Fruit Trees for Lincoln, Seward, Crete and Waverly, Nebraska

On January 12, 1974, the Lincoln airport station, on open low ground northwest of town, read −33°F, the coldest reading in its 59 years on file. In the same cold snap the old Waste Water Treatment Plant station, 4 miles east, 20 ft lower and inside the city, bottomed at −22°F. That 11°F gap is the first thing to understand about fruit trees for Lincoln, Seward, Crete and Waverly: where your yard sits between the creek bottoms, the city and the higher ground matters more than which county it's in.

The map covers nearly all of Lancaster County (Lincoln, Waverly, Hickman, Bennet, Malcolm, Raymond, Davey, Denton, Sprague, Roca and Panama), eastern Seward County (Seward, Milford, Pleasant Dale and Garland), the northeast corner of Saline County (Crete and Dorchester), and Eagle and Greenwood to the east. 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 is a 30-year planning low, the same one our cold hardiness calculator uses, built from NOAA station records since the 1995-96 winter plus the lay of the land. It's a number to plan around, not the record. You also get the MFTC zone (that number in half zones), the typical winter (an ordinary year's coldest night, the kind of average USDA zones are built on) and the spring layer: how much warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Lincoln on a still, clear night at bloom.

Downtown Lincoln plans for −21°F, MFTC zone 4b, typical winter −9°F. Nine tenths of the growing ground falls between −26°F and −21°F, with the middle at −23°F. The warm end is the high ground around the city: Grandview Heights on the north side and Cheney at the southeast edge plan for −20°F (zone 5a), and Glacial Till Ridge, on the hills east of Raymond, −19°F. The cold end is in the west and southwest, where Riverside Park just north of Milford, Pleasant Hill south of Dorchester and Kramer southeast of Crete plan for −26°F. The spring layer spreads wider, from 6°F warmer than downtown at Melichar, west of town, to 8°F colder at Phantom Hills, north of it.

Why the map looks the way it does

This map sits across a divide. The middle and east drain to Salt Creek, which runs north through Lincoln to the Platte at Ashland; the USGS puts its basin's high ground at about 1,620 ft in the northwest and the creek's mouth at about 1,040 ft. The west side (Seward, Milford, Crete, Dorchester) drains south down the Big Blue toward Kansas. Neither valley is deep: even the roughest country, northwestern Lancaster County and the Bohemian Alps of east-central Seward County, has only 100 to 200 ft of local relief. That's plenty. Researchers in Oklahoma measured a 20°F difference across a hillside only about 40 ft tall.

On a clear, calm night the ground radiates its heat to the sky, the air touching it chills and gets heavy, and it slides into the nearest bottom: Salt Creek and its branches, like Oak Creek and Little Salt Creek from the north and Antelope Creek through the middle of town. Capitol Beach, on the Salt Creek floor west of downtown at 1,147 ft, plans for −24°F, and Woodlawn, on the bottom north of the airport, −25°F. Bottoms like these, and the saline flats Lincoln was laid out among, are the lowest, flattest ground around, and the cold that drains onto them has nowhere to go.

Climb out and it changes fast. The Antelope Creek neighborhood, 10 ft above its floor, plans for −23°F and reads 4°F colder than downtown on a bloom night. Sheridan Court, half a mile away and 100 ft up, plans for −21°F and reads 4°F warmer: 8°F apart on the night that decides the crop. That warmer band above the pool is the thermal belt, and Lincoln has two good pieces of it, the north side bench around Grandview Heights and the southeast upland out toward Cheney, 100 to 130 ft above the nearest floor. Michigan's fruit researchers found in 1936 that orchard ridges only 25 to 30 ft above the plain can be nearly as frost-free as high hills.

The city is the other big driver. Pavement and buildings hold heat on still nights, and a UNL study found dense Lincoln 2°F to 5°F warmer in the open than a rural site at Deer Springs Winery, about 11 miles out. NOAA station records agree: the airport ran a median 5°F colder than the treatment plant station in town over the 12 years both have on file, though in the December 1983 cold snap both read −27°F. Height above sea level buys you nothing here. Seward, 350 ft higher than the treatment plant, ran a median 4°F colder over 62 shared years. Height above your own floor is what counts: Lincoln 11 SW, on the upland south of Denton at 1,372 ft, ran a median 3°F warmer than Lincoln 8 ENE, on low ground east of town at 1,189 ft, over 23 years.

