Fruit Trees for Topeka, Lawrence, Eudora and Tonganoxie, Kansas

In the cold snap of February 3, 2011, the Lawrence airport station, down in the Kaw valley at 827 ft, read −15°F. The long-record Lawrence station, 4 miles away and 220 ft higher, bottomed out at −5°F. That 10°F is the first thing to understand about fruit trees for Topeka, Lawrence, Eudora and Tonganoxie. Winters here are mild by our standards, but where your trees sit between the river bottom and the bluffs still matters, and it matters most on a still April night in bloom.

The map runs down the Kansas River from Kiro and Menoken through Topeka, Lecompton and Lawrence to Eudora and De Soto, with the Wakarusa valley and Clinton Lake to the south and Meriden, McLouth, Perry Lake and Tonganoxie to the north. 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

Every number on the map is a 30-year planning low, the same number our cold hardiness calculator uses, built from NOAA station records since the 1995-96 winter and adjusted for the lay of the land. It's a safe 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's zones are built on) and the spring layer: how much warmer or colder a spot runs than downtown Topeka on a still, clear night at bloom.

Downtown Topeka plans for −18°F (MFTC zone 5a), typical winter −4°F. The middle of the growing ground plans for −19°F, and nine tenths of it falls between −22°F and −17°F. The warm end is high ground: McLouth, Mount Oread, Lakeside Village near Perry Lake, Burnett Mound and Clearview City plan for −17°F. The cold end is the bottoms, where Bismark Grove, Reno, Lone Star and Sibleyville plan for −22°F (zone 4b). The spring layer spreads much wider, from 10°F warmer than downtown Topeka on Burnett Mound to 7°F colder at Grover and Weaver on the Kaw floor. Nearly everything we sell has come through colder than the coldest ground here, so you're choosing by site and bloom more than by winter.

Why the map looks the way it does

The Kaw crosses the map west to east with almost no fall, under 2 ft per mile, in a valley that averages 2.6 miles wide and pinches to a mile or less below Eudora and De Soto. The river runs at about 852 ft at Topeka and 764 ft at De Soto, the hills south of Topeka top 1,150 ft, and local relief runs 100 to 200 ft. 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 chilled air slides off the uplands, down the creeks and draws, onto the valley floor.

The Kansas Geological Survey's 1952 study describes that floor: flat bottomland built by floods, with a natural levee 3 to 6 ft high along the river, a level backswamp behind it, and ponds and marshes in old meander scars. Cold air that gets there has almost nowhere to go. On the map that's North Lawrence at −21°F, Bismark Grove −22°F, and North Topeka, Grover and Perry −20°F, with spring readings 4°F to 7°F colder than downtown Topeka. On January 6, 2026 the Lawrence Journal-World photographed ground fog lying over the fields in the Kaw valley east of Lawrence, below the tree line, which is what a cold pool can look like.

NOAA station records show the split best at Lawrence. Over 18 years the airport station's coldest night of the year ran a median 4°F colder than the long-record Lawrence station's, and its 30-year number is −23°F against −17°F. In cold snaps the gap opens: −15°F against −5°F in February 2011, −15°F against −8°F in December 2016 and again in February 2025. Not every cold night splits them (both read −10°F in January 2014); the split is a still-night pattern. The Journal-World's weather blog made the point in 2009, after a calm October morning took Lawrence to about 32°F while windy Concordia stayed above 40°F.

The older outbreaks show how far apart the map can run. In the February 1, 1979 cold snap the Topeka ASOS station, near river level at 880 ft, and the Perry Lake station read −23°F, Clinton Lake −17°F, the Lawrence station −11°F, and Oskaloosa 4 NE, at 1,109 ft just off the north edge of the map, −9°F: 14°F from the lowest station to the highest. In December 1989, the coldest outbreak on file, the same stations ran −26°F to −21°F, only 5°F apart. Deep arctic air fills everything. High ground earns its keep on the still, clear nights, and those are the nights that kill blossoms.

