I’ve got room in the orchard to fill in about a dozen trees and would love to put in 4 or 5 of the plum hybrids, but I’m in zone 5A (4B in a really cold winter, which we occasionally get). Are there any that are particularly hardy that might work in my area? I had accepted that these were zone 6 or 7 fruits, but have recently seen some talk that you can grow some varieties in zones 4 and 5. For what it’s worth, I do have nice Toka, Kaga, Shiro and Oblinaja plums that have fruited.
If the answer is yes, I’m curious about rootstocks and vendors where I might purchase a few for next spring. I’m especially taken with the cherry plum hybrids, but my regular providers (Cummins and Adams County) don’t have them. Any help or advice is appreciated.
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I live in Zone 5. Omaha, Nebraska. So far Pluots, Nadia and Pluerry are doing fine.
Tony
Thanks Tony, that’s good to know. I should add that my orchard is on a southwestern facing slope, it’s reasonably fertile and well-drained for the most part. We have horrendous spring frosts here which frequently kill all the blossoms or young fruit, but occasionally we also have bumper crops.
The Map put Us in Zone 5 but I agreed that We do get reasonable Winter most year.
Tony
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I’m in southwest WI along the Mississippi River… Everything made it this past winter (pluots, peaches, cots, sweet cherries). I also grow a ton of stuff in pots as my back up.
Just from my experience of about 10 years of doing this…peaches are the most iffy. The past 2 years Saturn has done great (lots of blooms again this year). I just planted a Contender and Tangos 2 in the ground. I also planted a Flavor King pluot and i put in a Flavor Supreme last spring (which is blooming right now).
Sour cherries, hybrid plums, apples, pears and small fruits are a given to make it pretty much every year here.
Geopride rocked along for a few years until we got a really really cold snap during winter. -28 F as I recall. Deader than a mackerel.
Mine don’t make it every year. In fact, I’d guess that I only have a good fruit crop every 3 or 4 years, although sometimes apples are better, sometimes pear, sometimes plum, etc… Sour cherries seem pretty reliable, sweets, not so much. I do have a Contender peach in the ground, but this is the first year that it’s going to bloom, so whether the blooms were winter damaged (I doubt it) or will survive questionable spring weather is still up in the air. I have grown peaches successfully on a property 20 miles from here though, so I’m hopeful that the plum hybrids may be OK if you think the peaches are more tender than they are.
I’m still curious about specific varieties, rootstocks or vendors if anyone has any thoughts.
Thanks Kokopelli, I’ll look into the Geo Prides.
Ganggreen,
First of, you may want to check Fedco catalog. I think you need to google Fedcoseeds. It is located in Maine and offers a lot of good, cold hardy fruit trees. Its catalog has a lot of interesting info and tips, too.
I am in zone 6a but it has been 5b in recent years. What has caused most damages in recent years is weather fluctuation. Warm winter followed by freezing cold has not been kind to aprcots, J plums, pluots and peaches.
In my yard, these fruit trees are easily fooled by pushing buds easily once the weather gets warm, even in the middle of winter. Cherries, apples and E plums don’t push buds that easily.
@tonyOmahaz5, is in zone 5 but the way things go for him comparing to where I am, I would have thought his is zone 7 
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Thanks mamuang, I’ve heard of Fedco but never had their catalog or ordered from them. I’ll check it out today, it’s much appreciated.
I’m in 6A/B and my orchard is on it’s 3rd leaf. My pluot, apricot, and plum buds have been frozen out every year. It’s due to the winter warm spells that cause the early bloomers to start earlier than they should. Thankfully, my sweet cherries, pears, and apples bloom late enough that they haven’t been effected. I’ll eventually get a crop of pluots and plums but not this year.
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Thankfully our winters typically get cool/cold and we don’t have those extreme warm-ups for the most part, so I don’t have to worry about buds breaking dormancy most years.
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