Water doesn't help. Lincoln is far from any big lake, and the lakes here, Branched Oak, Pawnee and the rest, are flood control reservoirs; we don't count on reservoirs for winter warmth. On the deepest arctic nights the whole map fills with cold: in the February 2021 cold snap the station lows ran from −31°F at the airport to −26°F at Friend 3E, just west of the map. Benches and town lots earn their keep on still, clear nights, the ones that kill blossoms.

Downtown Lincoln, the Haymarket and the Salt Creek bottoms

Lincoln started in 1856 as Lancaster, on the east bank of Salt Creek, drawn by the salt. Downtown, at 1,168 ft, plans for −21°F (zone 4b), typical winter −9°F, and the Haymarket, 10 ft above the floor, −22°F. Downtown sits on the floor yet plans 2°F warmer than the median floor within 3 miles (−23°F); town heat is a big part of that, and the map credits built-up ground with up to 2.5°F.

Cross the creek and the numbers drop. Capitol Beach, Pelican Bay and Interstate Land, on the floor at 1,144 to 1,147 ft, plan for −24°F and read 6°F to 8°F colder than downtown at bloom. Coddington Mill, Cushman Park and High Ridge/Cushman (on the floor despite the name) plan for −24°F too. North Bottoms, the old Volga German neighborhood, plans for −22°F and reads 3°F colder at bloom. Out by the airport Arnold Heights plans for −24°F, and Arbor, by the saline wetlands north of town, −22°F with a bloom reading 4°F colder than downtown.

Down here, plant for winter first: apples like Haralson and Honeycrisp (−45°F) and Liberty (−35°F), haskap and currants. For stone fruit downtown, set the tree within a few feet of a south or west wall, knowing town trees bloom earlier, which trades winter risk for spring risk.

Belmont, the Highlands and the north side bench

North of the bottoms the city climbs onto its best ground. Belmont, 70 ft above the floor, plans for −20°F, and Bel-Mar, Cedar Crest and Paul VI Heights −20°F, zone 5a. Grandview Heights, 130 ft above the floor at 1,274 ft, plans for −20°F (5a) and reads 5°F warmer than downtown at bloom. Riverside, on the North Bottoms floor 1.8 miles south and about 127 ft lower, plans for −23°F and reads 4°F colder: 3°F apart in winter, 9°F apart at bloom. The Highlands, 120 ft up, plan for −21°F and read 4°F warmer than downtown.

The old annexed towns to the east sit lower. University Place (annexed 1926) plans for −21°F, about even with downtown at bloom; Havelock (1930), on the floor, plans for −21°F and reads 2°F colder; Bethany −22°F and 3°F colder. Around Bethany the spread is sharp: Cotner Terrace reads 6°F colder than downtown at bloom, while Cotner College, a mile away and 100 ft up, reads 3°F warmer. The bench is where Lincoln's stone fruit belongs. Westcot apricot (−45°F), Contender peach (−30°F) and Lapins sweet cherry (−35°F) have room to spare at −20°F, and the −25°F peaches like Glohaven clear it too.

South and southeast Lincoln, from Near South to Cheney

Near South and Antelope Park plan for −21°F and run about even with downtown at bloom. College View (annexed 1929) plans for −22°F; Normal (1919), only 10 ft above its floor, −23°F and 3°F colder at bloom. Southern Hills, 110 ft up, plans for −21°F and reads 5°F warmer. The southeast upland is the highest ground around the city, 1,390 to 1,444 ft at its named places and 100 to 120 ft above the nearest floor. Cheney plans for −20°F (5a) and reads 4°F warmer at bloom; Appian Way plans for −20°F, and Heritage Lakes and Amber Hill Estates −21°F, both 4°F warmer. Sunset Ridge, at 1,444 ft, plans for −20°F but reads 1°F colder at bloom, so height alone doesn't settle it; the shape of the ground around you does.

Around Wilderness Park and the creeks southwest of town the low ground runs cold, and the names won't help you. Iron Ridge, on the floor at 1,193 ft, plans for −24°F and reads 8°F colder than downtown at bloom, and Foreman Ridge reads 8°F colder too. Wilderness Place, 1.2 miles from Iron Ridge and 100 ft up, plans for −21°F and reads 3°F warmer. Whispering Pines, in a draw, and Cardwell and The Bridges on the bottoms read 6°F to 7°F colder. Put the stone fruit on the rim and the apples, haskap and bush fruit on the floor.

