Fruit Trees for Wyoming

These are the cold hardy fruit trees, berries and vines that grow in Wyoming, picked against real winter lows, not an average. Across the 15 areas we've mapped in Wyoming, the cold to plan for runs from −24°F on the warmest ground around Cheyenne and Laramie to −51°F in the cold pockets around Gillette, Sundance and the Bear Lodge. 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 Wyoming?

The best fruit trees for Wyoming are the ones that have already lived through the cold your spot gets. On typical Wyoming ground (−34°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 Wyoming. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Cheyenne and Laramie; Rock Springs and Green River; and Lusk and the Niobrara headwaters. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot. Where the season's short, like Kemmerer and the Hams Fork, go with Contender peach (−30°F), which ripens earlier. 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.

Wyoming growing zones for fruit trees

Most of the ground we've mapped in Wyoming falls in MFTC zones 3 and 4, with the warmest spots in zone 4b (−24°F) and the coldest bottoms down in zone 1b (−51°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 and zone 4 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.

Gillette, Sundance and the Bear Lodge. On December 22, 1990, the Belle Fourche River bottom below Devils Tower read −46°F while the Bear Lodge station, about 1,400 feet higher, read −32°F. Gillette plans for −35°F; Moorcroft, down by the river, −51°F.

Cheyenne and Laramie. On January 12, 1963, the Laramie airport read −50°F while Cheyenne, 50 miles east and about 1,150 feet lower, read −27°F. Downtown Cheyenne plans for −30°F; Laramie, in its cold basin, −35°F.

See every Wyoming map on our Wyoming 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 Wyoming

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 Wyoming

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 Wyoming

Can you grow fruit trees in Wyoming?

Yes. The trick is picking varieties zoned to the cold your spot actually gets. Our maps put most of the Wyoming ground we've mapped at −34°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 Wyoming?

For most of the Wyoming ground we've mapped we'd start with Honeycrisp, Prairie Sensation, Frostbite, Haralson and Zestar!®. Each has come through −34°F or colder. In the coldest pockets, around Gillette, Sundance and the Bear Lodge (−51°F), stick to apples rated that cold, like Parkland, and the applecrabs.

What growing zone is Wyoming for fruit trees?

Most of the ground we've mapped in Wyoming is MFTC zones 3 to 4, running from −24°F on the warmest ground around Cheyenne and Laramie down to −51°F around Gillette, Sundance and the Bear Lodge. USDA's map reads warmer because it's built on an average winter, not the bad one.

Can cherry trees grow in Wyoming?

Tart and bush cherries, yes: Montmorency tart cherry, Romeo dwarf cherry and Juliet dwarf cherry all fit most of the Wyoming 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 Cheyenne and Laramie; Rock Springs and Green River; and Kemmerer and the Hams Fork. Plant it up on a slope, since bloom frost is the bigger risk.

Can you grow peaches in Wyoming?

On the warmest ground, yes. Siberian C peach has come through −35°F, so it's worth a try on the warmest ground in Cheyenne and Laramie; Rock Springs and Green River; and Lusk and the Niobrara headwaters. It ripens late, so give it your sunniest spot. Where the season's short, like Kemmerer and the Hams Fork, go with Contender peach (−30°F), which ripens earlier.

Where is the warmest ground for fruit trees in Wyoming?

On our maps the warmest growing ground is Pilot Hill above Laramie in Cheyenne and Laramie (−24°F), then Victor, Idaho in Jackson Hole and Star Valley (−27°F) and White Mountain in Rock Springs and Green River (−27°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 Wyoming?

The coldest spots on our Wyoming maps are Moorcroft in Gillette, Sundance and the Bear Lodge (−51°F), Daniel in Pinedale and the Upper Green (−44°F), and Lovell in Cody, Powell and the Bighorn Basin (−42°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 Wyoming's microclimate maps?

The coldest reading on our Wyoming maps is −52°F at Jackson on a December, on the Jackson Hole and Star Valley map.

When is the last frost in Wyoming?

It depends a lot on where you are. On the maps that give a typical last 32°F spring frost, it runs from May 8 at the Worland station (Worland, Greybull and Thermopolis) to June 26 at Pinedale (Pinedale and the Upper Green). Open the map for your area to see the station closest to you.

How long is the growing season in Wyoming?

Our maps put the frost free season anywhere from about 56 days at Afton (Jackson Hole and Star Valley) to about 148 days at the Worland station (Worland, Greybull and Thermopolis). That's why the area you're in matters as much as the state.

When should I plant fruit trees in Wyoming?

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 Wyoming?

Yes. We ship bare root trees, berries and vines to Wyoming 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, Wisconsin. Or start from the fruit trees by state page.