13 Fruit Trees For Zone 4 Gardens? Cold Hardy Fruit Trees

Hello, zone 4 gardeners! We have 13 of the best fruit trees for zone 4 for you. They not only grow abundantly and have delicious fruit, but they are also incredibly cold-hardy.

Nothing is sadder than spending years lovingly tending to a fruit tree only to learn it will never bear fruit because the environment is simply unsuitable! Although it can be cold, you can still grow lovely fruit in your garden. 

13 Fruit Trees for Zone 4

Using the USDA zone map, you may determine which zone your garden is in. If you’re unsure, visit the USDA map online and type in your town or postcode to confirm.

It’s crucial to choose fruit trees that are suitable for your climate. For instance, cultivating high fruit trees in a hot climate can only lead to disappointment! Take a look at these stunning fruit trees below.

1. Hardy Kiwi Tree

The Hardy Kiwi, sometimes known as the Kiwiberry, is a little kiwi fruit with the same mouthwatering interior but a smooth, grape-like exterior. No need to peel; ideal for lunchboxes and snacks.

The Hardy Kiwi, also known as the Kiwiberry, produces abundant fruit. It’s ideal for growing on a trellis, pergola, or covering fences. The fruits are incredible; they resemble little kiwis! As you see in the picture, they look almost exactly like kiwifruits from the inside, but they have a smooth grape-like peel on the exterior.

They are, therefore, the ideal fruit to pack in kids’ lunchboxes and enjoy as a snack. They do not have the fuzzy skin that a typical kiwi fruit does, so you can just pop them into your mouth!

These fruit trees typically need a male and female for pollination, but they are frequently provided combined, like Hirt’s below. Complete pollination without any hassles!

• Full to partial shade (min. four hours of sunlight a day).
• 20 to 25 feet tall.
• 12 to 20 feet in width.
• These plants need assistance. Give them a ladder or other support so they may grow up, or arrange them into a T form on wires (like grapes do).
• When fully ripe, harvest them and keep them in the refrigerator.
• Mulch thoroughly.
• Regularly water it, especially while it is fruiting.
• In late winter, trim and prune thorny canes. In June, shape and open the canopy.

2. Toka Plum Tree

It makes sense that the Toka Plum has been present since 1911. This plum has to be a candidate for the top choice if you’re going to plant just one fruit tree in the garden!

Because of the extraordinarily delicious fruit it produces, this plum has earned the moniker “Bubblegum Plum.”

In addition to producing lovely fruit, it may also be the finest plum pollinator. If you have other plums, the Toka Plum will significantly increase the crop from those plants.

It is also self-fertile, so if you don’t have the room, you don’t need an additional plum tree!

• Zones 3–8
• 15 to 20 feet tall.
• 12 to 18 feet of spread.
• Full sun
• The soil drains well
• Regularly fertilize and mulch deeply.
• Summertime fruits.
• Excellent plum pollinator and self-fertile.

3. Montmorency Cherry Tree

Everyone loves a delicious cherry pie. We love it too, and if you’re looking for cherry pies, this tree is your best bet. If you don’t enjoy cherry pie for some reason that you may never fully get, these cherries are also delicious as juice, preserves, or other baked goods.

One tree will provide a bumper crop because it is extremely heavy bearing and self-pollinating. If you are fortunate enough to have a large cherry harvest, they freeze and dry well, ensuring that nothing goes to waste. Kids love dried cherries as a snack!

The cherries on this tree are large and vivid red. They are perfect for cherry pie since they are acidic and slightly sour.

The Montmorency Cherry blooms in the spring, and you will enjoy its flowers. They are brilliantly white, incredibly fragrant, and swarming with hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

These characteristics make it excellent at pollinating itself and the garden’s remainder.

• Zone 4-9.
• 12 to 18 feet in height.
• 12 to 10 feet apart.
• Well-drained soil and strong sun.
• It is self-pollinating and yields tons of fruit.
• 3-5 years for the fruits.
• After blooming, prune.
• Regularly fertilize and mulch deeply.
• Variety for the late season, 700 cold hours.
• Resistant to disease
• Fantastic shade tree

4. Honeycrisp Apple Tree

Welcome to Minnesota’s official state fruit! The Honeycrisp apple tree, developed by the University of Minnesota, was bred deliberately to be exceptionally cold and hardy, making it ideal for orchards in zone 4! Its flavor rivals that of the well-known Fuji apple trees.

It is a high-chill type (700–1000 hours) with a thin layer and luscious, crisp pulp that tastes amazing (sweet, but not too sweet). To bite into it is a treat.

• Zone 3-8.
• Can be sized and trimmed.
• Full light and drained soil
• For the finest harvest, plant a different type close by. (An early Gala (zones 4–10), a mid-season McIntosh (zones 4–11), and a late Red Delicious (zones 4–7) or Granny Smith (zones 6–9) are good buddies.)
• September is harvest time.
• Extends the duration between harvesting by hanging on the tree for a long time.
• It keeps well for three months in a cool, dark place and up to six months in the refrigerator.
• Type with a high cold range (700–1000 hours) and tolerance to high humidity

5. Bartlett Pear Tree

This pear tree’s fruit is delightfully crisp with a white interior that makes it ideal for baking, cooking and snacking. With its attractive foliage, robust growth pattern, and stunning white blooms that draw bees, butterflies, and birds, it has a stunning appearance all year. When the fruiting season arrives, expect greenish fruits that turn golden yellow as they ripen. It has an incomparable flavor that is sweet and juicy.