West Lincoln, Emerald, Denton and Pleasant Dale

West Lincoln (annexed 1966) plans for −22°F and reads 3°F warmer than downtown at bloom. Past it is the clearest example on the map. Emerald, on the valley floor at 1,196 ft, plans for −24°F and reads 4°F colder than downtown at bloom. Emerald Heights, half a mile away and 90 ft up, plans for −22°F and reads 4°F warmer, and Melichar, 1.3 miles off and 130 ft above its floor, plans for −21°F and reads 6°F warmer, the warmest bloom reading of any named place.

Denton, on the creek bottom at 1,253 ft near the tallgrass at Spring Creek Prairie, plans for −24°F. The Lincoln 11 SW station on the upland south of town set its record of −28°F on February 16, 2021. Pleasant Dale, in Seward County, plans for −24°F and runs about even with downtown at bloom; its floor plans for −25°F and its bench ground −22°F.

Waverly, Raymond, Davey and the north county

Waverly, platted in 1870 on the railroad, is the lowest town on the map, at 1,122 ft on Salt Creek terraces of silt over sand and gravel. It plans for −22°F (zone 4b), typical winter −11°F, and reads 3°F colder than downtown at bloom; its floor plans for −23°F and its bench ground −21°F. Aspen Estates, half a mile off on the river bottom, reads 5°F colder at bloom, while Finigan Ridge, 4.3 miles west and 130 ft above its floor, plans for −21°F and reads 4°F warmer. Eagle, on US 34 in Cass County, sits 110 ft above its floor, plans for −21°F and reads 3°F warmer than downtown.

Raymond, on Oak Creek, plans for −21°F and reads 3°F colder at bloom. The hills east of Raymond hold the warmest named places on the map: Glacial Till Ridge and Maseks plan for −19°F (5a), and Northridge near Davey −20°F. The Raymond 2E station up there has a short record (2002 to 2014) that missed February 2021, so those warm numbers rest on less evidence than most of the map. Phantom Hills, in a draw 1.6 miles east of Glacial Till Ridge, plans for −22°F and reads 8°F colder than downtown at bloom, the coldest spring reading of any named place. Malcolm, between Branched Oak and Pawnee lakes, plans for −24°F.

Hickman, Roca, Bennet and the south county

Salt Creek starts in southern Lancaster County and runs north past Roca and Hickman, and that upper valley runs colder than the city. Hickman, right on the floor at 1,246 ft, plans for −25°F (on the 4a/4b line), typical winter −13°F, and reads 4°F colder than downtown at bloom; its bench ground plans for −21°F. Holland, 2.7 miles east and 90 ft up, plans for −22°F and reads 3°F warmer than downtown. Four Stones, on the floor, plans for −25°F and reads 7°F colder. Roca and Sprague plan for −24°F. Bennet plans for −25°F, zone 4a, with its bench ground at −22°F, and Panama, 70 ft above its floor, −22°F and even with downtown at bloom.

Seward, Milford, Crete and the Big Blue

The Big Blue runs south past Seward, Milford (named for a mill at a ford on the Blue) and Crete. Seward, at 1,489 ft, plans for −25°F, zone 4a, typical winter −13°F. The town sits 50 ft above its floor and reads 2°F warmer than downtown Lincoln at bloom, but its floor plans for −26°F, and there's no bench ground within 3 miles. Ruby, on the river bottom between Seward and Milford, plans for −26°F and reads 5°F colder. Milford plans for −25°F, right on the 4a/4b line, and reads 1°F warmer than downtown at bloom; Riverside Park, 0.9 miles north on the bottom, plans for −26°F (4a) and reads 4°F colder. Garland, in east-central Seward County, 130 ft above its floor, plans for −22°F, 3°F warmer than that floor.

Crete, home of Doane University, sits 10 ft above its floor, plans for −25°F (4a) and reads 3°F colder at bloom; its floor plans for −26°F and its bench ground −23°F. The Crete 4ESE station sits on the upland about 5 miles east-southeast of town, 108 ft higher, with 109 years on file and a record of −27°F. Kramer, about 1.5 miles south of it, plans for −26°F, the coldest named place on the map. Dorchester plans for −24°F. Farther west along the Platte, our Kearney, Grand Island and Platte map picks up.

Spring frost and bloom around Lincoln

The spring layer follows the same drainage as the winter number, only harder: 3°F to 6°F warmer than downtown on the benches, 4°F to 8°F colder in the bottoms and draws. Open blossoms of apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot and plum all start dying at about 28°F, according to Michigan State's fruit people. So on a still night when downtown sits at 32°F, Phantom Hills or Iron Ridge is down near 24°F, while Grandview Heights or Melichar is in the high 30s°F.

