interlaken Park −19°F, and Mallard Cove, Pendleton Beach and Weirs Beach −20°F. Within 3 miles of downtown the floor plans for −21°F and the benches −18°F.

Across Winnisquam, Sanbornton sits up in the fork of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers. The village at 804 feet, 240 feet above the floor, plans for −21°F and reads 10°F warmer than Laconia at bloom, and Sanbornton Square at 903 feet plans for −20°F and reads 12°F warmer. Winnisquam village, at the bridge between the lake's two basins, plans for −22°F, and Gardners Grove, The Plains and Belmont Junction south of the lake −24°F. On the warm spots, Blushingstar peach, which came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024 without damage, and Lapins and Black Gold sweet cherries (−35°F) belong on ground like The Ledges.

Gilford, Glendale and the Belknap Range

Gilford climbs from the shore at Glendale to Belknap Mountain (2,382 feet), the high point of Belknap County, and the Gunstock River drains much of the town to the lake. Gilford village, 180 feet above the floor at 738 feet, plans for −19°F, MFTC 5a, and reads 7°F warmer than Laconia at bloom. The map puts the village spot in a draw, where cold off the range drains past, so the side slopes beat the brook bottom. Yale Estates at 1,089 feet plans for −20°F and reads 12°F warmer, and Samoset −20°F and 10°F warmer. The shore is mixed: Glendale and Dockham Shore plan for −20°F, Lake Shore Park −21°F, and Ames −22°F with that spring reading 5°F colder than Laconia. Within 3 miles the floor plans for −21°F and the benches −18°F. On the slopes, Siberian C peach (−35°F) and Westcot apricot (−45°F) have hardiness to spare, and the warm spring reading is what gives them a shot at a crop.

Meredith, Center Harbor and Meredith Neck

Meredith Village sits at the head of Meredith Bay with Lake Waukewan on its west edge. The village, 20 feet above the floor, plans for −22°F (4b, typical winter −11°F) and reads 3°F warmer than Laconia at bloom; within 3 miles the floor plans for −23°F and the benches −19°F. Meredith Hill, out by Leavitt Mountain in the southwest, 610 feet above the floor at 1,221 feet, plans for −18°F (5a) and reads 16°F warmer. The Meredith 3 NNE station at 861 feet has the mildest 30-year number of any station on the map, −18°F, though from only 10 years of records. Out on Meredith Neck, Leavitt Park and Lovejoy Sands plan for −22°F.

Center Harbor's village rises gently from the shore toward Sunset Hill (1,121 feet); its historic district plans for −22°F and reads 3°F warmer than Laconia at bloom. About 4 miles west of Meredith, West Center Harbor sits in a drainage channel on the floor and plans for −24°F. Hermit Woods Winery makes wine, mead and cider from local fruit.

Holderness, Squam Lake and Sandwich

Squam Lake sits at 561 feet and drains west through Little Squam and the Squam River to the Pemigewasset at Ashland, and its side runs colder. Holderness village, 10 feet above the floor, plans for −24°F with a typical winter of −14°F, 5°F colder than downtown Laconia's. Around Holderness the floor plans for −24°F and the benches −21°F. The Squam shore runs −23°F to −25°F (the Rockywold and Deephaven camps −23°F, Willoughby Point −25°F), and Sandwich Landing plans for −25°F.

Sandwich, under Sandwich Dome (3,993 feet, the Carroll County high point) on the line between the Lakes Region and the White Mountains Region, is one of the clearest belt-versus-floor cases on the map. Center Sandwich, 30 feet above the floor, plans for −26°F, MFTC 4a, and reads 3°F warmer than Laconia at bloom. The Lower Corner district, 1.7 miles away and 200 feet above the floor at 793 feet, plans for −22°F and reads 13°F warmer. East of the village the cold gathers on the Bearcamp side, which drains east to Ossipee Lake: East Sandwich plans for −26°F and Bennett Corners −28°F.

Moultonborough, Tuftonboro and the Ossipee Mountain slopes

Behind the north shore stand Red Hill (2,029 feet) and the Ossipee Mountains, topped by Mount Shaw (2,990 feet). Moultonborough village, 90 feet above the floor, plans for −23°F and reads 9°F warmer than Laconia at bloom, while Lees Mill, 1.1 miles off on a river bottom, plans for −25°F and reads about the same as Laconia. Around the village the floor plans for −25°F and the benches −23°F.

