Variety tables
Named varieties of the same fruit, side by side — winter chill, cold hardiness, and which trees set fruit alone.
320 varieties43 tables32 speciesUSDA 2–11
All tables 320 varieties compared
8 varietiesLow-chill peaches & nectarinesPeaches and nectarines that fruit on 175–500 hours of winter chill.7 varietiesLow-chill plumsJapanese and Gulf-bred plums that crop on 150–500 chill hours.5 varietiesLow-chill apricotsApricots for mild winters — 300 to 500 chill hours.10 varietiesCold-hardy applesApples rated to zone 4 or colder — Minnesota breeding at its best.7 varietiesCold-hardy figsFigs that fruit after northern winters — Chicago Hardy to Desert King.5 varietiesSelf-fertile plumsPlums that set fruit alone — Methley, Stanley and the European prunes.5 varietiesSelf-fertile sweet cherriesStella, Lapins and kin — sweet cherries that don't need a partner.15 varietiesSelf-fertile pearsPears that set fruit alone, fully or partially — Kieffer to Comice.13 varietiesFireblight-resistant pearsThe pears that survive the South's tree-killer bacterium.5 varietiesDisease-resistant applesScab-immune and blight-resistant apples for a spray-free orchard.13 varietiesStorage applesLate-October apples that hold in a cold cellar until spring.10 varietiesDisease-resistant tomatoesLate-blight and wilt-resistant tomatoes that finish the season standing.14 varietiesCold-hardy pawpawsNorth America's largest native fruit, in the varieties that take real winter.13 varietiesPawpaw pollinationCompare pawpaw varieties that need a genetically different pollination partner.13 varietiesCold-hardy blueberriesNorthern highbush and half-high types bred to survive open winters.14 varietiesCold-hardy pearsPears that take a prairie winter — from Ure to Golden Spice.13 varietiesDisease-resistant pearsBlight, scab and psylla resistance across the pear aisle.15 varietiesCold-hardy raspberriesSummer and everbearing canes that survive open winters.13 varietiesCold-hardy elderberriesAmerican elderberries for syrup, cordial and hedgerow, in the hardiest selections.12 varietiesCold-hardy persimmonsNative persimmons that ripen far north of the Asian kinds.12 varietiesSelf-fertile apricotsApricots that crop alone — and bloom late enough to survive doing it.11 varietiesSelf-fertile peachesNearly every peach crops alone — these are the ones worth the single slot.15 varietiesSelf-fertile figsCommon figs that ripen fruit with no pollination at all.14 varietiesSelf-fertile muscadinesPerfect-flowered muscadines that fruit without a male vine.10 varietiesHoneyberry pollinationCompare haskap varieties and learn why a partner with overlapping bloom matters.13 varietiesThornless blackberriesEvery thornless blackberry in the library — the Arkansas erects to Triple Crown and Chester.10 varietiesCold-hardy blackberriesBlackberries whose fruiting canes survive a real winter.9 varietiesEverbearing raspberriesFall-fruiting raspberries you can mow to the ground every winter.10 varietiesLow-chill blueberriesSouthern highbush and rabbiteye types that fruit on 150–500 chill hours.9 varietiesRabbiteye blueberriesThe heat-proof native blueberry of the Gulf South, and which two to plant together.10 varietiesNon-astringent persimmonsFuyu-type persimmons you eat firm, like an apple, with no puckering wait.11 varietiesCold-hardy pomegranatesCentral Asian and Russian pomegranates that take a zone 6–7 winter.5 varietiesCold-hardy mulberriesNamed mulberries hardy to −20 °F and below, dwarf to full size.9 varietiesCold-hardy citrusSatsumas, kumquats, Meyer lemon and yuzu — the citrus that survives frost.8 varietiesCold-hardy apricotsApricots with hardy wood and, more to the point, a bloom late enough to keep the crop.11 varietiesFreestone peachesPeaches whose flesh pulls clean from the pit — from Elberta to Contender.6 varietiesWhite peaches & nectarinesLow-acid, honey-sweet white flesh, from the donut peach to Belle of Georgia.8 varietiesHardneck garlicThe cold-climate garlics — big cloves, scapes to eat, and the best flavour.7 varietiesRust-resistant currantsBlack, red and white currants that can be planted where white pine grows.9 varietiesMildew-resistant gooseberriesGooseberries that keep their fruit clean of the felt that ruins a crop.9 varietiesSeedless grapesSeedless grapes for the backyard, from Thompson to the cold-hardy Reliance.7 varietiesCold-hardy kiwisGrape-sized, smooth-skinned kiwis for zone 4 and colder — and the male they need.9 varietiesEverbearing strawberriesStrawberries that fruit from June until frost instead of for three weeks.
Also in the library
Collections sorts the library by kind, trait and USDA zone; the full library holds every guide.