The valley isn't symmetrical. The river cuts mostly into its south bank, so the south side is steep, with short, actively eroding draws and east-facing limestone escarpments, while the north side climbs gently over old terraces and glacial till. Steep ground drains, and the two best spring readings of any named places on the map are on the south side: Burnett Mound in southwest Topeka reads 10°F warmer than downtown on a bloom night, and Mount Oread, the KU hill on the divide between the Kaw and the Wakarusa, 8°F warmer. The Lecompton bluff reads 6°F warmer. A Hungarian study of 69 clear, calm nights found a valley floor averaging 6.7°F colder than a slope 230 ft higher, and up to 13.1°F colder. Mount Oread and the North Lawrence bottom, under 2 miles apart and about 215 ft different in height, read 13°F apart on the spring layer.

The Wakarusa is a second cold channel, running 80 miles east from about 1,261 ft southwest of Topeka to the Kaw at Eudora. Clinton Lake covers part of its floor, but don't count on it for warmth. It's 7,000 acres and averages only 7 ft deep, and it freezes: ice was 10 to 14 inches thick at many spots by January 3, 2001. NOAA's Clinton Lake station has the second coldest 30-year number of the stations on the map, −21°F.

Towns hold heat on still nights. We haven't found a heat island study for Topeka or Lawrence, but the map credits built-up ground with up to 2.5°F, and downtown Topeka plans for −18°F against −20°F on the floor within 3 miles. Snow is thin (Topeka averages 17.1 inches a year, Lawrence 10.4 inches), and bare frozen ground is what kills roots.

Topeka, North Topeka and the hills south of town

Downtown Topeka, at 933 ft on a toe slope 50 ft above the floor, plans for −18°F (zone 5a), typical winter −4°F, and it's the zero on the spring layer. Within 3 miles the floor plans for −20°F and the bench ground −18°F. Only 2°F of winter spread, so in Topeka the spring reading does the sorting. North Topeka, home of the NOTO arts district, sits right on the floor at 876 ft: −20°F (zone 4b) and 4°F colder than downtown at bloom. Oakland plans for −19°F and reads 5°F colder, Belmont, Menoken and Grantville −19°F and 4°F colder. Tecumseh, 2 miles east between Tecumseh and Stinson creeks, plans for −19°F and reads even with downtown.

South and southwest, the city climbs toward the hills. Burnett Mound, the landmark the June 8, 1966 tornado passed over, stands 180 ft above its floor on a 12 percent slope. It plans for −17°F (5a) and reads 10°F warmer than downtown at bloom, the warmest spring reading of any named place on the map. Highland Park, 80 ft up, plans for −18°F and reads even with downtown, and Cullen Village −18°F and 1°F warmer. Flat high ground does less: Pauline, at 1,027 ft, plans for −19°F and reads 2°F colder. Berryton, southeast of town at its local floor, plans for −20°F (4b) and reads 5°F colder. The south and west slopes are Topeka's stone fruit ground; even our −20°F trees, like Bing cherry and Santa Rosa plum, clear the winter number on Burnett Mound and in Highland Park. On the North Topeka and Oakland bottoms, plant apples and bush fruit.

Lawrence, Mount Oread and North Lawrence

Downtown Lawrence, at 860 ft on a toe slope 50 ft above the floor, plans for −21°F (zone 4b), typical winter −6°F. That's 3°F colder than downtown Topeka; the planning low leans on nearby stations, and the closest match for downtown's height is the cold airport station. On a bloom night it flips: downtown Lawrence reads 3°F warmer than downtown Topeka, because cold drains past it toward the river. Within 3 miles the floor plans for −22°F and the bench ground −18°F.

