Regional almanac

Fruit trees for California

Based on California’s main growing area (95820): USDA zone 9b, about 1,018 winter chill hours. Your exact site may differ — check your ZIP.

What fits in California

Good fit (101)

Chill and zone requirements are comfortably met. Each row opens the full verdict.

Good fit varieties for California
Variety	Fruit	Chill hours	USDA zones
Anna	Apple	300	5–10
Dorsett Golden	Apple	250	5–10
Gravenstein	Apple	700	2–9
Mutsu	Apple	500	5–9
Pink Lady	Apple	300–400	6–9
Blenheim	Apricot	400	7–9
Goldcot	Apricot	800	4–9
Harcot	Apricot	700	4–9
Moongold	Apricot	—	4–9
Moorpark	Apricot	600	6–9
Puget Gold	Apricot	600	6–9
Sungold	Apricot	—	4–9
Tilton	Apricot	600	5–9
Tomcot	Apricot	500	4–9
Wenatchee Moorpark	Apricot	700	5–9
Bearss Lime	Citrus	—	8–11
Eureka Lemon	Citrus	—	8–11
Improved Meyer Lemon	Citrus	—	8–11
Key Lime	Citrus	—	8–11
Black Mission	Fig	100	7–9
Brown Turkey	Fig	100	7–9
Desert King	Fig	100	5–9
Kadota	Fig	100	7–9
Violette de Bordeaux	Fig	—	5–10
Arctic Star	Nectarine	300	7–10
Double Delight	Nectarine	300	6b–10
Fantasia	Nectarine	500	4–9
Flavortop	Nectarine	650	6–9
Harko	Nectarine	800	3–9
Independence	Nectarine	700	5–9
Mericrest	Nectarine	800	5–9
Panamint	Nectarine	250	8–10
Snow Queen	Nectarine	250–300	8–10
August Pride	Peach	200–300	8–10
Babcock	Peach	250–300	8–10
Belle of Georgia	Peach	750–900	5a–9
Cresthaven	Peach	900+	5–9
Donut	Peach	200–300	7–10
Elberta	Peach	750–900	5–9
Eva's Pride	Peach	100–200	9–10
Flordaprince	Peach	150	9–10
Frost	Peach	700	5–9
Harvester	Peach	750–900	5–9
Mid-Pride	Peach	250	9–10
O'Henry	Peach	750	5–9
Redhaven	Peach	900+	5–9
Suncrest	Peach	500	5–10
Tropic Snow	Peach	225	6–10
20th Century	Pear	300–400	5–10
Bartlett	Pear	500–600	5–9
Bosc	Pear	500–600	5–9
Chojuro	Pear	450	5–9
Comice	Pear	600	5–9
D'Anjou	Pear	800	5–9
Harrow Delight	Pear	800	4–9
Hosui	Pear	300–400	5–10
Kieffer	Pear	200–300	5–10
Shinko	Pear	450	5–9
Shinseiki	Pear	250–300	5–10
Warren	Pear	600	5–9
Yoinashi	Pear	300–400	5–10
Fuyu	Persimmon	200	7–10
Hachiya	Persimmon	200	7–10
Jiro	Persimmon	200	8–11
Meader	Persimmon	—	5–9
Saijo	Persimmon	200	7–9
Beauty	Plum	250	6–10
Blue Damson	Plum	800	5–9
Burgundy	Plum	300	5–9
Dapple Dandy	Plum	400–500	5–10
Elephant Heart	Plum	500	5–9
Flavor Grenade	Plum	300–400	6–10
Flavor King	Plum	400	6–10
Flavor Supreme	Plum	700–800	5–9
French Improved Prune	Plum	800	5–9
Italian Prune	Plum	800	4–9
Methley	Plum	250	5–9
Santa Rosa	Plum	300	5–10
Satsuma	Plum	300	6–10
Shiro	Plum	400–500	5–9
Stanley	Plum	800	4–9
Ambrosia	Pomegranate	150	8–10
Angel Red	Pomegranate	—	7–11
Eversweet	Pomegranate	150	8–10
Parfianka	Pomegranate	100–200	7–10
Salavatski	Pomegranate	—	7–10
Sweet	Pomegranate	100	8–10
Wonderful	Pomegranate	150	8–10
Black Tartarian	Sweet Cherry	700	5–9
Craig's Crimson	Sweet Cherry	500–600	4–9
Lapins	Sweet Cherry	500	5–9
Rainier	Sweet Cherry	700	5–9
Royal Rainier	Sweet Cherry	500	5–9
Stella	Sweet Cherry	400–500	5–9
Sweetheart	Sweet Cherry	—	5–9
Van	Sweet Cherry	700	4–9
Balaton	Tart Cherry	—	4–9
Early Richmond	Tart Cherry	700	4–9
English Morello	Tart Cherry	500	4–9
Evans Bali	Tart Cherry	400–700	3–9
Meteor	Tart Cherry	800	4–9

Marginal (16)

Possible in a good year or a favorable microclimate — each row opens the caveats.

Marginal varieties for California
Variety	Fruit	Chill hours	USDA zones
TropicSweet	Apple	300	—
Flameprince	Peach	750–900	—
Flordacrest	Peach	350	—
Gulfprince	Peach	400	—
Junegold	Peach	600–750	—
Loring	Peach	750–900	—
Redglobe	Peach	750–900	—
Redskin	Peach	750–900	—
TropicBeauty	Peach	150	—
UFGold	Peach	200	—
UFOne	Peach	250	—
UFSun	Peach	100	—
Moonglow	Pear	400–500	—
Green Gage	Plum	700	—
Brooks	Sweet Cherry	500	—
Sunburst	Sweet Cherry	800	—

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Sources

[1] Open-Meteo / Copernicus ERA5. Historical Weather API (hourly 2m temperature) — accessed July 2026
[2] USDA / PRISM (Oregon State University). 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map — accessed July 2026