Fruit Trees for Yankton, Vermillion and the Missouri River, South Dakota

On February 11, 1988, the NOAA station on the Missouri River bottom a mile south of Vermillion read −33°F. That same morning the station on Yankton's east edge read −23°F and the one at Gavins Point Dam −24°F. A 10°F split along one river valley comes down to where the ground sits: out on the open bottom where cold air pools, or on a slope or in town, where it drains away or the town's heat takes the edge off. That's where picking fruit trees for Yankton, Vermillion and the Missouri River starts.

The map covers the Missouri National Recreational River country of southeastern South Dakota and northeast Nebraska: Yankton and the east end of Lewis and Clark Lake, Gayville and Meckling on the bottoms, Vermillion and Clay County up to Wakonda and Irene, northern Yankton County, and the Cedar County bluffs around St. Helena. 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 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 average year's coldest night, the kind of number USDA's zones are built on, which is why theirs read warmer) and a spring layer: how much warmer or colder a spot runs than Yankton on a still, clear night at bloom.

Yankton, the reference town, plans for −29°F (MFTC zone 4a) with a typical winter of −15°F. The middle of the growing ground plans for −31°F, and nine tenths of it falls between −35°F and −28°F. The warm end is the high ground west of town: Lakeport on the Yankton Ridge at −27°F, and the Oak Hills, Northshore and Fairview Heights lake slopes at −29°F to −30°F. The cold end is the Missouri bottom below Vermillion (−32°F to −33°F) and the Clay County upland, where Dalesburg, Lodi and Irene plan for −33°F. The spring layer spreads wider, from about 6°F colder than Yankton on that bottom to 9°F warmer on the Oak Hills slope.

Why the map looks the way it does

The Missouri cuts east through this country in a steep-walled trench, with chalk bluffs about 100 ft high near Yankton and Nebraska ground climbing 250 to 320 ft above the bottom within a few miles. North of it the Yankton Ridge crests near 1,670 ft, nearly 500 ft above the trench floor, and the James and the Vermillion come down off the till plain beyond. On a clear, calm night every slope sheds cold air down its draws (Marne Creek runs right through Yankton) to the lowest floor it can reach, and the lowest floor is the east end: the river's surface drops from about 1,156 ft below Gavins Point Dam to about 1,123 ft south of Vermillion. Ridge tops to river, it's one airshed.

The bottom is the cold sink. The Vermillion 2 SE station sits on open floodplain at 1,137 ft, lower than about 91 percent of the land within 2 miles, and its yearly low runs a median 4°F colder than the old Gavins Point Dam station's. The map puts that bottom at −32°F to −33°F, with the coldest spring reading of any place on this page. The James River mouth, 6 miles east of Yankton, plans for −32°F; the James falls only about 0.75 ft per mile in a flat-floored trench, so cold made there just sits and deepens. A river doesn't warm its bottom on a winter night, and the low, poorly drained Onawa and Napa bottoms are the worst fruit ground here.

The warm ground is the bluffs and slopes, out of the pool and below the windswept tops. Vermillion sits on its bluff 80 to 90 ft above that bottom and reads about 9°F better at bloom than the floodplain a mile south. The Gavins Point Dam station, about 100 ft above the tailwater, read −24°F on December 22, 1989 while Yankton 2 E read −31°F and Vermillion 2 SE −30°F. A Hungarian study of 69 clear, calm nights found a valley floor averaged 6.7°F colder than a slope 230 ft higher, and Utah State's extension people say ground 50 to 100 ft above the valley floor is less freeze prone.

The northeast corner breaks it, and not because it sits in a hole. The Centerville 6 SE station stands on a slight rise of open cropland, yet it runs a median 4°F colder than Yankton 2 E over 76 years and holds the area's record, −39°F on December 29, 1917. Our best reading is that it's 11 to 19 miles farther north, away from river and towns, on open, snow-covered farmland where flat ground makes its own cold. The kind of night matters too. On February 11, 1988 the Vermillion bottom read −33°F and Centerville only −27°F. In the arctic outbreak of February 16, 2021 the open uplands got it worst: Centerville −34°F, Crofton (on the Nebraska upland just south of the map) −32°F, the Vermillion bottom −30°F and Yankton 2 E −25°F. When arctic air pours in on a wind there's no inversion and slopes have no edge. The planning low draws on both kinds of night; the spring layer shows the still-night pattern only.

