Fruit Trees for North Conway, Fryeburg, Bethel and the Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire and Maine

On the morning of January 4, 2014, the airport station at Fryeburg read −29°F, while North Conway read −18°F and the summit of Mount Washington, more than a mile higher, read −17°F. The cold sinks here, and that's the first thing to know about fruit trees for North Conway, Fryeburg, Bethel and the Mount Washington Valley. On a clear, still night the cold made on the White Mountain slopes slides down the Ellis, the Saco and the Swift and settles on the floors, so a few hundred feet of height can move you half a zone or more.

The map runs from Jackson and North Conway down the Saco to Fryeburg and Brownfield, through the western Maine foothills around Lovell, Sweden and Bridgton, and along the Androscoggin from Berlin and Gorham to Bethel. West of the Presidentials, use the Littleton and Lancaster map; around Wolfeboro and Laconia, the Lakes Region 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, the bad winter night we'd plan a tree around, and it runs conservative. 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 map uses. The spring layer shows how much warmer or colder a spot runs than North Conway village on a still, clear night at bloom.

The middle of the growing ground here plans for −27°F, the warmest 5 percent for −23°F or warmer and the coldest 5 percent for −33°F or colder. North Conway, the reference town, plans for −23°F (MFTC 4b, typical winter −11°F). That's colder than anything its station has recorded since the 1995-96 winter (−19°F in January 2009), though the same station hit −34°F in 1962 and again in 1971. The warm end is Kearsarge (−22°F) and the Green Hills behind North Conway (−20°F). The cold end is the Fryeburg plain, where Fryeburg, Brownfield and East Conway plan for −33°F, MFTC 3b.

Why the map looks the way it does

Two rivers drain this country, and the cold follows them. The Saco rises at Saco Lake in Crawford Notch and runs south through Bartlett and Conway into Fryeburg. The Ellis drops about 1,500 feet in 16 miles from the Pinkham Notch height of land to the Saco near Glen, and the Swift leaves the Albany Intervale, "a broad valley ringed by mountains," through a narrow gorge to the Saco at Conway. On a still night most of the cold is made right on the floors as the ground loses heat to the sky, and more slides off the slopes after sunset. Jackson village, in the Ellis channel, runs 9°F colder than North Conway at bloom, and Conway village, where the Swift comes out, plans for −28°F and runs 8°F colder, 5 miles from North Conway's −23°F. North of the Presidentials the Androscoggin picks up the Peabody River out of Pinkham Notch at Gorham, turns east and carries the cold past Shelburne, Gilead and Bethel.

Everything on the Saco side ends up on the Fryeburg plain, the cold hole of the region. It's the lowest, flattest ground in the basin (Lovewell Pond sits at 358 feet beside the airport), a sand plain left by glacial Lake Pigwacket, where the river wanders through the bend that named the Abenaki village of Pequawket ("crooked place"). NOAA station records show the Fryeburg airport (452 feet) running a median 12°F colder than North Conway on the year's coldest night over 29 winters, and 8°F colder than both the Bridgton 3 NW and White Mountain National Forest stations. A National Weather Service meteorologist calls it "another cold spot." Loose, dry sand has less stored heat to hand back at night than firm, moist soil, so the sand likely helps, though nobody has measured it here.

Above the floors sits the thermal belt. The Mount Washington Observatory calls winter inversions "semi-normal" at the summit and names Fryeburg, Conway and Berlin among the valley spots that sometimes drop below it overnight. Around North Conway the floor within 3 miles plans for −25°F and the benches 100 to 700 feet up for −22°F. Birch Hill, 280 feet above the floor southwest of the village, plans for −21°F and runs 11°F warmer at bloom, and the Green Hills (Rattlesnake, Peaked and Middle mountains) and Cranmore plan for −20°F to −21°F at 1,100 to 1,300 feet up. Then it fades; the summit of Kearsarge North runs 10°F colder than North Conway 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.

Wind flips it. On February 4, 2023, arctic air on a big wind took Mount Washington to −47°F, the coldest in its NOAA record, while North Conway read −18°F and Fryeburg −17°F. With that much wind there's no inversion and higher is colder. That cold snap killed New Hampshire's peach, sweet cherry and plum crops, according to UNH. The belt pays on still nights, which is when bloom frosts hit. Otherwise the floors pool hard: Pinkham Notch, at 2,025 feet, gets 130 frost-free days, six more than the Fryeburg airport about 1,500 feet below.

