Best Fruit Trees for Zone 6
-10°F to 0°F (-23°C to -18°C)Zone 6 supports the widest range of fruit trees. Most apple, pear, cherry, and peach varieties get enough chill here, and the growing season is long enough for late-ripening varieties like Fuji and Pink Lady.
Common regions: Mid-South, Pacific Northwest, parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Atlantic
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Hardiness Zone ≠ Fruiting Success
Your hardiness zone tells you if a tree will survive winter, but not if it will produce fruit. Most fruit trees need a specific number of "chill hours" (hours between 32°F and 45°F) to break dormancy and fruit properly.
Check your exact chill hours →Apple (17)
Honeycrisp
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Gala, Fuji, or Golden Delicious)
Pollination
Gala
✓ 500h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late August to September
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Fuji, Granny Smith, or Red Delicious)
Pollination
Fuji
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 October to November
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Gala, Granny Smith, or Golden Delicious)
Pollination
Granny Smith
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 October to November
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Fuji, Gala, or Pink Lady)
Pollination
Pink Lady (Cripps)
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late October to November
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Granny Smith, Fuji, or Gala)
Pollination
Golden Delicious
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile (but produces better with a partner)
Pollination
Red Delicious
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Golden Delicious, Gala, or Fuji)
Pollination
McIntosh
✓ 900h
Chill hours required
🍎 Early September
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Cortland, Empire, or Red Delicious)
Pollination
Cosmic Crisp
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Granny Smith, Fuji, or Gala)
Pollination
Jonagold
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Triploid (needs two other varieties as pollinators)
Pollination
Braeburn
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 October to November
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Fuji, Gala, or Granny Smith)
Pollination
Empire
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Mid-September
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (McIntosh, Cortland, or Golden Delicious)
Pollination
Cortland
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late September
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (McIntosh, Empire, or Red Delicious)
Pollination
Gravenstein
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 August
Harvest season
🌸 Triploid (needs two other varieties as pollinators)
Pollination
Liberty
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator
Pollination
Winesap
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 October
Harvest season
🌸 Triploid (needs two other varieties as pollinators)
Pollination
Arkansas Black
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late October to November
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator
Pollination
Apricot (2)
Asian Pear (2)
Cherry (Sweet) (4)
Bing
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Lapins, Stella, or Van — NOT Rainier)
Pollination
Rainier
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Bing, Lapins, or Van)
Pollination
Stella
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile (also pollinates other cherries)
Pollination
Lapins
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile (also pollinates other cherries)
Pollination
Cherry (Tart) (1)
Montmorency
✓ 700h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Fig (1)
Chicago Hardy
✓ 100h
Chill hours required
🍎 August to October
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Jujube (2)
Nectarine (3)
Fantasia
✓ 600h
Chill hours required
🍎 August
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Arctic Star
✓ 500h
Chill hours required
🍎 June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Mericrest
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 August
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Pawpaw (2)
Pawpaw (Shenandoah)
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs different pawpaw variety (Sunflower, Susquehanna, or seedling)
Pollination
Pawpaw (Sunflower)
✓ 400h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Partially self-fertile (better with Shenandoah)
Pollination
Peach (6)
Elberta
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late July to August
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Redhaven
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Mid-July
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Reliance
✓ 1000h
Chill hours required
🍎 Early August
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Contender
⚠ 1050h — borderline
Chill hours required
🍎 Mid-August
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Belle of Georgia
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 Late July to August
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
O'Henry
✓ 750h
Chill hours required
🍎 August to September
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Pear (4)
Bartlett
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 August to September
Harvest season
🌸 Partially self-fertile (better with Anjou or Bosc)
Pollination
D'Anjou
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Bartlett or Bosc)
Pollination
Bosc
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 September to October
Harvest season
🌸 Needs pollinator (Bartlett or Anjou)
Pollination
Kieffer
✓ 350h
Chill hours required
🍎 October
Harvest season
🌸 Partially self-fertile (better with Orient or Bartlett)
Pollination
Persimmon (Native) (1)
American Persimmon
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 October to November (after frost)
Harvest season
🌸 Usually needs male tree nearby (some cultivars are self-fertile)
Pollination
Plum (2)
Santa Rosa
✓ 300h
Chill hours required
🍎 June to July
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile (but better with Beauty or Burgundy)
Pollination
Methley
✓ 150h
Chill hours required
🍎 May to June
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Plum (European) (1)
Stanley
✓ 800h
Chill hours required
🍎 September
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Quince (1)
Pineapple Quince
✓ 300h
Chill hours required
🍎 October to November
Harvest season
🌸 Self-fertile
Pollination
Chill Hours in Zone 6
Zone 6 typically receives 800–1,000 chill hours per year. Chill hours are the cumulative hours between 32°F and 45°F during winter dormancy.
Fruit trees evolved to need this cold period to break dormancy and flower properly. If a tree doesn't get enough chill hours, it may:
- Flower sporadically or not at all
- Produce small, misshapen fruit
- Have delayed leaf-out and poor growth
- Decline in health over several years
The varieties listed above are matched to zone 6's typical chill hour range. However, microclimates vary — a sheltered valley might get fewer chill hours than an exposed hillside.
Calculate Your Exact Chill Hours →Explore Other Zones
Looking for a specific variety? Check the complete zone 6 variety directory.
Plan Your Orchard
Track your fruit trees, get personalized care reminders, and plan your harvest with Leaftide's orchard management tools.
Start Tracking Free →Chill hour data from Open-Meteo Historical Weather API. Variety information compiled from university extension services.