Mount Oread (Hogback Ridge until 1864), at 1,039 ft and 210 ft above its floor, plans for −17°F (5a), typical winter −3°F, and reads 8°F warmer than downtown Topeka at bloom. Indian Hills, on the south side 60 ft up, plans for −19°F and reads 2°F warmer. Neighborhoods like Oread, Old West Lawrence, Sunset Hills and Alvamar fall between the hill and the floor; type your address to see where yours lands. North Lawrence, across the river and badly flooded in 1903, sits on the floor at 823 ft: −21°F, typical winter −7°F, and 5°F colder than downtown Topeka at bloom. Bismark Grove (the old Bismarck Grove park northeast of North Lawrence) plans for −22°F and reads 5°F colder. West of town, Kanwaka sits 130 ft up at −19°F, but the floor within 3 miles of it plans for −23°F, the coldest floor around any town or neighborhood we checked. Stone fruit goes on Mount Oread and the upland slopes; apples, haskap and bush fruit go in North Lawrence.

Eudora, De Soto and the lower Kaw

Eudora sits where the Wakarusa meets the Kaw, at 832 ft, 40 ft above its floor. It plans for −20°F (zone 5a), typical winter −6°F, and reads 3°F colder than downtown Topeka at bloom; its floor within 3 miles plans for −21°F and its bench ground −19°F. Weaver, on the Kaw floor 2 miles northeast, plans for −21°F and reads 7°F colder, matching Grover for the coldest spring reading of any named place. Fall Leaf, on a toe slope above the river, reads only 2°F colder.

Below Eudora the valley pinches, and De Soto, mostly south of the river, sits against the slope, though the 1951 flood crested at 42.3 ft there and flooded most of downtown. De Soto, 70 ft above its floor, plans for −19°F (5a), typical winter −6°F, and reads 4°F warmer than downtown Topeka at bloom; its bench ground plans for −17°F. Clearview City, 3 miles southwest on the upland, plans for −17°F. Lenape, on the floor northeast of town at 788 ft, the lowest of the named places, plans for −19°F but reads 6°F colder at bloom. If you're east of De Soto toward Olathe, our Kansas City, Overland Park and Olathe map covers you.

Tonganoxie, Reno and McLouth

Tonganoxie, on low ground 20 ft above its floor, plans for −21°F (zone 4b), typical winter −7°F, and reads 1°F colder than downtown Topeka at bloom. The warmest tenth of the ground within 3 miles plans for −18°F, so climbing onto the slopes buys about 3°F in winter and a better bloom night. Reno, 4 miles south-southwest toward the Kaw, is the coldest named place on the map: −22°F, typical winter −8°F, 5°F colder than downtown Topeka at bloom. Leave that low ground to apples, applecrabs and bush fruit. McLouth, up at 1,171 ft and 100 ft above its floor, has the warmest planning low of any named place, −17°F (5a), and reads even with downtown Topeka at bloom.

Lecompton, Perry and Big Springs

Lecompton sits on a limestone bluff on the south bank, about 100 ft above the river, and Riverview Park overlooks the Kaw Valley basin. At 933 ft, 90 ft above its floor, it plans for −19°F (zone 5a), typical winter −5°F, and reads 6°F warmer than downtown Topeka at bloom. Perry, the 1865 railroad town 2 miles north across the river, sits on the floor at 851 ft: −20°F, typical winter −6°F, 5°F colder at bloom. That's 1°F apart in winter and 11°F apart on a bloom night, which is the whole case for apricots on the bluff and apples on the bottom. Big Springs, the old Oregon Trail watering stop on the upland along US 40, 130 ft above its floor, plans for −18°F and reads 5°F warmer.

Perry Lake and Meriden

Perry Lake covers 11,146 acres at full pool on the Delaware River, and only its south end is on this map. The named places around it sit high: Lakeside Village, 200 ft above its floor, plans for −17°F and reads 7°F warmer than downtown Topeka at bloom, Hilldale −18°F and 7°F warmer, and West Shore −19°F and 3°F warmer. On the map that's height, not water. The lake was ice covered (2 to 5 inches) in January 2005, and the Perry Lake station's 30-year number is −18°F. Thompsonville, Jefferson County's first settlement (1851), on a steep slope by the Delaware, plans for −19°F and reads 3°F warmer. Meriden sits on low ground at 973 ft: −20°F, typical winter −6°F, 5°F colder than downtown Topeka at bloom. Its bench ground within 3 miles plans for −17°F against −21°F on the floor, so the slopes outside town are the place for early bloomers.