The lakes freeze over (Kezar's ice went out between March 26 and April 29 in the years we checked), so the islands in Kezar Lake read like the floor, −28°F to −29°F. The map gives built-up ground a little town heat, and North Conway village and downtown Berlin plan about 2°F warmer than the floor around them. Why North Conway runs so mild (an average yearly low of −15°F) hasn't been pinned down; village heat, its spot above the river and air moving down the Saco are all candidates. Snow matters more. Pinkham Notch gets about 136 inches a year and Berlin about 82, so roots usually winter under a blanket, though the air over snow runs colder.

Around Fryeburg the winter number stays cold even on the hills (Jockey Cap plans for −32°F), while the spring layer shows them 10°F to 12°F warmer than North Conway at bloom. The winter number leans on NOAA station records, and the airport station sits right on the plain, so its cold carries across the corner. No station sits on a knob like Jockey Cap, so how much milder they run in January is unproven. Plan for the winter number and use the spring layer to place early bloomers.

North Conway, Kearsarge and Intervale

North Conway village sits on the east side of the Saco at 525 feet, about 50 feet above the floor, with Cathedral and White Horse ledges across the river and Cranmore behind. It plans for −23°F, MFTC 4b, typical winter −11°F, and within 3 miles the floor runs −25°F and the benches −22°F. Kearsarge, just north on a bench 160 feet up, plans for −22°F, the mildest village number on the map, though it runs 2°F colder than North Conway at bloom. Intervale, on the Bartlett line, plans for −23°F and runs 2°F warmer at bloom. Redstone, on the floor south of the village, plans for −24°F and runs 4°F colder.

This is the Saco side's best stone fruit ground. Lapins sweet cherry (−35°F), Westcot apricot (−45°F) and Contender (−30°F) and Siberian C (−35°F) peaches all clear −23°F, and Blushingstar, which came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024, is worth a try. Plant them high on the lot with nothing across the slope below to dam the cold, or against a south or west wall in the village.

Conway, Center Conway, Chatham and Eaton

Conway village sits at 471 feet where the Swift comes out onto the Saco floor. It plans for −28°F, MFTC 4a, typical winter −16°F, and runs 8°F colder than North Conway at bloom. Center Conway, on the floor east of town, plans for −27°F and runs 3°F colder; Hatches Orchard on Brownfield Road grows McIntosh, Empire, Cortland and Northern Spy there. East Conway, at the edge of the Fryeburg plain, plans for −33°F, MFTC 3b. The good ground is up the sides. Quint, on a bench 120 feet up between Conway and North Conway, plans for −25°F and runs 7°F warmer at bloom, and Tasker Hill, 450 feet up south of Conway village, plans for −23°F and runs 12°F warmer.

South toward Eaton the brooks carry cold. Eaton Center, in a draw, plans for −29°F and runs 10°F colder than North Conway at bloom, the coldest spring reading of any village we checked. In Chatham the village bench plans for −26°F, and Mack Hill, 650 feet up, runs 13°F warmer at bloom. On Conway's floor I'd plant Haralson and Black Oxford apples, Luscious pear and Toka plum, and save apricots and sweet cherries for the benches.

Jackson, Glen and Bartlett

Jackson village sits right in the Ellis River's cold-air channel at 759 feet, where Wildcat Brook comes in. It plans for −27°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −15°F) and runs 9°F colder than North Conway at bloom. Climb out and it changes fast. Dundee, 210 feet up, plans for −26°F and runs 7°F warmer at bloom, and Thorn Hill, 830 feet up, plans for −22°F and runs 11°F warmer, a 20°F bloom-night spread in under 2 miles. Glen, where the Ellis meets the Saco, plans for −25°F and runs 3°F colder at bloom, and through Bartlett, Jericho on the Saco floor plans for −24°F but runs 7°F colder.

In Jackson village, stick with apples, which only need about 15 percent of their blossoms to set a crop, and bush fruit like Honeyberry (open haskap flowers take 19°F) and Montana Black Currant. Put plums, apricots and cherries up the slopes.

