USGrowersGuide

Plants · Fruit and berries

Apple Tree planting zones

Every apple tree on this page (Malus domestica) is a perennial, so two questions decide it: does it live through your winter, and does it get enough winter cold to fruit. By the type table below, at least one type is rated for 3a–9b. Below the types are the dates the year turns on: each zone’s median last spring freeze and first fall freeze, from NOAA records.

Published October 28, 2026 · Updated October 29, 2026 · Cite this page

The types

Which apple tree to grow

Type Hardy in the ground Notes
Northern cold-hardy apples Malus domestica (e.g. ‘Haralson’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘Zestar!’, ‘SnowSweet’, ‘Frostbite’) 3a to 7a, then too little winter Bred for Minnesota winters. University of Minnesota Extension lists them, all University of Minnesota releases.
Most apples Malus domestica (e.g. ‘Gala’, ‘Fuji’, ‘Red Delicious’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Granny Smith’) 3a to 8b, then too little winter The variety decides the cold end. UGA Extension grows these in north and middle Georgia, and Clemson only west and north of the Fall Line in South Carolina.
Low-chill apples Malus domestica (e.g. ‘Anna’, ‘Dorsett Golden’, ‘TropicSweet’) 8a to 9b, then too little winter UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says these need about 300 to 400 chill hours and do best in North and north-central Florida. They bloom together and pollinate each other.

Zone ranges are a judgement: horticultural convention set beside what the sources below say, not a measurement. They agree with our What survives my winter tool. “Too little winter” means the type needs winter chill the warm zones do not give it. In the next table the freeze dates are measured, and the count of hardy types comes from these judged ranges; its last column counts back from a measured date by a source’s rule.

Zone by zone

Zone by zone: which types fit, and when the freezes fall

Each date is the median across every NOAA station the zone’s ZIP codes cite, 1991–2020 normals. The middle half of those stations falls within the range shown beside it.

Zone Types hardy in the ground Last spring freeze First fall freeze Potted trees in after
3a 2 of 3 only 10 stations with comparable freeze dates — too few to publish a date
3b 2 of 3 May 18 · middle half May 15 – May 25 September 23 · middle half September 17 – September 26 May 31
4a 2 of 3 May 15 · middle half May 10 – May 21 September 27 · middle half September 22 – September 30 May 29
4b 2 of 3 May 11 · middle half May 5 – May 23 September 30 · middle half September 23 – October 3 May 26
5a 2 of 3 May 9 · middle half May 1 – May 20 October 2 · middle half September 26 – October 7 May 24
5b 2 of 3 May 4 · middle half April 27 – May 15 October 8 · middle half October 1 – October 14 May 19
6a 2 of 3 May 1 · middle half April 24 – May 9 October 14 · middle half October 5 – October 20 May 16
6b 2 of 3 April 25 · middle half April 17 – May 3 October 20 · middle half October 11 – October 24 May 11
7a 2 of 3 April 19 · middle half April 11 – April 27 October 23 · middle half October 17 – October 28 May 5
7b 1 of 3 April 8 · middle half April 3 – April 16 October 30 · middle half October 25 – November 3 April 25
8a 2 of 3 March 30 · middle half March 25 – April 5 November 5 · middle half November 1 – November 10 April 16
8b 2 of 3 March 20 · middle half March 13 – March 29 November 12 · middle half November 7 – November 18 April 8
9a 1 of 3 March 5 · middle half February 24 – March 15 November 24 · middle half November 18 – December 2 not rated hardy here
9b 1 of 3 February 12 · middle half January 30 – February 25 December 8 · middle half December 1 – December 17 not rated hardy here
10a 0 of 3 107 of 190 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from
10b 0 of 3 70 of 79 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from
11a 0 of 3 34 of 34 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from
11b 0 of 3 12 of 12 stations here record no ordinary freeze, so there is no freeze date to count from

“Types hardy in the ground” is a judgement, from the type table above. The freeze dates are measured. “Potted trees in after” is the date the last spring freeze falls before in nine years of ten (NOAA), since University of Minnesota Extension plants potted apple trees after the threat of spring frost has passed.

A zone does not tell you your own dates. Inside a single zone the median last spring freeze still varies by 34 days from station to station, so the box below gives the dates of the NOAA station nearest your ZIP code.

Your ZIP code

Your ZIP, your answer

Enter your ZIP code to see your USDA zone, how many of the 3 types on this page live through that zone’s winter and when its freezes fall, read from the table on this page, and the freeze dates of the NOAA station nearest you.

Works for all 40,502 US ZIP codes. Freeze dates need a NOAA station within 100 km; where there is none, the page says so rather than estimating one. Your ZIP code stays in your browser: the page downloads the file of ZIP codes that share its first three digits and looks yours up there. It is not stored or tracked.

Your answer appears here.

Full details for any ZIP code: ZIP code zone finder.

Chill hours and your zone

An apple needs a cold winter to flower, and the amount varies by variety. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions says the low-chill apples grown in Florida, such as ‘TropicSweet’, need about 300 to 400 chill hours in winter, so they do best in North and north-central Florida. NC State Extension’s plant toolbox says apple cultivars differ in their chilling needs, so choose one for your area, and rates the apple for zones 4a to 9b.

We found no source that gives chill hours by USDA zone, and NOAA’s normals do not publish them, so the type table above gives zone ranges as a judgement and the chill figures only where a source prints them. Ask your extension service how many chill hours your area gets.

Region decides as much as zone. Clemson’s Home & Garden Information Center says good apple soil and climate in South Carolina are found only west and north of the Fall Line or Sandhills, that the Coastal Plain is not well suited because a late frost kills some flowers in most years, and that diseases are harder to control where it is hotter. UGA Extension says the northern half of Georgia suits the conventional varieties, and that adapted varieties can succeed in the southern half.

