Fruit Trees for Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Two Rivers, Wisconsin

In the May 14 to 15, 2016 frost, Wisconsin fruit growers lost anywhere from nothing to 95 percent of their crop. Orchards and vineyards near Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin reported minimal damage, because the slowly warming lake had kept them cool and held their blossoms back. NOAA station records show why: the median last spring frost comes April 24 at Sheboygan and May 7 at Plymouth, 13 miles inland. That gap, more than the winter low, is the story of growing fruit trees for Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Two Rivers.

The map covers the Lakeshore from Oostburg north past Two Rivers and Mishicot, and inland to Plymouth, Elkhart Lake, Kiel and Reedsville on the back slope of the Wisconsin Ledge. 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 the 30-year planning low our cold hardiness calculator uses, nudged for the ground around you: a safe number to plan on, not the record or a promise of how often it comes. 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 is built on. The spring layer shows how much warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Sheboygan on a still, clear bloom night.

Downtown Sheboygan, our reference, plans for −22°F, MFTC zone 4b, with a typical winter of −11°F. The middle of the growing ground plans for −23°F, and half of it falls between −25°F and −22°F, so nearly everything is zone 4b. The warm end is downtown Two Rivers at −17°F (zone 5a), then Hingham at −20°F and Adell, Glenbeulah and Melnik at −21°F. The cold end is the low ground: Manitowoc Rapids at −25°F, Sheboygan Falls, Mishicot and Reedsville at −24°F, and the floors near downtown Sheboygan and Manitowoc at −25°F to −26°F (zone 4a). The spring layer spreads wider, from within 1°F of Sheboygan at the water's edge to 14°F colder in the inland bottoms.

Why the map looks the way it does

This country is a tilted board. It rises gently from Lake Michigan (577 feet) toward the crest of the Ledge, the Niagara Escarpment, a cuesta of Silurian dolomite that climbs at a shallow angle from the lake and ends in a steep face toward Green Bay. The lake towns sit around 584 to 650 feet; Plymouth is at 841 and Glenbeulah 979, out where the Kettle Moraine's ridges and kettle lakes cross the inland half. Every river runs east to the lake: the Sheboygan (with the Mullet and Onion joining at Sheboygan Falls), the Manitowoc and its Branch River, and the East and West Twin, which meet in Two Rivers. On a clear, calm night those valleys carry the cold toward the lake, and the bottoms collect it on the way.

Winter is where the lake surprises people: the planning low barely changes from the beach to the moraine, and NOAA station records agree. In the big cold snaps the shore stations have usually run just 2°F to 4°F warmer than Plymouth, and in the two since 1995 the gap was 2°F or less: February 1996 put Manitowoc and Plymouth both at −27°F, and January 2019 put Manitowoc, Two Rivers, the Sheboygan wastewater plant and the county airport at −23°F to Plymouth's −25°F. On the worst nights the lake buys the shore a few degrees, not a zone.

Spring and fall are where the lake earns its keep. On April 20, 2008, Lake Michigan was 38°F to 39°F, and the next afternoon Manitowoc's airport read 52°F while Green Bay read 70°F. Cool days like that keep buds tight. In fall the water gives its heat back: Two Rivers' September runs only 1°F cooler than its June (inland Oshkosh's runs about 8°F cooler), and the first 28°F waits until November 2 to 4 at Two Rivers and Manitowoc. A UW-Milwaukee atmospheric scientist puts the lake's biggest spring cooling within 5 to 10 miles of shore. On the spring layer, the water's edge at Manitowoc, Two Rivers and Northeim reads within 1°F of Sheboygan, and every named place inland reads 3°F to 14°F colder.

Inland it's drainage and pooling. Manitowoc Rapids, on the floor along the Manitowoc River, has the coldest planning low of any named place, with Sheboygan Falls, where three rivers meet, and Mishicot on the East Twin close behind. Johnsonville, in the Sheboygan River's channel, ties Franklin and Spring Valley for the coldest spring reading of any named place, 14°F colder than Sheboygan. Around Elkhart Lake, Glenbeulah, Kiel and Reedsville, the benches 100 to 700 feet above the floor plan 3°F to 4°F warmer (−20°F to −21°F against −24°F). A Hungarian study of 69 clear, calm nights found a valley floor averaging 6.7°F colder than a slope 230 feet higher, and the spring layer here shows a gap that size inside a mile (see Plymouth below).