Fryeburg, Brownfield and Denmark: the cold plain

Fryeburg village, close by the airport at 416 feet, plans for −33°F, MFTC 3b, typical winter −20°F. The airport station's own 30-year number is −36°F; the coldest in its record, which starts in 1997, is −32°F, on January 16, 2009. Within 3 miles of the village the floor runs −33°F and the benches −31°F. Fryeburg Center, Fryeburg Harbor and North Fryeburg plan milder on paper, −29°F to −30°F, because the winter number leans on the nearest stations and they sit farther from the airport. But the Harbor and North Fryeburg are at about 380 feet, lower than the airport, and run 8°F colder than North Conway at bloom, so I'd plan the river ground there closer to the airport's number. The rises are where the trees go: East Fryeburg, on a bench 130 feet up, runs 5°F warmer than North Conway at bloom, Highland Park 9°F, and Stanley Hill and Mount Tom 10°F to 12°F.

Brownfield is the same plain. The village and East Brownfield plan for −33°F (MFTC 3b), and the floor within 3 miles runs −34°F, among the coldest floors on the map. Kezar Hill, 300 feet up southeast of the village, plans for −29°F and runs 11°F warmer at bloom. Denmark village, at the foot of Moose Pond on stony, sandy ground, sits 120 feet above the floor at −29°F and runs 6°F warmer at bloom. West Denmark, down on the plain, plans for −32°F, and East Denmark and Heads Corner, 250 feet up, −27°F. On this plain plant Haralson and Wolf River apples (−45°F), Kerr applecrab (−50°F), Summercrisp pear (−40°F) and Toka plum (−45°F), and leave stone fruit to the rises.

Lovell, Kezar Lake, Sweden and Waterford

North of Fryeburg the country turns to hills and lakes. Lovell village plans for −26°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −14°F) and runs 3°F colder than North Conway at bloom. Center Lovell, on a bench 150 feet above the floor near Kezar Lake, plans for −25°F, MFTC 4b, and runs 5°F warmer. Christian Hill and Shave Hill, 200 to 310 feet up, plan for −23°F and run 8°F to 10°F warmer at bloom. Within 3 miles of Lovell the floor runs −30°F and the benches −25°F, so height pays here.

Sweden village, 230 feet above the floor, plans for −26°F and runs 8°F warmer at bloom; Pietree Orchard grows classic Maine apples in town. Waterford's land suited pasture and orchards, and its slopes still do: Mount Tire'm, 590 feet up, runs 13°F warmer at bloom, while Waterford Flat, down in the bottom, plans for −28°F and runs 8°F colder. On these hillsides Sungold apricot, Lapins and Siberian C fit; lower down, Honeycrisp, Superior plum and Flemish Beauty pear.

Bridgton: Highland Lake, Moose Pond and the ridges

Bridgton straddles a divide: Moose Pond drains west to the Saco, while Highland Lake drains south through Stevens Brook to Long Lake and on toward Sebago. Downtown, at the foot of Highland Lake, sits in the bottom at −28°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −16°F) and runs 7°F colder than North Conway at bloom. Within 3 miles the floor runs −30°F and the benches −26°F. The Bridgton 3 NW station has the longest frost-free season in the region, 153 days, and nobody has written up why.

The ridges are the place to plant. Hio Ridge, 350 feet above the floor, plans for −25°F and runs 10°F warmer at bloom; Highland Point −27°F and 8°F warmer. South Bridgton, near Adams Pond about 170 feet up, plans for −27°F and runs 5°F warmer. The colder spots are Sandy Creek (−29°F, 3°F colder at bloom) and West Bridgton along Route 302 toward the Moose Pond causeway (−28°F). On the ridges Lapins, Westcot and Superior fit; by town, Haralson, Cortland and Luscious.

Bethel, Newry and Gilead

Bethel sits on the Androscoggin where the Alder, Pleasant and Sunday rivers come in, on the south rim of the Mahoosuc Range and the west edge of the Oxford Hills. Its "fertile intervales and meadows" are the cold ground: West Bethel, Mayville, Middle Intervale and East Bethel all plan for −28°F and run 4°F to 7°F colder than North Conway at bloom. Bethel village, 60 feet above the floor, plans for −26°F (MFTC 4a, typical winter −14°F) and runs even with North Conway at bloom. Within 3 miles the floor runs −28°F and the benches −24°F.

Climb and it gets good. Robinson Hill and Paradise Hill, 270 to 320 feet up, plan for −23°F and run 9°F to 11°F warmer at bloom, and North Bethel, 660 feet up, plans for −24°F and runs 13°F warmer. Newry, in the bottom where the Bear and Sunday rivers come down, and Gilead, where the Wild River comes in, plan for −29°F. On Bethel's hills Westcot, Lapins and Siberian C fit; on the intervales, Haralson, Oxford County's own Black Oxford (−35°F), Summercrisp pear and Evan's Bali cherry.