Auburn, Clinton Lake and the Wakarusa valley

Auburn, near the head of the Wakarusa on the old California Road at 1,083 ft, plans for −20°F (zone 5a), typical winter −6°F, and reads 1°F warmer than downtown Topeka at bloom. The hamlet of Wakarusa, right on the floor at 955 ft, plans for −21°F and reads 4°F colder, and Swissvale −21°F and 5°F colder. Carbondale, on a hillside at 1,127 ft, plans for −18°F and reads 3°F warmer. Clinton Lake took the old towns of Belvoir, Bloomington, Sigil and Richland. Clinton plans for −20°F (4b) and reads 1°F colder, with the coldest tenth of the ground around it at −23°F, and Lone Star, on the floor south-southeast of Clinton, plans for −22°F and reads 5°F colder. Pleasant Grove, south of Lawrence and 190 ft above its floor, plans for −19°F and reads 7°F warmer, one of the best bloom sites on the south side. Vinland, the old nursery town, plans for −21°F and reads 2°F colder.

Spring frost and bloom in the Kaw Valley

With planning lows mostly between −17°F and −22°F, winter isn't what decides your crop here. The still spring night is. On those nights the cold layer usually tops out 30 to 200 ft above the ground, by the FAO's frost protection manual, and the bluffs and mounds here stand 90 to 210 ft above their floors. Utah State says ground 50 to 100 ft above the valley floor is less freeze prone. So the warm sites read 5°F to 10°F warmer than downtown Topeka at bloom while the Kaw and Wakarusa floors read 4°F to 7°F colder, 17°F between the best and worst named places on the same night.

The 1991 to 2020 frost dates from NOAA station records show it too. The Lawrence airport station, down in the valley, has its median last 32°F frost on April 18 and its first in fall on October 16, 176 frost-free days, and in a late year (1 in 10) it frosts until May 12. The long-record Lawrence station, 220 ft higher, runs April 9 to October 26, 198 days, with a late year only to April 24. The Topeka ASOS station, near river level, runs April 14 to October 19 (190 days), and Forbes Field, at 1,034 ft, April 14 to October 18 (189 days).

Open blossoms of apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot and plum all start dying at about 28°F, by Michigan State's numbers, and K-State's Ward Upham said in 2014 that fruit buds are usually damaged at 28°F or lower, with open buds the most vulnerable. His check: after a frost, slice 10 to 20 buds per tree from base to tip; green inside is alive, brown or tan is dead. Some nights no site saves you. Over Easter weekend 2007 the Journal-World reported lows of 19°F and 17°F at Lawrence, and Vertacnik's Orchard, east of town in the Kaw valley, went from one of its best blooms to about 10 apples.

Most frost nights aren't that bad. Only about 15 percent of apple blossoms need to set for a crop, by the University of Minnesota's numbers, and unless the fruit is clustered (cherries, grapes), most fruit can lose half its blossoms with little effect. Haskap flowers take 19°F wide open. So site first: apricots, then peaches, plums and sweet cherries on the highest ground with the best spring reading, pears off the frosty low ground, and apples, haskap and currants lower. Bob Purvis's rules apply: an east-facing slope is ideal, a north slope holds early bloomers back, and you want the slope, not the windswept top or the bottom. Through bloom, mow short and water a day or two before a frost. Frost cloth of 0.9 oz per square yard gains about 6°F, by Alabama Extension's numbers. And look downhill: a hedge, fence or road fill across the slope backs cold air up into the trees above it.

