Fruit Trees That Don't Grow in Snow Country

• The term "snow country" regards areas that receive freezing temperatures and measurable, long-lasting snow during the winter months. While apples, cherries and other fruit trees require hundreds of hours of winter chill, some fruits trees sustain leaf and branch damage, drop fruit or even die when temperatures drop. Avoid planting these trees if you live in cold climates, and enjoy building snowmen rather than worrying about snow damage.

Oranges

• Among the most hardy of subtropical fruit trees, oranges prefer winter temperatures between 35 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Some oranges may survive entire nights at 25 degrees Fahrenheit, but only mature, established trees cope with such cold; young trees suffer damage or even death from short times at these temperatures. Such temperatures also ruin both young and mature fruit. Brief periods of frosty weather, measured in hours, may not harm orange trees during dry seasons, but the longer the cold spell, the greater the chance of severe damage. Young grafted varieties are more susceptible to cold damage than trees grown from seed.

Lemons

• Lemon trees grow throughout the year. Although you may enjoy their tart fruit in the middle of winter, this constant growth also means the new growth is vulnerable to frost. According to Purdue University, lemon trees are "more sensitive to cold than the orange and less able to recover from cold injury." A temperature drop to 29 degrees Fahrenheit kills flowers and new fruit, while 20 degrees Fahrenheit severely damages the wood itself. Even if the base of the tree survives a winter and sprouts from the trunk, the rootstock rarely produces useful fruit. Once cold destroys the grafted branches, the tree itself is useless as a productive, valued fruit tree.

Avocados

• While Guatemalan avocado varieties survive temperatures to 29 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit, Mexican varieties survive brief sessions of 25 degree Fahrenheit temperatures. Like other fruit trees, the longer the cold period, the more severe the damage. Trees younger than 3 years old are more vulnerable to damage, alongside trees bearing heavy crops or recently weakened trees. Damage is often not visible on the tree itself until the following spring, making growing avocados in borderline zones a gardening version of Russian roulette.

Kumquat

• During cold weather, kumquats enter into a period of winter dormancy. Even rising temperatures won't coax new growth from the tree, enabling it to survive in areas too cold for other citrus fruits. According to Purdue University, temperatures down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit do not damage Nagami kumquat trees. However, kumquats do not produce well in these marginal areas and reward warmer zones with bigger, tastier fruit.