Gorham, Shelburne and Berlin

Gorham sits in the river bottom at about 795 feet, where the Androscoggin turns east and the Peabody comes down from Pinkham Notch. It plans for −30°F (MFTC 3b by a fraction of a degree, typical winter −18°F) and runs 5°F colder than North Conway at bloom. The Gorham airport station (11 years on file) has a 30-year number of −30°F and a coldest reading of −28°F, on January 16, 2009. Point Lookout and Leadmine Ledge, 550 to 710 feet up, plan for −26°F and run 12°F warmer at bloom. Shelburne, with "excellent soil for farming" on both sides of the river, plans for −30°F, and the hills around it run 12°F to 13°F warmer at bloom.

Berlin sits where the Dead River meets the Androscoggin, under Mount Forist. Downtown plans for −30°F (MFTC 4a by a fraction of a degree, typical winter −18°F) and the floor within 3 miles −31°F, and NOAA station records show Berlin running a median 6°F colder than North Conway on the coldest night over 61 years. Up here plant the hardiest: Wolf River, Kerr, Nova pear, Pipestone and Underwood plums (UNH calls both hardy in northern New Hampshire) and Boyne raspberry.

Spring frost and bloom in the Mount Washington Valley

The spring layer follows the same drainage, and the hills stand out more. The coldest bloom-night readings are in the draws and bottoms: Eaton Center 10°F colder than North Conway, Jackson village 9°F, and Conway, Waterford Flat, Fryeburg Harbor and Newry about 8°F. The warmest are hillsides 300 to 700 feet up, like Mount Tire'm, Mack Hill and North Bethel, at 12°F to 13°F warmer. Open blossoms of apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot and plum all start dying at about 28°F, and NC State says 3°F to 4°F can separate no crop from a full one.

NOAA station records (1991 to 2020 medians) put the last 32°F frost at May 10 at Bridgton 3 NW, May 13 at North Conway, May 14 at Berlin and May 20 at the Fryeburg airport, and one year in ten after May 19, May 26, May 29 and June 2. Their frost-free seasons run 153, 148, 134 and 124 days, and the Berlin Regional Airport (1,123 feet, at the map's north edge) gets only 109. UVM's fruit people call under 135 frost-free days short-season country, so skip late-ripening apples on the Fryeburg plain and around Berlin.

On May 18 to 19, 2023, a freeze hit New Hampshire at peak apple bloom, and UNH called 2023 the greatest fruit crop loss in over 50 years. Carroll and Coos weren't in the frost assessment, but elsewhere higher blocks fared better than lower ones. So put apricots, peaches and sweet cherries highest, plums and pears in the middle, and apples, haskap and bush fruit lower; UNH says sweet cherry needs a very frost-free site. On a frost night, mow short, don't till, and water a day or two ahead.

What the weather records say

Each station's coldest NOAA reading on file: Berlin −41°F on December 30, 1933 (Wikipedia gives the city −44°F, so sources differ); North Bridgton −39°F on February 16, 1943; North Conway −34°F on February 2, 1962 and January 20, 1971; and the Fryeburg airport −32°F on January 16, 2009. North Conway isn't immune: in that 1971 outbreak it ran 10°F colder than Bridgton 3 NW (−24°F).

We haven't pulled USDA's 2023 zone by ZIP. NOAA's North Conway station averages −15°F for the year's coldest night (USDA's 5a/5b line), and Fryeburg and Berlin −22°F (4b). USDA builds on that average; we plan for the bad night, so our zones read half a zone to a full zone colder.

What you can grow here

North Conway, Kearsarge and the warm hillsides: −25°F or warmer

North Conway, Kearsarge, Intervale, Glen, Center Lovell and the best hills around Bethel, Lovell, Jackson and Bridgton. Apples: Honeycrisp, Freedom and Liberty (UNH lists both as scab resistant). Pears: D'Anjou and Bartlett. Plums: Superior. Cherries: Lapins and Rainier. Apricots and peaches: Westcot, Sungold, Contender and Siberian C. UNH rates sweet cherry at about −10°F to −15°F, but a grower of ours in Cowley, Wyoming saw no damage on Lapins at −33°F; the catch here is bloom.