The soils follow the same lines. Near the lake they're heavy, limy red clay (Kewaunee, Manawa and Poygan), and Manawa, which is somewhat poorly drained, lies in drainageways and shallow depressions with water perched 1 to 2.5 feet down, the same low spots the cold drains into. The Kiel Marsh, the Black River Marsh at Kohler-Andrae and the black ash and tamarack swale at the back of the Point Beach ridges are the extremes. The Kettle Moraine's loamy till and limy sand and gravel drain better. Town centers get a little from pavement and buildings (the map gives built-up ground up to 2.5°F).

Sheboygan, the South Pier and Howards Grove

Sheboygan sits at the mouth of the Sheboygan River. Downtown, at 629 feet, plans for −22°F, typical winter −11°F, and NOAA's old Sheboygan station had the longest frost-free season here, 182 days. Within 3 miles the benches plan for −21°F and the floor −25°F, the coldest tenth of the ground −26°F, so plant high and near the water, not in the river bottom. Downtown and the lakefront lots are as good as this map gets for apricots, peaches and sweet cherries.

The South Pier District, right on the water at 591 feet, plans for −23°F and reads 3°F colder than downtown in spring. River Trails, south of the city, plans for −22°F and reads 4°F colder; Idlewood Beach, farther down the shore, −21°F and 5°F colder; Weedens, southwest on the floor, −23°F and 8°F colder. Laibach, the Slovenian neighborhood on the northwest side, and the neighborhoods toward I-43 sit farther from the water. The county airport, about 3 miles northwest of the city, shows what that costs: a median last 32°F of May 9 and 152 frost-free days, 15 days later and 30 days shorter than the old Sheboygan station (different years on file, same pattern as every shore and inland pair here). Howards Grove, northwest at 721 feet, plans for −21°F and reads 6°F colder in spring.

Kohler, Sheboygan Falls and the lower river

Kohler, the company village founded in 1900 as "Riverside" and planned with the Olmsted Brothers, sits on the Sheboygan River at 682 feet. It plans for −23°F and reads only 3°F colder than Sheboygan in spring, one of the best inland readings. The Clearings of Kohler, under a mile northwest, also plans for −23°F but reads 7°F colder. Same winter, different bloom nights, so check your own lot.

Sheboygan Falls sits in the river bottom between the Mullet and Onion confluences, at 668 feet and only 20 feet above the floor, where three valleys' worth of night air comes together. It plans for −24°F, typical winter −14°F, spring 8°F colder than Sheboygan: colder than the floor median around it (−23°F), so the town itself is the low spot. In the Falls, give early bloomers your highest ground and put apples, haskap and bush fruit in the bottom.

Plymouth, Elkhart Lake and the Kettle Moraine edge

Plymouth, the Hub City, lies on the Mullet River at 841 feet. Downtown, on a toe slope 40 feet above the floor, plans for −23°F, typical winter −12°F, spring 6°F colder than Sheboygan, and the benches within 3 miles plan for −21°F. NOAA's Plymouth station, with 107 years on file, has a median last 32°F of May 7 and 154 frost-free days, four weeks fewer than Sheboygan's, and it runs a median 3°F colder than Sheboygan on the year's coldest night.

South of town, Log Cabin Orchard sits on a 9 percent hillside 80 feet above the floor. It plans for −22°F and reads only 3°F colder than Sheboygan in spring. Winooski, at the foot of that slope well under a mile away, plans for −23°F and reads 11°F colder. NC State's fruit people say 3°F to 4°F can separate no crop from a full one.

Elkhart Lake, at 947 feet, sits on a kettle lake of about 292 acres and 113 to 119 feet deep (sources differ). The village plans for −23°F, spring 7°F colder; around it the floor plans for −24°F and the benches −20°F. The kettle lakes here freeze over, so don't count on the lake in January, and a closed hollow fills with cold air to its lowest notch before it spills, so a dry kettle is a frost pocket. Glenbeulah, at 979 feet the highest named place on the map, plans for −21°F; Franklin, on the floor east of Elkhart Lake, reads 14°F colder in spring. For the Kettle Moraine south and west, see the Fond du Lac, West Bend and Kettle Moraine map.

Oostburg, Gibbsville and southern Sheboygan County

South of Sheboygan the map flattens out. Oostburg, at 696 feet, plans for −22°F, spring 5°F colder, and the ground within 3 miles barely moves (−21°F to −23°F), so what matters is your own lot: skip the low wet corner and the strip just uphill of a hedge or tree line. If you're in Cedar Grove, the Dutch village that started on the shore and moved inland to the rail line, type in your address. Gibbsville plans for −22°F and reads 6°F colder; M&T's Gibbsville Orchard there has more than 1,000 apple, pear and cherry trees. West toward the moraine, Hingham plans for −20°F and Adell −21°F, but NOAA's Hingham station has only 18 years on file (coldest −18°F), so treat that warmth as a short-record number. Spring runs colder there: Hingham reads 8°F colder than Sheboygan and Cascade 13°F.