Tuftonboro splits wider. Its town spot, 330 feet above the floor at 991 feet, plans for −21°F and reads 14°F warmer than Laconia at bloom, and Center Tuftonboro plans for −22°F and reads 12°F warmer. Melvin Village, down on Melvin Bay 4 miles away, plans for −25°F and reads 1°F warmer; Wawbeek, on a 12 percent slope 1.3 miles from it, plans for −23°F but reads 12°F warmer. Put plums like Superior (−35°F) and any apricots up the slope, and keep the shore flats for apples.

Wolfeboro and Lake Wentworth

Wolfeboro, which calls itself the "Oldest Summer Resort in America," sits at the head of Wolfeboro Bay with Lake Wentworth (534 feet) behind it, joined to the big lake by the Smith River through Wolfeboro Falls. The village plans for −26°F, MFTC 4a, with a typical winter of −14°F and a spring reading 2°F colder than Laconia. Wolfeboro Falls plans for −25°F. Around the village the floor plans for −26°F and the benches −22°F.

The better ground is up the hills. Keewayden plans for −21°F and reads 11°F warmer at bloom, Goose Corner −21°F, and North Wolfeboro, at 969 feet, −22°F and 11°F warmer. East of the village it's cold again: Wolfeboro Center plans for −24°F, South Wolfeboro −25°F, and Triggs Landing, on river-bottom ground 3.6 miles east, −26°F. On the village flats pick from the −30°F and colder list (Liberty, Honeycrisp, Cortland) and save stone fruit for the slopes. Winnipesaukee Winery grows cold-hardy grapes here.

Alton, Alton Bay, Middleton and the south end

Alton Bay, a narrow inlet about 4 miles long, is the lake's old outlet: before glacial debris blocked it, Winnipesaukee drained southeast through it toward the Atlantic. Now the Merrymeeting River runs in at its tip. Alton Bay village sits right on the floor and plans for −23°F, reading 1°F colder than Laconia at bloom; the main village a mile south plans for −23°F and the Monument Square district −24°F. Within 3 miles the floor plans for −24°F and the benches −20°F.

The slopes above the bay warm fast. West Alton, on an 18 percent hillside, plans for −20°F and reads 10°F warmer at bloom, and East Alton, 320 feet above the floor at 870 feet, −21°F and 14°F warmer. Southeast of the lake, Middleton, on a bench 140 feet up, plans for −21°F and reads 10°F warmer; Coburn plans for −20°F and Brookfield −24°F.

Ossipee, Effingham and the Ossipee Lake bottoms

Ossipee Lake, at 407 feet the lowest water on the map, takes in the Pine, Beech, Bearcamp and Lovell rivers and lets out the Ossipee River east past Effingham Falls. Effingham Falls, the old mill village, plans for −30°F with a typical winter of −17°F and reads 4°F colder than Laconia at bloom. The Lords Hill Historic District in Effingham, despite the name, sits on the floor at 409 feet and plans for −30°F too. Long Sands, Ossipee Lake Shores, Ossipee Valley and Pine River plan for −28°F, and West Ossipee and Whittier −27°F. Around Lords Hill even the benches plan for only −25°F.

Center Ossipee, on a terrace 120 feet above the floor, plans for −24°F and reads 9°F warmer than Laconia at bloom, and Roland Park, up at 1,100 feet, plans for −21°F and reads 16°F warmer. Around Center Ossipee the floor plans for −28°F and the benches −24°F. The town ships sand and gravel, and the Ossipee River country holds New Hampshire's largest stratified-drift aquifer. That sand drains fast, which roots like, but it's dry, acidic and lean, so use drip irrigation and work in organic matter. Down low, plant the hardiest: Haralson (−45°F), Kerr applecrab (−50°F) and honeyberry (−50°F).

Spring frost, ice-out and bloom

Ice-out on Winnipesaukee is called when the MS Mount Washington can reach all five of its ports. Over 1887 to 2025 the median date is April 20, and the 1996 to 2025 average is April 13; the earliest was March 17, 2024. Even then the water stays cold, first passing 50°F on May 5 in one 2025 lake log. Around the Great Lakes, cold spring water holds bloom back on the shore. We haven't found anyone who has measured that here, but the frost dates show the shore clearing frost early.