Water does less than you'd hope. Lewis and Clark Lake averages only 15 to 30 ft deep and freezes once hard cold sets in, and lakes shelter their shores only when they're relatively free of ice. The river below the dam stays open all winter, but we found no measurement of what that does to the air. Town heat shows up more clearly. The Yankton 2 E station sits on the east edge of town only about 20 ft above the river, yet with about 45 percent of the ground around it built up, it has the longest frost-free season of any station here, 161 days.

Wind and snow finish it. The prevailing wind from October through April is northwest; the south-facing bluffs and lake slopes turn their backs to it, while the open upland takes it full on and loses its snow. The 1960 USGS study of the Yankton area counted about 60 days of snow cover a year and frost going 4 to 7 ft into the ground. Air over snow runs colder, but snow over roots keeps them alive.

Yankton: downtown, Mount Marty and the east side

Downtown Yankton grew up on a natural river landing, a terrace at about 1,202 to 1,209 ft, some 50 ft above the river: up off the bottom land, with the brick and pavement of the Historic Commercial District and the old House of Gurney buildings on Capital Street holding the day's heat. Downtown plans for −29°F (zone 4a), typical winter −15°F; the floor within 3 miles plans for −31°F and the bluffs and benches −29°F. West of downtown, Mount Marty's bluff stands about 140 to 165 ft above the water, and cold slides off it toward the river. Marne Creek's draw is the exception; on a still night it carries cold down through the middle of town.

East of downtown the town drops onto bottomland along Ferdig Avenue, where Sid and Jay Gurney's greenhouse sits. The Yankton 2 E station out there plans for −29°F but reads 4°F colder than Yankton at bloom, though town heat likely still gives it the earliest last spring frost of any station here (April 25).

For a downtown or Mount Marty lot, plant to −29°F: Honeycrisp (−45°F), Zestar!® (−40°F) and Liberty (−30°F) apples, Summercrisp pear (−40°F), and Toka plum (−45°F) to pollenize Superior (−35°F). Lapins sweet cherry (−35°F) has room; one of our growers in Cowley, Wyoming saw no damage on Lapins at −33°F. Contender peach (−30°F) is right at the line.

Lewis and Clark Lake's north shore and the Yankton Ridge

West of town, the north shore of Lewis and Clark Lake is the best fruit ground on this map. It climbs from the lake at 1,206 ft to about 1,410 ft within 1.6 miles, a steep slope facing south, and its subdivisions sit on 14 to 17 percent grades, 70 to 120 ft above their low ground. Fairview Heights and Northshore plan for −30°F, Oak Hills −29°F (all zone 4a), and at bloom they read 3°F, 5°F and 9°F warmer than Yankton; cold doesn't stay on ground that steep. Up on the Yankton Ridge, Lakeport (1,618 ft) plans for −27°F with a typical winter of −13°F, the warmest named place on the map.

Two cautions. A south face pulls bloom earlier, so the warm spring reading buys a little less than it looks. And the ridge crest takes the northwest wind all winter, so the slope below the crest beats the top. Credit the slope, not the water: the lake can help a little in late fall while it's open (it was still ice free on December 23, 2015), but once it freezes it stops helping.

Darrell and Martha Ausborn have grown nut trees overlooking the lake west of Yankton since 2008, and their pecans ripen some years and not others. Here, plant the early bloomers: Westcot (−45°F) and Debbie's Gold (−50°F) apricots, Siberian C (−35°F) and Contender peaches, Rainier (−30°F) and Lapins sweet cherries, and Purvis Hardy English walnut (−30°F). Blushingstar peach (−25°F), which came through −25°F at our place on January 13, 2024, is worth a try on the warmest ground around Lakeport and Oak Hills.

Vermillion, Gayville and the Missouri bottoms

Vermillion learned about the bottom the hard way: the original town stood below the bluffs until the 1881 flood washed most of it away, and it was rebuilt on top. The town now sits at 1,214 to 1,231 ft and drops about 80 ft at the bluff edge to bottomland. Downtown Main Street, the University of South Dakota and the old Bluff, Forest Avenue and Jolley districts are all up top. Vermillion plans for −30°F, just on the cold side of the line into zone 3b, with a typical winter of −17°F, and reads 3°F warmer than Yankton at bloom. The floor within 3 miles plans for −32°F and the coldest tenth of the ground there −33°F. At bloom the bottom reads about 6°F colder than Yankton, and its station's median last spring frost (May 2) comes a week after Yankton's.