What the weather records say

The coldest reading in any station record we pulled here is −26°F, at the Topeka ASOS station on December 23, 1989, in 79 years on file. The old Topeka station hit −25°F on February 12, 1899. In the December 1989 outbreak Clinton Lake read −25°F and the Lawrence station −21°F, tying its record from January 12, 1912, in 104 years on file. Since 1995 the big one was February 16, 2021, when the Lawrence airport set its record at −22°F. Topeka averages 2.7 mornings below 0°F a year.

Wikipedia lists Topeka in USDA zone 6a, without saying which edition of USDA's map. Ours puts downtown Topeka in 5a (−18°F) and Lawrence and North Topeka in 4b (−21°F and −20°F). USDA's zone is built on an average winter. Ours is built on the bad night you plan for.

What you can grow here

For northeast Kansas, most of our list clears winter. Anything we sell that has come through −25°F or colder has come through colder than any planning low on this map, and anything rated −30°F or colder has come through colder than any station on file here has recorded. So the choice is about where you plant and when it blooms.

Bluffs, mounds and high benches, −17°F to −19°F, warm on spring nights

Mount Oread, Burnett Mound, the Lecompton bluff, Big Springs, Pleasant Grove, the Perry Lake heights, De Soto's slopes and Clearview City. This is the ground for early bloomers. Apricots: Harlayne (−30°F) and Westcot (−45°F). Peaches: Contender (−30°F), which Tom McCamant grows at Forbidden Fruit Orchard in Paradise, Montana, Glohaven (−25°F) and Siberian C (−35°F), the hardiest peach we know of. Nectarine: Hardired (−25°F). Sweet cherries: Lapins (−35°F), one of the two hardiest we've found, Rainier (−30°F) and Bing (−20°F). Plums: Santa Rosa (−20°F) and Shiro (−30°F). Nuts: SnowCzar almond (−25°F).

Town lots and the middle ground, −17°F to −21°F

Downtown Topeka, Tecumseh, downtown Lawrence, Indian Hills, Eudora, De Soto, Tonganoxie, McLouth, Auburn and Clinton, where bloom nights run from 3°F colder to 4°F warmer than downtown Topeka. Apples: Honeycrisp (−45°F), Arkansas Black (−40°F), Liberty (−35°F) and Stayman Winesap (−30°F); Baldwin (−20°F) is worth a try on the warmer lots. Pears, on the higher part of the lot: Seckel (−35°F) and Harrow Sweet (−30°F). Tart cherry: Montmorency (−35°F). Grapes: Concord (−30°F) and Marquette (−35°F). Plums and Contender peach go on the lots that read even with downtown Topeka or warmer at bloom: Superior (−35°F) with Toka (−45°F), since Toka is a good pollenizer for Superior.

The Kaw and Wakarusa bottoms, −19°F to −23°F, cold on spring nights

North Topeka, Oakland, North Lawrence, Bismark Grove, Perry, Grover, Weaver, Reno, Meriden, Lone Star and the Wakarusa floor, where bloom nights run 4°F to 7°F colder than downtown Topeka. Apples: Haralson (−45°F), Wealthy (−50°F), Liberty and Honeycrisp. Applecrabs: Kerr (−50°F) and Trailman (−55°F); if you only plant one tree, make it one of these. Bush fruit: Honeyberry (haskap, −50°F), Red Lake currant (−40°F) and Montana Black Currant (−50°F), both of which fruited well for us in 2026 after their flower buds saw about 22°F, Hinnomaki Red gooseberry (−40°F), Aronia (−50°F) and Nova raspberry (−50°F). Keep pears, plums, cherries, apricots and peaches on warmer ground.

Most apples, pears and plums need a pollenizer blooming with them; the pollination maps show the pairings.

