Plan your cold hardy backyard orchard

Tell us about your site and what you want from it. The planner suggests hardy fruit and nut plants from our nursery, how many to plant, how far apart, and lays them out to scale on your plot. Growing guidance comes from university extension services and research programs in the northern U.S. and Canada, with sources listed on every plant.

Your climate

Look up your zone on the USDA map. In Canada, use the Natural Resources Canada extreme minimum temperature zones, which follow the USDA method; Canada's other zone map uses a different scale.

Your planting site
Sunlight in the growing season
How does the soil drain?
What you want to grow for

Pick as many as you like.

Leave out plants you don't want

Tap a plant to keep it out of your plan. Tap it again to bring it back.

Your space
Measure in
Shape
ft
ft
Planting style

How full should the plan be?
Protection and mulch

Deer, rabbits and voles are the biggest threat to young trees, and mulch saves watering and weeding.

Protect plants from deer and rodents
Mulch

This planner offers general guidance for the northern U.S. and Canada. Microclimate, soil and care all change results, so for site-specific advice contact your state or provincial extension office. Spacing marked "planner estimate" is our own working figure where no published spacing was found.

All sources used by the planner