Varieties by region

In the far North, University of Minnesota Extension grows its own releases, among them ‘Haralson’, ‘Honeycrisp’, ‘Honeygold’, ‘Regent’, ‘SnowSweet’, ‘Sweet Sixteen’, ‘Zestar!’, ‘Frostbite’ and ‘Triumph’.

In Georgia, UGA Extension lists ‘Ginger Gold’, ‘Gala’, ‘Mollie’s Delicious’, ‘Red Delicious’, ‘Jonagold’, ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Fuji’, ‘Mutsu’, ‘Rome Beauty’, ‘Stayman’, ‘Yates’ and ‘Granny Smith’ for the northern half of the state, and ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ for its southernmost apple zone. Its ripening dates for Athens run from early August for ‘Gala’ to late October or early November for ‘Granny Smith’, and it gives ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ mid-June to early July in Monticello, Florida.

In Florida, UF/IFAS grows ‘TropicSweet’, ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’, which it says ripen in June or July.

Pollination partners

You need two. University of Minnesota Extension says apples need pollen from a different variety to set fruit, that a crabapple can be the second tree, and that the pollen source should be within about 100 feet. If no apple or crabapple grows that close, plant two varieties.

The partners have to bloom together. Clemson and UGA Extension code their varieties by bloom time and say to plant two or more with the same letter. Clemson says ‘Stayman’, ‘Mutsu’ and ‘Jonagold’ have sterile pollen and cannot pollinate others, so plant at least two other varieties with them. UF/IFAS says ‘TropicSweet’, ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ bloom at about the same time and can be planted together.

Rootstock and planting

The rootstock sets the tree’s size and how soon it bears. Minnesota says a tree on a dwarfing rootstock grows to about 8 to 10 feet and can fruit 2 or 3 years after planting, while a standard tree can take up to 8 years; it calls ‘B.9’ the most common rootstock in Minnesota. Clemson says ‘M.9’, ‘M.7’ and ‘MM.111’ suit the South Carolina Piedmont and mountains, and UGA Extension recommends only standard trees, on seedling rootstock, in its southernmost apple zone.

Minnesota plants bare-root trees in April or May, as soon as the soil can be worked, and potted trees in May or June, after the threat of spring frost has passed; the table above dates that second rule for every zone. UF/IFAS plants between late December and February in Florida.

Minnesota digs the hole no deeper than the root ball and twice as wide, adds no fertilizer to the hole, and removes circling roots on bare-root trees. Clemson and UGA keep the graft union about 2 inches above the soil. Minnesota wants soil with a pH of 6 to 7 and at least 8 hours of sun a day; Clemson wants 5.8 to 6.5 and usually needs lime in South Carolina.

Pruning and thinning

Minnesota prunes every year in March, before growth begins and after the coldest weather, and avoids wet spells. UGA Extension says pruning starts the day the tree is planted, trains trees to a central leader, does its main pruning in winter and adds summer pruning in early June and early August.

UGA Extension says excessive pruning invigorates a tree and delays fruiting, and spreads the corrective pruning of a neglected tree over two or three seasons.

Thin the fruit. In June and July Minnesota removes the smallest apples so that only one is left per cluster, at least a fist’s width apart, and takes off more on young trees and weighed-down branches.

Full guide: Pruning Fruit Trees in Late Winter: Apple, Pear, Peach

Supplies

Supplies the sources mention

Each link opens an Amazon search for a plain kind of product, not one we picked. We have not tested these, and we do not rank them.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra and changes nothing on this page: the dates are NOAA’s and the advice is the extension services’. Affiliate disclosure

Harvest

Minnesota harvests from August through October and tastes an apple once it looks fully colored; if it is starchy, it waits a few days and tries again. Clemson and UGA Extension give each variety’s ripening time in their tables.

Common problems

Clemson names cedar apple rust, scab, black rot, bitter rot and fire blight as the common diseases, and codling moth, mites, scales, aphids and fruit worms as the insects. Minnesota marks each of its varieties for resistance to apple scab and fire blight, and says some varieties resist disease damage better than others.

For winter, Minnesota puts tree wrap or a white tree guard on the trunk in November, fences or cages young trees where rabbits and deer are a problem from November through March, and rakes up fallen leaves and fruit in the fall.

Common mistakes

We found no Texas A&M or Louisiana source on apples that we read for this page. The Southern advice here is Clemson’s, UGA Extension’s and UF/IFAS’s.

Questions

Do I need two apple trees?
Yes, or a crabapple nearby. University of Minnesota Extension says apples need pollen from a different variety within about 100 feet, and a crabapple can provide it.
What apples grow in the South?
Low-chill ones. UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions grows ‘TropicSweet’, ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ in North and north-central Florida, and UGA Extension lists ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ for south Georgia.
How many chill hours does an apple need?
It depends on the variety. UF/IFAS says the low-chill apples it grows in Florida need about 300 to 400 hours; most conventional varieties need more, and NC State says to choose a cultivar suited to your area.
When should I plant an apple tree?
University of Minnesota Extension plants bare-root trees as soon as the soil can be worked and potted trees after the threat of spring frost has passed; the table on this page dates that for your zone. UF/IFAS plants between late December and February in Florida.
When should I prune apple trees?
In late winter. University of Minnesota Extension prunes in March, before growth begins and after the coldest weather; UGA Extension also prunes lightly in early June and early August.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The type table is a judgement, as labelled above. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

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Published October 28, 2026 · Updated October 29, 2026

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