Fruit Trees for Michigan

These are the cold hardy fruit trees, berries and vines that grow in Michigan, picked against real winter lows, not an average. Across the 7 areas we've mapped in Michigan, the cold to plan for runs from −14°F on the warmest ground around Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay to −42°F in the cold pockets around Iron Mountain, Kingsford and the Menominee River. 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 Michigan?

The best fruit trees for Michigan are the ones that have already lived through the cold your spot gets. On typical Michigan ground (−30°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 Michigan. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay; Big Rapids, Cadillac and Clare; and Marquette, Ishpeming and Negaunee. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot. Where the season's short, like Houghton and the Keweenaw, go with Contender peach (−30°F), which ripens earlier. 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.

Michigan growing zones for fruit trees

Most of the ground we've mapped in Michigan falls in MFTC zones 3 to 5, with the warmest spots in zone 5b (−14°F) and the coldest bottoms down in zone 2b (−42°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 2 fruit trees, 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.

Iron Mountain, Kingsford and the Menominee River. On February 17, 1979, the Brule Island station in the Florence County uplands hit −48°F while the river station in Kingsford, 13 miles away, read −34°F.

Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay. In the February 2015 cold snap, Cherry Capital Airport read −22°F, the Leelanau research farm −14°F and Fife Lake −29°F. Around Traverse City, where you plant decides which winter, and which bloom nights, your trees get.

See every Michigan map on our Michigan 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 Michigan

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 Michigan

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 Michigan

Can you grow fruit trees in Michigan?

Yes. The trick is picking varieties zoned to the cold your spot actually gets. Our maps put most of the Michigan ground we've mapped at −30°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 Michigan?

For most of the Michigan ground we've mapped we'd start with Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite, Haralson and Zestar!®. Each has come through −30°F or colder. In the coldest pockets, around Iron Mountain, Kingsford and the Menominee River (−42°F), Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite and Haralson still clear it; the others want better ground.

What growing zone is Michigan for fruit trees?

Most of the ground we've mapped in Michigan is MFTC zones 3 to 5, running from −14°F on the warmest ground around Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay down to −42°F around Iron Mountain, Kingsford and the Menominee River. USDA's map reads warmer because it's built on an average winter, not the bad one.

Can cherry trees grow in Michigan?

Tart and bush cherries, yes: Montmorency tart cherry, Romeo dwarf cherry and Juliet dwarf cherry all fit most of the Michigan 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 Michigan?

On the warmest ground, yes. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay; Big Rapids, Cadillac and Clare; and Marquette, Ishpeming and Negaunee. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot. Where the season's short, like Houghton and the Keweenaw, go with Contender peach (−30°F), which ripens earlier.

Where is the warmest ground for fruit trees in Michigan?

On our maps the warmest growing ground is Bingham in Traverse City and Grand Traverse Bay (−14°F), then Mount Pleasant in Big Rapids, Cadillac and Clare (−16°F) and Copper Harbor in Houghton and the Keweenaw (−17°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 Michigan?

The coldest spots on our Michigan maps are Kelso Junction in Iron Mountain, Kingsford and the Menominee River (−42°F), Wolverine in Petoskey, Charlevoix and Gaylord (−38°F), and Hartley in Ironwood, Hurley and the Gogebic Range (−37°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 Michigan's microclimate maps?

The coldest reading on our Michigan maps is −51°F at Vanderbilt 11ENE on February 9, 1934, on the Petoskey, Charlevoix and Gaylord map.

When is the last frost in Michigan?

It depends a lot on where you are. On the maps that give a typical last 32°F spring frost, it runs from May 4 at the Marquette station (Marquette, Ishpeming and Negaunee) to May 22 at the Cadillac airport (Big Rapids, Cadillac and Clare). Open the map for your area to see the station closest to you.

How long is the growing season in Michigan?

Our maps put the frost free season anywhere from about 124 days at Ironwood and Hurley (Ironwood, Hurley and the Gogebic Range) to about 176 days at Charlevoix (Petoskey, Charlevoix and Gaylord). That's why the area you're in matters as much as the state.

When should I plant fruit trees in Michigan?

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 Michigan?

Yes. We ship bare root trees, berries and vines to Michigan 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, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, 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.