Upriver, Gayville sits on the floodplain at 1,166 ft, 10 ft above its floor; it plans for −30°F (zone 4a) and reads 4°F colder than Yankton at bloom. Meckling, at 1,157 ft, plans for −31°F (zone 3b) with the same spring reading. The bottom soils even carry the towns' names (the Gayville and Volin series), but others drain poorly, and Haynie is saturated 4 to 6 ft down from April to June in normal years. Pick your highest piece and test it: dig 2 ft, fill, let it drain, refill, and under 10 hours is well drained.

In Vermillion, plant to −30°F: Haralson (−45°F), Frostbite (−45°F) and Snowsweet® (−45°F) apples, Ure pear (−40°F), Underwood and Black Ice plums (−40°F) and Meteor tart cherry (−40°F); Lapins and Westcot go on the bluff top. On the bottoms, go with Kerr (−50°F) and Trailman (−60°F) applecrabs and honeyberry (−50°F). Valiant Vineyards, South Dakota's first winery, is just off Highway 50 here; for grapes, Marquette and Frontenac (−35°F) clear the town's number and Valiant (−50°F) the bottom's. Downriver, the Sioux City and Missouri bluffs map picks up the river.

Across the river: St. Helena and the Cedar County bluffs

The Nebraska side mirrors the South Dakota side with more relief. Across from Yankton, the bottom around South Yankton and Green Island plans for −31°F (zone 3b) and reads 3°F to 5°F colder than Yankton at bloom, and Aten, on a toe slope 20 ft up, reads 5°F colder. At St. Helena the bottom sits at 1,148 to 1,172 ft and the bluffs climb to 1,416 to 1,446 ft within 3 to 4 miles. St. Helena itself, 90 ft above its floor, plans for −29°F (zone 4a) and reads 1°F colder than Yankton at bloom. Menominee plans for −31°F and Bow Valley Mills −30°F.

The open upland behind the bluffs is the weak spot. The Crofton station at 1,400 ft set its record of −32°F on February 15, 2021, and its 1 in 10 late last spring frost comes May 20, the latest of any station here. The bluff faces, wooded with bur oak, eastern red cedar and ash, with mulberry and walnut growing wild, are the good ground. Those cedars carry cedar-apple rust, so give apples some distance. Around St. Helena, plant to −29°F to −31°F: Honeycrisp, Zestar!® and Haralson apples, Summercrisp and Ure pears, Toka and Superior plums, and Trader mulberry (−40°F), the hardiest mulberry we know of.

Wakonda, Irene and the Clay County upland

North of Vermillion the land rises onto loess and till plain, with Spirit Mound, the chalk knob Lewis and Clark climbed on August 25, 1804, standing out of it at 1,309 ft. Irene, at 1,370 ft and only 10 ft above its low ground, plans for −33°F (zone 3b) with a typical winter of −19°F and reads 4°F colder than Yankton at bloom. Its floor within 3 miles plans for −34°F but the slopes just above −31°F, so getting off the low ground there is worth about 3°F. Wakonda, 70 ft above its floor, plans for −31°F (zone 3b) and reads 2°F colder at bloom. Farther east, Dalesburg, Lodi, Colfax Corner, Hub City and Clay Point all plan for −33°F, while Westreville, on a bench 100 ft up, plans for −31°F. Lodi and Colfax Corner read about even with Yankton at bloom, Dalesburg and Hub City 4°F colder.

The upland soils include well-drained Moody loess, but the depressions hold Alsen and Parnell, and Parnell often ponds in spring, so plant on the rises. This is ground for the hardiest trees: Kerr and Trailman applecrabs, Kindercrisp (−50°F), Honeycrisp and Haralson apples, Bolshaya pear (−50°F), Brookred plum (−50°F) and Evan's Bali tart cherry (−45°F). For ground farther north toward Sioux Falls, see the Sioux Falls and Big Sioux map.

Mission Hill, Volin and northern Yankton County

Mission Hill sits on a toe slope 30 ft above its floor at a 7 percent grade, near the 4 to 8 percent Montana State recommends, and it shows: −30°F (zone 4a) and even with Yankton at bloom, against −31°F for the floor within 3 miles. Garritys' Prairie Gardens near Mission Hill runs u-pick apples, cherries, plums, raspberries and strawberries. Valleyview, 80 ft above its floor, plans for −30°F and reads 2°F warmer than Yankton at bloom; Volin, on a toe slope, plans for −31°F and reads 2°F colder. Farther north, the till plain around Utica, Napa Junction, Mayfield, Vedin Corner and Lesterville, mostly 1,300 to 1,400 ft, plans for −29°F at Lesterville to −31°F at Mayfield and reads 2°F to 4°F colder than Yankton at bloom. Plant as you would in Vermillion, with the early bloomers only on your best slope.