NOAA station records for 1991 to 2020 put the median last 32°F frost at Lakeport 2 on April 29 and the last 28°F on April 14, with the last 32°F after May 15 one year in ten. At Tamworth 4 those dates are May 18, May 8 and June 3; at Plymouth, May 24, May 16 and June 5. The shore clears frost about three weeks earlier.

The spring layer follows the winter drainage. Open blossoms of nearly every tree fruit start dying near 28°F, and NC State's orchard guide notes that 3°F to 4°F can separate no crop from a full one. On May 18 and 19, 2023, lows ran from 22°F at Lebanon to 31°F at Farmington, just south of the map, where Butternut Farm came through nearly unhurt and the owner credits its elevation and nearness to the coast. A Concord farm's low fields ran about 5°F colder than its hilltop. In 2012 an early spring brought blossoms out and a hard frost took them; one forum post quotes a Lakes Region orchard operator putting the loss at up to 80 percent.

Site comes first; the FAO's frost manual calls it "the single most important method of frost protection." Apricots, peaches, sweet cherries and plums go highest, apples and haskap lower (open haskap flowers take 19°F). Only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set for a crop, and most fruit can lose half its bloom or more and come out fine. Through bloom, mow under 2 inches, don't till, and water a day or two before a frost night; frost cloth of 1.5 ounces per square yard gains about 8°F. In fall, Lakeport's median first 28°F comes November 3 and Tamworth 4's October 8, and a freeze before trees harden kills at temperatures a January tree shrugs off, so taper water from mid-August.

What the weather records say

The coldest NOAA station readings just outside the map are Franklin (390 feet) at −40°F on February 16, 1943, Plymouth at −38°F on February 3, 1898 and Campton at −38°F on January 14 and 15, 1957. Inside it, Wolfeboro Falls has −31°F (February 16, 1943), the old Lakeport station −29°F (January 14, 1957) and Lakeport 2 −24°F (January 21, 1994); East Sandwich (−19°F) and Meredith 3 NNE (−15°F) have only about 10 years on file. The average yearly low runs −9°F at Lakeport 2, −15°F at Tamworth 4, −18°F at Plymouth and −20°F at Tamworth 3.

We haven't confirmed USDA's 2023 zone by ZIP here, and the pages that rank for it disagree (one puts Laconia in 6a, another the region in 4b to 5b). Lakeport 2's −9°F average falls in USDA's 6a range (−10°F to −5°F), and Tamworth 4's −15°F sits at the cold edge of 5b. Our zones run colder because they're built on the bad night: Lakeport is MFTC 5a, Laconia 4b and Wolfeboro 4a.

What you can grow here

The warm shore and the benches, −21°F or warmer

Laconia, Lakeport, The Ledges, Weirs Beach, Gilford, Meredith Hill, Sanbornton, Middleton, and slopes like West Alton, East Alton and upper Tuftonboro. Apples: Honeycrisp, Macoun, Liberty, Northern Spy and Baldwin (−25°F). Pears: Seckel and D'Anjou. Plums: Mount Royal and Italian. Sweet cherries Lapins and Rainier, and peaches Contender and Blushingstar, on the slopes with the best spring readings. Tom McCamant grows Contender at Forbidden Fruit Orchard in Paradise, Montana, and it's the only commercial peach we know of that has taken −32°F. Grapes: Brianna, La Crescent and Frontenac, the hybrids WineAmerica names for New Hampshire's harsh-winter country.

Most shore villages and the Squam side, −22°F to −26°F

Meredith, Center Harbor, Moultonborough, Alton, Holderness, Melvin Village, Wolfeboro, Center Ossipee and Center Sandwich. Apples: Cortland, Wolf River, Zestar!®, Empire and Liberty (−30°F). Pears, on the rises: Flemish Beauty, Luscious and Nova. Plums: Superior, Underwood and Pipestone. Tart cherries Meteor and Evan's Bali. Siberian C peach (−35°F) has the hardiness, but give it a bench, not the flats. Berries: the Cold Climate Blueberry Bundle, Red Lake currant and Boyne raspberry.

