Fruit Trees for Wisconsin

These are the cold hardy fruit trees, berries and vines that grow in Wisconsin, picked against real winter lows, not an average. Across the 23 areas we've mapped in Wisconsin, the cold to plan for runs from −17°F on the warmest ground around Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine to −46°F in the cold pockets around Rice Lake, Ladysmith and Hayward. 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 Wisconsin?

The best fruit trees for Wisconsin are the ones that have already lived through the cold your spot gets. On typical Wisconsin ground (−32°F, the middle of our mapped areas), 194 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, Native American plum and Prairie Red; 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 Wisconsin. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine; Door County; and Green Bay, Appleton and the Fox 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.

Wisconsin growing zones for fruit trees

Most of the ground we've mapped in Wisconsin falls in MFTC zones 3 and 4, with the warmest spots in zone 5a (−17°F) and the coldest bottoms down in zone 2a (−46°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.

Rice Lake, Ladysmith and Hayward. On February 4, 1996, a station in low, marshy ground near Couderay hit −55°F, Wisconsin's official record, while Rice Lake bottomed out at −38°F.

Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine. In the January 2019 cold snap, NOAA's Brookfield station by the Fox River read −33°F while South Milwaukee, on the lake, bottomed out at −22°F. Around Milwaukee, where you plant decides which winter your trees get.

See every Wisconsin map on our Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

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, Siberian C peach and Westcot apricot are self fertile, and so is everything in our self fertile fruit trees collection.

Ordering bare root trees for Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin

Can you grow fruit trees in Wisconsin?

Yes. The trick is picking varieties zoned to the cold your spot actually gets. Our maps put most of the Wisconsin ground we've mapped at −32°F for planning, and 194 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 Wisconsin?

For most of the Wisconsin ground we've mapped we'd start with Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite, Haralson and Zestar!®. Each has come through −32°F or colder. In the coldest pockets, around Rice Lake, Ladysmith and Hayward (−46°F), Prairie Sensation still clears it; the others want better ground.

What growing zone is Wisconsin for fruit trees?

Most of the ground we've mapped in Wisconsin is MFTC zones 3 to 4, running from −17°F on the warmest ground around Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine down to −46°F around Rice Lake, Ladysmith and Hayward. USDA's map reads warmer because it's built on an average winter, not the bad one.

Can cherry trees grow in Wisconsin?

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

On the warmest ground, yes. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine; Door County; and Green Bay, Appleton and the Fox Valley. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot.

Where is the warmest ground for fruit trees in Wisconsin?

On our maps the warmest growing ground is Ives in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Racine (−17°F), then Idlewild in Door County (−20°F) and Denmark in Green Bay, Appleton and the Fox Valley (−20°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 Wisconsin?

The coldest spots on our Wisconsin maps are Hauer in Rice Lake, Ladysmith and Hayward (−46°F), Blair in Arcadia, Whitehall and the Trempealeau valley (−43°F), and Duluth, Superior and the North Shore (−41°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 Wisconsin's microclimate maps?

The coldest reading on our Wisconsin maps is −55°F at Couderay 7W on February 4, 1996, on the Rice Lake, Ladysmith and Hayward map.

When is the last frost in Wisconsin?

It depends a lot on where you are. On the maps that give a typical last 32°F spring frost, it runs from April 22 at Beloit (Janesville, Beloit and the lower Rock River) to May 28 at the Ashland airport (Bayfield, Ashland and the Chequamegon). Open the map for your area to see the station closest to you.

How long is the growing season in Wisconsin?

Our maps put the frost free season anywhere from about 121 days at the Ashland airport (Bayfield, Ashland and the Chequamegon) to about 182 days at the old Sheboygan station (Sheboygan, Manitowoc and the Lake Michigan shore). That's why the area you're in matters as much as the state.

When should I plant fruit trees in Wisconsin?

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 Wisconsin?

Yes. We ship bare root trees, berries and vines to Wisconsin 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, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming. Or start from the fruit trees by state page.