Manitowoc, Alverno and Cleveland

Manitowoc sits at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. Downtown, at 605 feet, plans for −23°F, typical winter −11°F, and reads only 1°F colder than Sheboygan in spring. NOAA's Manitowoc station, with 117 years on file, has 172 frost-free days and the latest first 28°F of any station here, around November 4. Within 3 miles the floor plans for −25°F, the coldest tenth of the ground −26°F, so the lots near the lake are the city's best fruit ground.

Up the river it gets colder fast. Manitowoc Rapids, on the floor at 594 feet, plans for −25°F and reads 8°F colder in spring; Alverno, on the west side, −23°F and 8°F colder; Kellners Corners, at Rapids Road and Menasha Avenue, −23°F and 6°F colder. South on the shore, Northeim plans for −22°F and reads only 1°F colder, while Newton, Duveneck and Clover, a few dozen feet higher, read 6°F colder. Cleveland plans for −23°F and reads 6°F colder, with floor ground around it at −25°F, but the Centerville point east of the village, toward the water, reads only 1°F colder: 5°F inside a mile.

Two Rivers, Mishicot and Point Beach

Two Rivers is where the East and West Twin rivers meet, less than a mile from the lake. The map gives downtown, at 598 feet, the warmest planning low of any named place, −17°F, zone 5a, typical winter −6°F, spring 1°F colder than Sheboygan. Treat it with care. NOAA's Two Rivers station read −26°F in February 1996 and −23°F in January 2019, its own 30-year number is −22°F, and in every big cold snap since 1963 it ran within 1°F of Manitowoc's. Plant Two Rivers for −22°F to −23°F and count anything warmer as a bonus.

What Two Rivers does have is a lake-lagged fall, with the first 28°F around November 2. That suits very late fruit like Siberian C peach, and it's why we'd taper water from mid-August here: trees still growing in a mild fall meet the first arctic snap soft. Near town, the Point Beach Ridges are 11 old beach ridges and swales left by glacial Lake Nipissing. Mishicot, on the East Twin at 601 feet, sits right on the floor: −24°F, spring 11°F colder, colder than the floor median around it (−23°F), and Shoto, Kingsbridge and Fisherville read 9°F colder. Put apples and bush fruit low there and save the slope for early bloomers.

Kiel, Valders, Reedsville and the Ledge country

Kiel, at 919 feet on the Sheboygan River, plans for −22°F, spring 7°F colder. The river comes in from the Kiel Marsh on the southwest edge and runs on past dams at Rockville and Millhome, which read 8°F colder in spring; within 3 miles of Kiel the floor plans for −24°F and the benches −21°F. Valders, on Silurian dolomite under the red till of the Valders Member, sits on a 5 percent toe slope at 838 feet and plans for −21°F, about 2°F warmer than the floor around it. Reedsville, on the floor at 831 feet, plans for −24°F while its benches plan for −20°F. Cato, on a 6 percent slope 50 feet above the floor, reads only 3°F colder than Sheboygan in spring; Cato Falls, about 3.5 miles south and 10 feet above the floor, plans for −24°F and reads 11°F colder. Melnik, on a bench 120 feet up, plans for −21°F and reads 3°F colder. Over the Ledge toward Green Bay, see the Green Bay, Appleton and Fox Valley map.

Spring frost and bloom on the Lakeshore

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 medians: at the shore stations (Sheboygan, Two Rivers, Manitowoc) the last 32°F comes April 24 to 28, the last 28°F April 8 to 10, and in a late year (1 in 10) the last 32°F comes May 13 or 14. Inland (Chilton, Brillion, Plymouth, Hingham and the county airport) the last 32°F comes May 4 to 9, the last 28°F April 20 to 29, and May 21 to 25 in a late year. The frost-free season runs 170 to 182 days at the shore and 147 to 159 inland.

The lake has helped in more years than 2016. In 2023 a late frost cost many western Wisconsin wineries their crop while the Ledge's lake protection got credit for sparing its growers, and in 2026, when early bloom met frost worst in western Wisconsin, Paul Schwabe of Johnson's Nursery said Lake Michigan generally delays flowering and frost exposure in southeast Wisconsin. In 2012, after a March heat wave and an April frost, Wisconsin's apple crop fell 54 percent, and we haven't found how the shore fared.