Roots are the weak link. Soil and snow keep them warmer than the air, and root damage comes mainly in snowless winters with dry soil, so with 10 to 17 inches of snow a year, mulch young trees and keep the soil moist going into winter. The Kaw bottomland carries 10 to 25 ft of silt or silty clay on top. The Journal-World's Garden Variety column, passing along local extension advice, calls for at least 8 hours of sun and well-drained soil, testing and amending wet or high-clay ground through the county K-State office, and staying out of low spots that hold cold air in early spring. Test drainage before you plant: dig 2 ft, fill it, let it drain, fill it again, and under 10 hours is well drained. Water with drip, and since a good part of this map is MFTC zone 4b, taper it from mid-August, as we do in zone 4 and colder, so trees harden off. K-State has studied fire blight of apples and other fruit trees in Kansas through a SARE project, and Douglas County's grape growers name bugs, birds and unpredictable weather as their main fights.

Fruit history here

Douglas County was fruit country early; the 1873 county atlas listed five nurseries. W. E. Barnes, in Kansas from 1856, platted Vinland in 1869, ran the state's second-largest nursery and is believed to have planted the first vineyard in Kansas; he brought in Concord and Dracut Amber cuttings. By 1887 he had 400 acres with 6,500 apple trees and 1,500 pear trees, and his limestone Barnes Apple Barn (1891) is on the National Register. G. C. Brackett, secretary of the Kansas State Horticultural Society from its 1867 founding, started an experimental farm on raw prairie west of Lawrence in 1859 to test hardy fruit for Kansas. Kansas wine peaked at about 226,000 gallons in 1880, before prohibition took effect in May 1881, four decades ahead of the nation. Today Rees Fruit Farm, at US 24 and K-4 northeast of Topeka, founded in 1901, is described as the oldest commercial fruit farm in Kansas, and BlueJacket Crossing, about 4 miles southwest of Eudora, grows Norton, Chambourcin and Vignoles and is named for George Bluejacket, who ferried settlers across the Wakarusa.

Questions people ask

What hardiness zone is Topeka?

Wikipedia lists Topeka in USDA zone 6a, without naming the map edition. Our map has downtown Topeka planning for −18°F, MFTC zone 5a, with a typical winter of −4°F. USDA's zone is based on an average winter, ours on the bad night we plan for. North Topeka plans for −20°F (zone 4b) and Burnett Mound −17°F (5a).

What growing zone is Lawrence, Kansas?

Our map has downtown Lawrence planning for −21°F, MFTC zone 4b, with a typical winter of −6°F. Mount Oread plans for −17°F (zone 5a) and North Lawrence −21°F (4b). USDA's zones are built on an average winter, so they read warmer than ours.

When is the last frost in Lawrence, Kansas?

From NOAA station records for 1991 to 2020, the Lawrence airport station, down in the Kaw valley, has a median last 32°F frost of April 18, and in a late year it frosts until May 12. The long-record Lawrence station, 220 ft higher, has a median last frost of April 9 and a frost-free season of 198 days against the airport's 176.

Why is Lawrence colder than Topeka at night?

Lawrence's official readings come from the airport, down in the Kaw valley, where cold air settles on calm, clear nights. NOAA station records show it running a median 4°F colder on the year's coldest night than both the Topeka ASOS station and the long-record Lawrence station 220 ft higher. On a still spring night, though, downtown Lawrence reads 3°F warmer than downtown Topeka, because it sits on a slope the cold drains past.

Can you grow peaches in Lawrence, Kansas?

Yes. Every peach we sell has come through −25°F or colder, which clears the coldest ground on this map, and Contender has come through −30°F. Bloom is the risk, so put peaches on ground that reads warm on spring nights, like Mount Oread (8°F warmer than downtown Topeka) or Pleasant Grove (7°F warmer), not North Lawrence (5°F colder).

Can you grow apricots around Topeka and Lawrence?

Winter won't stop them: every apricot we sell has come through −30°F or colder, and the coldest ground here plans for −22°F to −23°F. Bloom is the risk, since apricots bloom first and open blossoms start dying near 28°F. Plant Westcot or Harlayne where the spring reading is good, like Burnett Mound (10°F warmer than downtown Topeka), Mount Oread (8°F warmer) or the Lecompton bluff (6°F warmer).

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.