Valley floors, intervales and lake country: −26°F to −30°F

Conway, Jackson village, Lovell, Bridgton, Waterford, the Bethel intervales, Newry, Gilead, Gorham, Shelburne and Berlin. Apples: Haralson, Wolf River, Cortland and Black Oxford. Pears: Luscious, Nova and Flemish Beauty. Plums: Toka, Pipestone and Underwood. Cherries: Evan's Bali and Meteor. Berries: Honeyberry, Montana Black Currant and our Cold Climate Blueberry Bundle. Superior and Westcot clear the number too, but only where the spring layer reads warm.

The Fryeburg plain, Brownfield and East Conway: colder than −30°F

Down to about −35°F by the airport. Apples: Haralson, Frostbite and Honeycrisp, plus Kerr and Trailman applecrabs; if you only plant one tree, make it one of those two. Pears: Summercrisp. Plums: Toka and Brookgold. Cherries: Evan's Bali and Juliet. Berries: Honeyberry and Aronia.

Rootstocks, site and pests

UNH suggests M.26 and Bud 9 for apples. Their roots die around 7°F to 11°F in the soil, so they count on snow; on plowed or windswept ground, use the hardiest stock you can get and mulch. 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, off the bottom and off the windswept top (east-facing is ideal), clear brush that dams cold air at the foot of the slope, and taper water from mid-August so trees harden off. Toka is a good pollenizer for Superior; the pollination maps sort out the rest. UNH's pest list here runs to apple scab (McIntosh and Cortland are susceptible), fire blight (Bartlett and Clapp's Favorite), black knot (Stanley), plum curculio, voles and deer, so guard trunks with 1/4-inch hardware cloth and plan on a 6 to 8 foot fence. Check any spot on the cold hardiness calculator.

Fruit history here

This was farm country first, on Fryeburg's excellent soil and Bethel's intervales of hay and potatoes. The region's own apple is Black Oxford, found as a seedling by Nathaniel Haskell in Oxford County in the late 1700s, a very winter-hardy late keeper for eating, baking and sweet cider. Five Fields Farm in South Bridgton was settled by Enoch Perley's family in 1776, and John Gyger planted apples there in the late 1920s; it's named for the first five fields planted to orchard. Cherries are still uncommon in the Northeast: Tellman Hill Farm in northern New Hampshire is trialing Saskatchewan dwarf sour cherries like Romeo, Juliet and Cutie Pie, which we rate to −50°F.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is North Conway, NH?

We haven't pulled USDA's 2023 zone for the ZIP, but NOAA's North Conway station averages −15°F for the year's coldest night, which sits on USDA's 5a/5b line. On the bad night we plan for, North Conway village is −23°F, MFTC zone 4b, with a typical winter of −11°F. The Fryeburg plain next door is 3b.

When is the last frost in North Conway?

At the North Conway station the median last 32°F frost is May 13 and the last 28°F is April 28 (1991 to 2020), and one year in ten the last 32°F comes after May 26. The season runs 148 frost-free days. On the Fryeburg plain the last frost comes a week later, May 20, and the season is 124 days.

Why is Fryeburg, Maine so cold?

It's the lowest, flattest ground in the Saco valley, a glacial-lake sand plain around Lovewell Pond (358 feet), where cold air from the whole valley settles on calm, clear nights. NOAA station records show the Fryeburg airport running a median 12°F colder than North Conway on the coldest night of the year. Our map puts Fryeburg village at −33°F, MFTC 3b.

Can you grow peaches in the Mount Washington Valley?

On the right ground, yes. UNH limits peaches to frost-free sites in extreme southern New Hampshire, but Siberian C has come through −35°F and Contender −30°F, which clears North Conway's −23°F and the hillsides around Bethel, Lovell and Bridgton. Plant them high on a slope that reads warm at bloom, never on the Fryeburg plain or a river bottom.

Is Mount Washington colder than the valley?

Usually, but not on still winter nights. The Mount Washington Observatory calls winter inversions "semi-normal," and on January 4, 2014 the Fryeburg airport hit −29°F while the summit read −17°F. When arctic air comes in on a big wind it flips: on February 4, 2023 the summit hit −47°F while North Conway read −18°F.

What fruit trees grow in Bethel, Maine?

Bethel village plans for −26°F, MFTC 4a (typical winter −14°F), the intervales along the Androscoggin −28°F, and the hills above town −23°F to −24°F. On the intervales, Haralson and Black Oxford apples, Summercrisp pear, Toka plum and Evan's Bali cherry all clear the number. Save Westcot apricot, Lapins sweet cherry and Siberian C peach for hills like Paradise Hill, which runs 11°F warmer than North Conway at bloom.

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.