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 frost dates show the split. At the Lincoln airport station, on open low ground northwest of town, the median last 32°F comes April 24 and the last 28°F April 15; one year in ten the last 32°F comes May 12 or later, and the median first fall 32°F is October 11, for 166 frost-free days. Bench yards should run a little ahead of those dates. Lincoln 8 ENE, on low ground east of town, runs later: April 28, May 16 in a late year, 159 days. Lincoln 11 SW, on the upland south of Denton, shares the April 24 median but its late year comes May 4, and it gets 169 days. Raymond 2E, on the hills north of town, has the earliest median, April 18, from only 15 years.

In April 2021 Lancaster County Extension reported Lincoln lows of 27°F and 26°F on April 14 and 15 and 29°F on April 21, while Mead, north of the map, hit 24°F on April 22; the extension office judged Lincoln probably too warm for serious damage. Most fruit can lose half its blossoms or more and still crop (only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set), though cherries and grapes, which bear in clusters, forgive less.

So site first. Apricots, peaches and sweet cherries go highest, on bench ground that reads warm; apples, haskap (open flowers take 19°F) and currants go lower. Nebraska Extension says north or northeast slopes hold bloom back, and that woods or windbreaks along a planting's edge can trap cold air, so leave the cold an opening at the low end. Frost cloth of 0.5, 0.9 and 1.5 oz per square yard gains about 4°F, 6°F and 8°F on a still night.

What the weather records say

NOAA station records put the coldest reading on file inside the map at −33°F, at the Lincoln airport on January 12, 1974. Seward has −30°F (January 28, 1915 and January 27, 1936), the old treatment plant −29°F (January 19, 1892), Lincoln 11 SW −28°F, and Crete 4ESE and Lincoln 8 ENE −27°F.

The big outbreaks show the same split: in the January 1936 cold snap Seward read −30°F and the treatment plant in town −19°F. The airport's average yearly low on record is −14°F, in USDA's 5b range, and downtown's typical winter on our map, −9°F, is in 6a. USDA zones are built on that average night; ours on the bad one. NOAA station records show the worst night in about 30 winters runs a median 13°F below a station's average winter low.

What you can grow here

Winter doesn't rule much out here. Everything we sell rated −30°F or colder, which is most of the list, clears every named place on this map, and the −25°F trees fit the benches and most of the floor. So pick by bloom and site, and by how much room you want for another February 2021.

Lincoln's benches and the high ground, −19°F to −22°F

Grandview Heights, Belmont, the Highlands, Southern Hills, Cheney, Wilderness Place, Melichar, Glacial Till Ridge, Eagle, Holland and Garland. Apricots: Westcot (−45°F), Sungold (−40°F), Harlayne (−30°F). Peaches: Contender and Blushingstar (−30°F), Glohaven and Redstar (−25°F). 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. Sweet cherries: Lapins and White Gold (−35°F), Stella (−25°F). Plums: Superior (−35°F); Toka (−45°F) is a good pollenizer for Superior. Pear: Harrow Sweet (−30°F).

The Salt Creek floor and the east and south county, −22°F to −25°F

Capitol Beach, North Bottoms, Normal, the Wilderness Park bottoms, Woodlawn, Emerald, Waverly, Walton, Denton, Malcolm, Roca, Hickman, Sprague, Pleasant Dale and Dorchester. Apples: Haralson and Honeycrisp (−45°F), Zestar!® (−40°F), Liberty (−35°F), Wealthy (−50°F). Tart cherries: Meteor (−40°F), Montmorency (−35°F). Plums: Toka (−45°F) and Alderman (−40°F). Pear, on your highest spot: Luscious (−40°F). Haskap: honeyberry (−50°F). The −25°F trees clear this band on paper with little or no margin; if you plant them, give them your highest spot.

Seward, Milford, Crete, Bennet and the Big Blue bottoms, −25°F to −26°F

Seward, Ruby, Milford, Riverside Park, Crete, Shestak, Kramer, Pleasant Hill and Bennet. Apples: Kindercrisp, Wolf River and Prairie Sensation (−50°F). Applecrabs: Kerr (−50°F) and Trailman (−55°F); if you only plant one tree, make it one of these. Tart cherry: Evan's Bali (−45°F). Plum: Pipestone (−40°F). Pear, up off the bottoms: Summercrisp (−45°F). Stone fruit goes on ground that reads warm at bloom, like Seward's and Milford's town ground: Siberian C peach (−35°F), the hardiest peach we think is out there, and Westcot apricot. The −25°F peaches are worth a try there only against a south wall.