UW's fruit specialist Amaya Atucha says early swelling buds survive the low 20s°F, buds near bloom die in the high 20s°F, and at full bloom 1°F can decide the crop. Open blossoms start dying near 28°F, but only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set, sweet cherries can lose half and still crop fully, and open haskap flowers take 19°F. Our rule after Montana's 2026 bloom frost: unless the fruit is clustered (cherries, grapes), most fruit can lose half its blossoms with negligible effect.

So put apricots, peaches, sweet cherries, pears and early plums on the shore lots or on inland spots with good spring readings (Kohler, Cato, Melnik and the Log Cabin Orchard hillside), and apples, haskap and bush fruit on the inland floors. Bob Purvis says an east-facing slope is ideal, and most Ledge vineyards face east. Through bloom, keep the grass short, don't till, and water a day or two before a frost night. And read forecasts with care: NWS Milwaukee forecasts all of Sheboygan County as one zone, so a frost advisory like the one on May 8, 2026 lumps your lakefront lot with Plymouth's floor. Manitowoc County comes out of NWS Green Bay with the rest of Northeast Wisconsin.

What the weather records say

Chilton, on the west edge, holds the coldest reading on file at any station in or near the map, −33°F on January 30, 1951. Manitowoc's record is −29°F (February 10, 1899), Plymouth's −29°F (January 15, 1972 and January 10, 1982), Two Rivers' −28°F (January 30, 1951) and the old Sheboygan station's −26°F (January 17, 1982 and January 20, 1985). Most of the newer stations set theirs in January 2019: Brillion −26°F, the Sheboygan airport and wastewater plant −23°F. The average year's coldest night runs −13°F to −14°F at the shore stations, −15°F at Plymouth and −16°F at Chilton.

Manitowoc averages 34.6 inches of snow a season, Plymouth 44.7 and Two Rivers 46.1; Manitowoc's average depth peaks near 6.7 inches, inside the 4 to 10 inches that insulates soil well. Northeast winds bring lake-effect bands, and the January 14 to 15, 2018 storm, on long easterly winds, left 15.9 inches at Two Rivers and 6.9 inches 2 miles east of Millhome.

USDA's 2023 map runs a zone 6a strip (−10°F to −5°F) up the shore into southeastern Sheboygan County, while most of inland southeast Wisconsin moved to 5b. We haven't found a source that says where 6a ends or what zone Manitowoc got. USDA's zones are built on the average winter's coldest night, ours on the bad night we plan for.

What you can grow here

The shore lots, Two Rivers and the warm slopes, −17°F to −22°F. Downtown Sheboygan, Two Rivers (plan it for −22°F), Northeim, Idlewood Beach, Oostburg, Howards Grove, Hingham, Adell, Glenbeulah, Valders, Kiel and the inland benches. Nearly everything we sell rated −25°F or colder fits; inland, early bloomers still want a slope with a good spring reading. Peaches: Contender (Tom McCamant grows it at Forbidden Fruit Orchard in Paradise, Montana, and it's the only commercial peach we know of that has taken −32°F), PF-24C Cold Hardy, Blushingstar (through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024 without damage) and Siberian C (the hardiest peach we think is out there). UW Extension lists Contender and PF24C for the lake-moderated shore. Apricots: Harlayne, Goldrich and Tomcot. Sweet cherries: Lapins and Gold, the hardiest we've found, plus Stella and Rainier (it cracks where it rains at ripening). Pears: Bartlett, Seckel, Harrow Sweet and D'Anjou. Plums: Stanley, Italian, and Superior with Toka, which pollenizes it (see our pollination maps). Apples: nearly anything, like Northern Spy, Liberty and Cox Orange Pippin (−30°F) and Baldwin (−25°F). Grapes: the Ledge's own Marquette, Frontenac, La Crescent and Brianna.

The towns and inland floors, −23°F to −24°F. Manitowoc, Plymouth, Kohler, Elkhart Lake, Cleveland, Sheboygan Falls, Reedsville, Mishicot and most inland farm ground. Picks: Honeycrisp, Wolf River and Frostbite (−45°F), Cortland, Zestar!® and Golden Russet (−40°F) and Empire (−35°F) apples; Luscious and Summercrisp pears (−40°F) on the slopes; Evan's Bali, Meteor and Montmorency tart cherries; Superior, Mount Royal, Alderman, Pipestone and Underwood plums (all on UW's list) and Toka; and Lapins, Gold, Westcot apricot and Siberian C where the spring reading is good. Blushingstar (−25°F) clears these numbers by only a degree or two, so give it your best spot. On the floors with bad spring readings (Johnsonville, Franklin, Spring Valley, Cascade, Mishicot), stick to apples, haskap and bush fruit.