Spring frost and bloom along the Missouri

The spring layer follows the same drainage as winter. The best readings are the lake slopes (Oak Hills 9°F warmer than Yankton, Northshore 5°F), the ridge top (6°F), and Vermillion's bluff and the Gavins Point Dam slope (3°F). The worst are the bottoms: about 6°F colder than Yankton below Vermillion, 5°F colder at the James mouth, Aten and Green Island, 4°F colder at Gayville and Meckling. Most upland farm country runs 2°F to 4°F colder.

NOAA station records for 1991 to 2020 put the median last 32°F at April 25 in Yankton, April 30 at Centerville 6 SE, and May 2 on the Vermillion bottom and at Crofton; the last 28°F comes April 15 in Yankton and April 18 to 22 elsewhere. In 1 year in 10 the last 32°F comes May 12 in Yankton and May 16 to 20 at the others. The frost-free season runs 152 days at Centerville to 161 in Yankton, and the first fall 32°F comes October 3 to October 11. Centerville's drained upland beats the Vermillion bottom in spring despite colder winters.

Open blossoms of apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot and plum all start dying at about 28°F, according to Michigan State's fruit people, and SDSU warns that plums, cherries, apricots and pears bloom early here and often lose their flowers to frost (Sungold apricot blossoms especially). Apples have the most slack, since only about 15 percent of their blossoms need to set. Unless the fruit is clustered (cherries, grapes), most fruit can lose half its blossoms with little effect. Fully open haskap flowers take 19°F, so honeyberry is the safest bloom on the bottoms.

Site comes first; the FAO's frost manual calls it the single most important method of frost protection. Put apricots, peaches and sweet cherries highest, apples and plums lower, haskap and currants anywhere; Black Gold sweet cherry (−35°F) is one Nebraska Extension names as later blooming. Don't plant a hedge or windbreak across the slope below your trees; it dams cold air into them. On a frost night, frost cloth of 0.5, 0.9 or 1.5 oz per square yard gains about 4°F, 6°F or 8°F. In fall, taper water from mid-August so trees harden off before the first October freeze.

What the weather records say

Centerville 6 SE, with 111 years on file, holds the area's NOAA station record, −39°F on December 29, 1917. Vermillion 2 SE's is −33°F (February 11, 1988), Crofton's −32°F (February 15, 2021), Yankton 2 E's −31°F (December 23, 1989), Gavins Point Dam's −30°F (January 19, 1970) and the Yankton airport's −28°F (February 16, 2021; only 23 years on file). Average yearly lows run −18°F to −23°F.

South Dakota Magazine puts much of southern South Dakota in USDA zone 5a, with some ground west of Yankton in 5b. Our zones run colder (Yankton 4a, Vermillion and most farm country 3b) because USDA's are built on the average of each winter's coldest night, and NOAA station records show the worst night in about 30 winters runs a median 13°F below a station's average winter low. Hail is the other local hazard: it has damaged the Gurney nursery buildings, cut the Elk Point pecan crop and can take a grape crop in one storm.

What you can grow here

Lake slopes, the ridge, and town and bluff lots: −30°F or warmer

Yankton, Mount Marty, the north shore, Lakeport, St. Helena and Mission Hill, with early bloomers only where the spring reading is good. Apples: Honeycrisp, Zestar!®, Liberty and Freedom (−35°F). Pears: Summercrisp, Luscious (−40°F) and Harrow Sweet (−30°F). Plums: Toka, Superior, Alderman and Mount Royal (−40°F), the plum SDSU saves for the warmest areas. Cherries: Lapins, Black Gold, Rainier and Montmorency (−30°F). Apricots: Westcot, Debbie's Gold and Sungold (−40°F). Peaches: Siberian C, Contender and Veteran (−30°F); Contender is the only commercial peach we know of that has taken −32°F; Tom McCamant grows it at Forbidden Fruit in Paradise, Montana. Worth a try on the warmest ground: Blushingstar peach (−25°F) and Rhodes heartnut seedlings (−25°F).

Vermillion, the bottoms and most farm country: −30°F to −32°F

Apples: Haralson, Frostbite, Snowsweet®, Sweet Sixteen (−40°F) and Cortland (−40°F), with Liberty worth a try. Pears: Ure and Summercrisp. Plums: Underwood, Black Ice, La Crescent and Pipestone (−40°F), and Toka with Superior. Cherries: Meteor and Evan's Bali; Lapins and Westcot apricot only on your highest rise. Grapes: Marquette and Frontenac.