Berries and grapes, anywhere on the map

Montana Black Currant (−50°F), Red Lake currant (−40°F), Boyne raspberry (−50°F), Pixwell gooseberry (−40°F), aronia (−50°F), and Bluebell (−50°F) and Marquette (−35°F) grapes. Our pollination maps sort out which trees pollenize which.

Roots, site and local problems

Roots are the weak link, and snow protects them; at Ed Schultz's farm in Gallatin Gateway, Montana, Bud 118 apple rootstock has seen near −50°F under snow with no damage. Prairie wind scours snow off open ground and bare frozen soil kills roots, so mulch, hold snow where you can, and don't send the soil into winter bone dry. Taper water from mid-August so trees harden off. Pick an east-facing slope off the bottom and off a windswept top. Test drainage before you plant (dig 2 ft, fill, let it drain, refill; under 10 hours is well drained), especially on the saline, poorly drained soils of the lower Little Salt Creek valley.

Fire blight is the limiting problem for pears and apples here. For cedar-apple rust, Nebraska Extension says to remove cedars within 2 miles, spray, or plant resistant apples. Black knot is the worst plum problem locally, peaches get peach tree borer and bacterial canker, and hail, wind and drought round it out.

Fruit history here

Apples were growing here before Nebraska Territory was organized in 1854, and Robert W. Furnas of Brownville and J. Sterling Morton, the Arbor Day founder, pushed orchards hard. In 1914 the largest contiguous commercial orchard in the state was E. M. Pollard's 160 acres at Nehawka, east of this map, and the University of Nebraska started a University Fruit Farm near Union in 1917 and sold it in 1961. Weather ran the business: the state's apple crop was about 5.1 million bushels in 1911 and about 409,000 two years later.

Today James Arthur Vineyards near Raymond, which planted its first vines in 1992, and Roca Berry Farm, with apples, strawberries and raspberries, carry it on, and Martin's Hillside Orchard in Ceresco, just north of the map, grows apples and peaches. East toward the Missouri, our Omaha, Council Bluffs and Loess Hills map covers that country.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Lincoln, Nebraska?

On our map downtown Lincoln plans for −21°F, MFTC zone 4b, typical winter −9°F. The north side bench and the southeast upland plan for −20°F to −21°F (some of it 5a), the Salt Creek bottoms −24°F, and Seward and Crete −25°F (4a). USDA zones are built on an average winter, ours on the bad night you plan for.

When is the last frost in Lincoln?

At the Lincoln airport station, on open low ground northwest of town, NOAA's 1991 to 2020 records put the median last 32°F on April 24 and the last 28°F on April 15, with one year in ten running to May 12 or later. The median first fall 32°F is October 11, for 166 frost-free days. Lincoln 8 ENE, east of town, runs later (April 28).

Can you grow peaches in Lincoln, Nebraska?

Yes. Siberian C (−35°F), Contender and Blushingstar (−30°F) clear every named place on this map, and the −25°F peaches like Glohaven fit Lincoln's benches, which plan for −20°F to −22°F. Bloom is the gamble, so plant them on the north side bench or the southeast upland, where the spring layer reads 3°F to 5°F warmer than downtown.

Do sweet cherries grow in Lincoln?

Yes. Lapins, Gold, Black Gold and White Gold have come through −35°F and Rainier −30°F, so they clear the whole map. They bloom early, so give them your warmest spring ground and keep the bottoms for apples, haskap and bush fruit.

Where are the frost pockets around Lincoln?

Along Salt Creek and its branches. On a still bloom night Phantom Hills north of town reads 8°F colder than downtown, the coldest spring reading of any named place, and Pelican Bay by Capitol Beach and Iron Ridge near Wilderness Park also read 8°F colder. In winter the cold bottoms plan for −24°F to −25°F around Lincoln and −26°F on the Big Blue.

What zone are Seward and Crete?

Seward plans for −25°F, MFTC zone 4a, typical winter −13°F, and Crete plans for −25°F (4a) too. Milford plans for −25°F, right on the 4a/4b line, and the Big Blue bottoms nearby run −26°F. The Seward station's record is −30°F, set in 1915 and matched in 1936.

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.