The coldest bottoms, −25°F to −26°F. Manitowoc Rapids and the low floor ground around Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Cleveland. Plant what has come through −35°F or colder and keep the early bloomers out: Haralson, Honeycrisp, Wolf River, Cortland and Zestar!® apples; Kerr and Centennial applecrabs (if you only plant one tree, make it Kerr or Trailman); Evan's Bali tart cherry; honeyberry, Montana Black Currant, Red Lake currant, Invicta gooseberry and Boyne raspberry. This is usually the wettest ground too, so test the drainage first.

Rootstocks, soil and site. UW Extension's list for southern Wisconsin gives apple stocks from B.9, M.9, M.26 and the Geneva stocks to M.7; pears on OH x F 97, 87 or 333; sweet cherries on Mazzard, Gisela 6, Gisela 12 or Krymsk 5 (the hardiest dwarfing stock), with Gisela 5 kept off heavy soil; tart cherries on Mahaleb; apricots on Manchurian. Roots are the weak link, and G.935's measure among the hardiest (3°F to −2°F, against 11°F to 7°F for M.26). Wisconsin's snowless 2024-25 winter left damage just below the graft union, so on windswept or plowed ground, mulch and hold snow. On the red clay, do the drain test (dig 2 feet, fill it, let it drain, refill it; under 10 hours is well drained), plant on a rise and stay out of the wet drainageways. Limy clay is the opposite of what blueberries want. Aim for a 4 to 8 percent slope (Montana State's advice) and 6 hours of sun or more, and taper water from mid-August. Drought and hail are the other local troubles.

Fruit history here

A Wisconsin DNR history of famous apple trees says the climate along Lake Michigan from Sheboygan south to Kenosha suits fruit trees, and some families there have grown apples for five generations; the northern Ledge country had cherry and apple orchards among its grain fields. Two old Wisconsin apples belong here: Northwestern Greening, found near Iola in 1872 (we sell it as Northwest Greening), and Wolf River, which UW Extension says came from central Wisconsin. Gibbsville Orchard marked its 80th year in 2025 and now juices apples and pears for local wineries. The Wisconsin Ledge AVA came in 2012, and by 2021 it had about 400 acres of wine grapes and 24 bonded wineries, with ice wine possible nearly every year.

Questions people ask

What hardiness zone is Sheboygan, Wisconsin?

Downtown Sheboygan plans for −22°F, MFTC zone 4b, with a typical winter of −11°F; the low floor ground within 3 miles drops to −25°F, zone 4a. USDA's 2023 map puts the lakeshore into southeastern Sheboygan County in zone 6a. USDA's is based on an average winter, ours on the bad night we plan for.

What growing zone are Manitowoc and Two Rivers?

Downtown Manitowoc plans for −23°F, MFTC zone 4b, with a typical winter of −11°F. The map rates downtown Two Rivers at −17°F, zone 5a, but its station read −26°F in February 1996 and has tracked Manitowoc's within 1°F in every big cold snap since 1963, so we'd plant both for −22°F to −23°F. We haven't found a source that gives Manitowoc's 2023 USDA zone.

When is the last frost in Sheboygan?

NOAA's 1991 to 2020 records put the median last 32°F at April 24 at Sheboygan, April 26 at Two Rivers and April 28 at Manitowoc (May 13 or 14 in a late year), and inland at May 7 at Plymouth and May 9 at the county airport. The last 28°F, where open blossoms start dying, comes around April 8 to 10 at the shore.

Can you grow peaches in Sheboygan?

On the lakeshore lots, yes. Sheboygan's −22°F planning low clears Siberian C (−35°F), Contender (−30°F), PF-24C Cold Hardy and Blushingstar (−25°F). UW Extension says peaches can be grown near Lake Michigan and that peach fruit buds die below −15°F; Sheboygan's typical winter is −11°F, so expect fruit after ordinary winters and bud loss after hard ones.

Does Lake Michigan protect fruit trees from frost?

In spring, mostly by holding bloom back: in the May 2016 frost, orchards and vineyards near the lake in eastern Wisconsin reported minimal damage, and the shore's median last frost comes one to two weeks before inland. In midwinter it helps less: in February 1996 Manitowoc and Plymouth both read −27°F.

Can you grow cherries in Manitowoc?

Yes. Evan's Bali (−45°F), Meteor (−40°F) and Montmorency (−30°F) tart cherries all clear Manitowoc's −23°F, and so do Lapins and Gold (−35°F), the hardiest sweet cherries we've found. Put sweet cherries on lots near the lake, which read only 1°F colder than Sheboygan on a bloom night, not in river bottoms like Manitowoc Rapids (8°F colder).

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.