Fruit Trees for Montana

These are the cold hardy fruit trees, berries and vines that grow in Montana, picked against real winter lows, not an average. Across the 36 areas we've mapped in Montana, the cold to plan for runs from −19°F on the warmest ground around Flathead and Mission Valleys to −56°F in the cold pockets around Choteau and the Rocky Mountain Front. 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 Montana?

The best fruit trees for Montana are the ones that have already lived through the cold your spot gets. On typical Montana ground (−41°F, the middle of our mapped areas), 75 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 Summercrisp; plums like Native American plum, Prairie Red and Mount Royal; tart and bush cherries like Romeo, Juliet and Nanking; 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 Montana. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Flathead and Mission Valleys; Lower Clark Fork; and Missoula Valley. 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.

Montana growing zones for fruit trees

Most of the ground we've mapped in Montana falls in MFTC zones 2 to 4, with the warmest spots in zone 5a (−19°F) and the coldest bottoms down in zone 1a (−56°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 1 fruit trees, 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.

Choteau and the Rocky Mountain Front. Fairfield once went from 63°F to −21°F in twelve hours. Along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front the number to plan for runs from −37°F at Fairfield to −56°F in the Augusta basin, and chinook swings make it harder.

Flathead and Mission Valleys. On January 13, 2024, Creston hit −39°F while Blue Bay on Flathead Lake's east shore read −13°F. This map shows what the lake and the valley floors do to the cold at every spot from Whitefish to St. Ignatius.

See every Montana map on our Montana 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 Montana

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? Westcot apricot, Romeo dwarf cherry and Mount Royal plum are self fertile, and so is everything in our self fertile fruit trees collection.

Ordering bare root trees for Montana

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 Montana

Can you grow fruit trees in Montana?

Yes. The trick is picking varieties zoned to the cold your spot actually gets. Our maps put most of the Montana ground we've mapped at −41°F for planning, and 75 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 Montana?

For most of the Montana ground we've mapped we'd start with Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite, Haralson and Carroll. Each has come through −41°F or colder. In the coldest pockets, around Choteau and the Rocky Mountain Front (−56°F), stick to apples rated that cold, like Parkland, and the applecrabs.

What growing zone is Montana for fruit trees?

Most of the ground we've mapped in Montana is MFTC zones 2 to 4, running from −19°F on the warmest ground around Flathead and Mission Valleys down to −56°F around Choteau and the Rocky Mountain Front. USDA's map reads warmer because it's built on an average winter, not the bad one.

Can cherry trees grow in Montana?

Tart and bush cherries, yes: Romeo dwarf cherry, Juliet dwarf cherry and Nanking cherry all fit most of the Montana ground we've mapped. Sweet cherries are more of a gamble. Lapins sweet cherry, one of the hardiest we sell, has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try where most ground plans for that or warmer, like Bitterroot Valley, Missoula Valley and Lower Clark Fork. Plant it up on a slope, since bloom frost is the bigger risk.

Can you grow peaches in Montana?

On the warmest ground, yes. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Flathead and Mission Valleys; Lower Clark Fork; and Missoula Valley. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot.

Where is the warmest ground for fruit trees in Montana?

On our maps the warmest growing ground is Yellow Bay and Blue Bay in Flathead and Mission Valleys (−19°F), then Thompson Falls in Lower Clark Fork (Plains, Thompson Falls) (−21°F) and Lower Rattlesnake in Missoula Valley (−24°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 Montana?

The coldest spots on our Montana maps are Augusta in Choteau and the Rocky Mountain Front (−56°F), Wisdom in the Big Hole Valley (−54°F), and Indian Meadows in Lincoln and the upper Blackfoot (−53°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 Montana's microclimate maps?

The coldest reading on our Montana maps is −66°F at West Yellowstone on February 9, 1933, on the West Yellowstone and Island Park map.

When is the last frost in Montana?

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 Billings airport (Billings) to July 7 at Wisdom (the Big Hole Valley). Open the map for your area to see the station closest to you.

How long is the growing season in Montana?

Our maps put the frost free season anywhere from about 23 days at Wisdom (the Big Hole Valley) to about 156 days at the Billings airport (Billings). That's why the area you're in matters as much as the state.

When should I plant fruit trees in Montana?

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 Montana?

Yes. We ship bare root trees, berries and vines to Montana 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, Michigan, Minnesota, 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.