Irene and the Clay County northeast corner: −32°F to −35°F

Kerr, Trailman and Centennial (−50°F) applecrabs; Kindercrisp, Norda (−50°F), Haralson and Honeycrisp apples; Bolshaya and Krasnobokaya (−50°F) pears; Brookred and Toka plums; Evan's Bali and Romeo (−50°F) cherries; Debbie's Gold apricot; Valiant grape. If you only plant one tree, make it Kerr or Trailman.

Everywhere on the map

Honeyberry, Montana Black Currant (−50°F), Red Lake currant (−40°F), Pixwell gooseberry (−40°F), Boyne raspberry (−40°F), Nanking cherry (−50°F) and Success serviceberry (−50°F). Native black walnut gets 70 ft tall at Yankton and Vermillion, and our Black Walnut (−40°F) and Hybrid Hazel (−40°F) fit the whole map.

Rootstocks, pollenizers and local troubles

SDSU keeps M7 for the warmer parts of the state and dwarf stocks out of the harsh parts, calls M111 very hardy, notes M26 is fire blight prone and says no quince under pears. Dormant apple roots are seriously hurt near 10°F, so on the open upland hold snow or mulch over them; at Ed Schultz's farm in Gallatin Gateway, Bud 118 has seen near −50°F under snow with no rootstock damage. Toka pollenizes Superior, and Luscious can't pollenize other pears, so check our pollination maps for pairs. Watch for fire blight, apple scab, cedar-apple rust and black knot, deer, birds and winter wind, and use drip.

Fruit history here: Gurney's and the nursery town

Yankton was a nursery town for about a century. Charles W. Gurney, son of an Ohio orchardist, brought his nursery to Yankton in 1897 or 1898 (sources differ), choosing a river town for trade. He wrote a book in the 1890s that covers grafting apple trees and sold trees on credit: customers paid a year after planting, and only for trees still thriving. The company took orders from 46 of the 48 states by 1924, bought radio station WNAX in the late 1920s and left Yankton in May 2000. Three pecans bought from Gurney's in the mid-1940s still stand near McCook Lake, and the old buildings on Capital Street are the House of Gurney Historic District.

Questions people ask

What growing zone is Yankton, South Dakota?

On our map Yankton plans for −29°F, MFTC zone 4a, with a typical winter low of −15°F. Vermillion plans for −30°F (zone 3b, just past the line) and Clay County's northeast corner −33°F. South Dakota Magazine puts much of southern South Dakota in USDA zone 5a; USDA's zones are based on an average winter, ours on the bad night you plan for.

When is the last frost in Yankton and Vermillion?

NOAA station records for 1991 to 2020 put the median last 32°F at April 25 in Yankton and May 2 on the Missouri bottom below Vermillion. In 1 year in 10 it comes as late as May 12 in Yankton and May 17 below Vermillion.

What fruit trees grow in Yankton, SD?

Honeycrisp, Haralson, Zestar!® and Liberty apples, Summercrisp and Ure pears, Toka and Superior plums, and Meteor and Evan's Bali tart cherries all fit Yankton's −29°F. Lapins sweet cherry, Westcot apricot and Contender and Siberian C peaches fit too, best on the bluffs and lake slopes where spring frost is lightest.

Can you grow peaches in Yankton?

Yes, on the right ground. Siberian C (−35°F), Contender (−30°F) and Veteran (−30°F) clear Yankton's −29°F, and Blushingstar (−25°F) is worth a try on the warmest lake-slope ground. Peaches bloom early, so plant them on a slope where the spring layer reads warmer than Yankton, not on the bottoms.

Can sweet cherries grow in South Dakota?

SDSU recommends only tart cherries, and Nebraska Extension treats sweet cherries as trials for very protected spots. Lapins, Gold and Black Gold have come through −35°F, colder than almost anything on this map plans for, so the trees should live; the crop depends on bloom nights. Give them your highest slope.

Where are the frost pockets around Yankton and Vermillion?

The Missouri bottoms, worst below Vermillion, where the map plans for −32°F to −33°F and reads about 6°F colder than Yankton at bloom, and the James River mouth (−32°F, 5°F colder at bloom). In winter the coldest ground is the open upland of northeast Clay County and Irene at −33°F to −34°F.

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.