The Ossipee and Bearcamp bottoms and the cold coves, −27°F to −30°F

Effingham Falls, Lords Hill, Long Sands, Ossipee Lake Shores, Ossipee Valley, Pine River, West Ossipee, Whittier and Bennett Corners. This is apple, haskap and bush fruit ground. Apples: Haralson, Frostbite and Sweet Sixteen, and applecrabs Kerr and Centennial; Ed Schultz saw zero winter injury on Centennial after a winter that hit −47°F. Plums: Toka and Brookred. Bush fruit: honeyberry, Montana Black Currant, Nanking Cherry and Juliet dwarf cherry. Leave pears, apricots and peaches for the benches above.

Rootstocks, site and local troubles

UNH suggests M.26 or Bud 9 for dwarf apples and Gisela for sweet cherries. In lab tests half of M.26 and Bud 9 roots die at about 7°F to 11°F, so they rely on the soil and snow above them: keep the snow on, mulch, and keep the soil moist going into winter. At Ed Schultz's farm in Gallatin Gateway, Montana, Bud 118 has seen near −50°F under snow with no rootstock damage. Plant on a slope (Montana State recommends a 4 to 8 percent grade), off the floor and off the windswept top; an east slope is ideal, and clear out brush that dams cold air below the trees. Plant two varieties of apples, pears, hybrid plums and sweet cherries, and check our pollination maps for which ones pollenize which. Guard trunks from voles with 1/4-inch hardware cloth 18 inches tall and 1 inch into the ground, fence deer at 6 to 8 feet, pick scab-resistant apples like Liberty, Freedom and Pristine, and watch for plum curculio for 2 to 3 weeks after bloom.

Fruit history here

Meredith's early farmers grew corn, wheat, rye and potatoes, and the town became known for its apple orchards. Colonial settlers called the Ossipee sands "barren," good for white pine ship masts and pitch pine caulking, not crops. Apple Ed's stand on Moultonborough Neck Road sold Honeycrisp and Macoun until Ed retired. Today Surowiec Farm in Sanbornton grows Paula Red, McIntosh and Cortland for picking, and Stone Mountain Farm in Belmont grows nearly 40 apple varieties.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Laconia, NH?

We haven't confirmed USDA's 2023 zone for Laconia's ZIP, and published pages disagree, from 6a for Laconia to 4b to 5b for the region. Lakeport's NOAA station averages −9°F for the year's coldest night, which sits in USDA's 6a range. On the bad night we plan for, downtown Laconia is −21°F, MFTC 4b, and Lakeport is −19°F, MFTC 5a. USDA's zones are built on an average winter, ours on the bad night.

When is the last frost in Laconia?

At the Lakeport 2 station the median last 32°F frost is April 29 and the last 28°F is April 14 (1991 to 2020), and one year in ten the last 32°F comes after May 15. Inland it's much later: May 18 at Tamworth 4 and May 24 at Plymouth. Draws and low spots by the water can run 5°F colder than Laconia on a still bloom night.

When does the ice go out on Lake Winnipesaukee?

The median ice-out over 1887 to 2025 is April 20, and the 1996 to 2025 average is April 13. The earliest was March 17, 2024 and the latest May 12, 1888. The water stays cold for weeks after, which keeps the shore cool through April.

Can you grow peaches in the Lakes Region?

On the warm ground the tree can live: Laconia plans for −21°F, Lakeport −19°F and The Ledges −17°F, and Siberian C (−35°F), Contender (−30°F) and Blushingstar (−25°F) all clear that. The crop's the hard part. UNH limits peaches to frost-free sites in extreme southern New Hampshire, February 2023's −21°F killed peach buds statewide, and peaches bloom early, so plant them on the warmest slope with the best spring reading.

Where are the frost pockets in the Lakes Region?

The biggest is the Ossipee Lake country on the Saco side, where Effingham Falls and Lords Hill plan for −30°F and Long Sands, Ossipee Lake Shores, Ossipee Valley and Pine River for −28°F. On bloom nights the coldest named spots are draws and low spots by the water: West Center Harbor, Ames in Gilford and Sandwich Landing on Squam each read about 5°F colder than Laconia. Around the big lake, low ground on the bays runs colder than the slopes above it, like Wolfeboro village at −26°F and Melvin Village at −25°F.

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.