This pear produces fruit well on its own, but you can grow additional types to produce more fruit. This long-lived heirloom variety required 800 cold hours and dates back to the late 1400s.

• Zone 4-9.
• 12 to 18 feet in height
• Full sun
• Highly tolerant to different soil types.
• 3-5 years for the fruits.
• It sets fruit on its own, but if you plant adjacent Bosc (zone 4-9), D’Anjou (zone 4-9), or Comice (zone 4-9), you can enhance your harvest.
• Long-lived and has a strong growth habit.

6. Hackberry Tree

The hackberry can grow in a wide range of soil types. It will thrive on sandy and clayey soils in general. It is hardy, simple, and quickly grows, making it the ideal tree for city backyards.

The hackberry is a superb tree for drawing pollinators and has great value for animals. This tree is a favorite of many birds, especially the Cedar Waxwing. It produces tiny blooms in the spring, accompanied by tiny, dark-purple berries that are edible and have a flavor somewhat akin to dates. Native Americans typically used hackberries as a food source.

• Zone 3-9.
• 50 to 75 feet tall.
• Range: 25 to 40 ft.
• Utter to partial shade
• An excellent native tree that provides food and shelter for birds.
• Great shade tree that grows quickly.
• Wind, salt, and drought tolerant
• Adapts to most types of soil.

7. Wild Strawberry

This could be the most adaptable fruiting plant you cultivate this year in your garden. They fit almost any place!

They are long-growing perennials that can flourish in full and partial shade, making them the ideal ground cover for any vacant space. Plant them in pots along walks, amid your herbs, and around your apple and plum. Somewhere, grow them!

The wild strawberry is beautiful and delicious. Early in the growing season, berries form, and they ripen swiftly.

Although it doesn’t care much about the kind of soil, it appreciates a well-drained location and thrives happily in full sun and half shade. It prefers consistent watering, especially when it is fruiting. The Wild Strawberry blossoms are adored by pollinators nearly as much as you’ll adore the fruits!

• Zone 4-9.
• Height: 4 to 8 inches.
• 12 to 24 inches.
• Utter partial shade
• soil with good drainage; water frequently.
• Late in the spring, fruits start to show up.

8. Gala Apple Tree

Here is the ideal apple for the early season! This tree is the perfect addition to your zone 4 orchards because of its delectable, crisp, succulent, and sweet fruits, which may be preserved for up to 6 months. Perhaps you’ve had a taste of Gala apples before? Galas grown in-house outperform them handily!

The Gala apple requires little care and is simple to maintain. There is no need to wait many years for your first crop because it begins to provide fruit at a young age. It produces fruit well on its own but gains from a pollination partner (outlined below).

• Zone 4 to 10
• Full sun.
• Ability to flourish in a variety of soils, including clay. Best in well-draining, somewhat acidic soil.
• Fruits well on its own, but add another variety for a larger crop. It pairs well with Fuji (only zone 6–9), a mid-season Honeycrisp, a late–midseason Red Delicious, or a late–season Granny Smith.
• Outstanding when consumed raw in salads, homemade apple sauce, cooking, and drinking.
• Keep for up to six months!

9. Regent Saskatoon Serviceberry

Beautiful, aromatic flower clusters bloom in the Spring, and in June, they are followed by tiny, green berries. They resemble blueberries in both appearance and flavor. Not only is the Regent Saskatoon Serviceberry tasty, but I t also attracts pollinators and is attractive and simple to grow.

This fruit tree for zone 4 is a shrub that gets up to around 6 feet tall, unlike most of the other trees on this list. If you don’t eat the berries, the birds will most certainly do so because it creates a superb edible hedge or border.

• Zone 2-7
• 4-6 feet in height
• 4 to 8 feet wide
• brings in pollinators
• Both are lovely and tasty
• Soil that drains properly and full sun.
• After flowering, prune.

10. Lodi Apple (Malus lodi)

For maximum fruit yield, provide loamy soil and ample sun for Lodi apple trees. Lodi apples are gathered in Washington State around July, but in other areas, it might not be until the end of the season. The flavor of these apples is sharp and sweet.

• USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8
• Mature Size: 20 feet
• Sunlight: full sun
• Needs well-drained soil

11. Beach Plum (Prunus maritima)

The beach plum is the hardest variety of plum. It can’t take up much room and doesn’t care much about the soil (it can even tolerate salt). It is just six feet tall. Since sand dunes are where this tree is most at home, it needs great drainage. When ripe, the tiny fruits gathered in August are one inch in diameter and dull purple.

• USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8
• Adult Height: 6 feet
• Sunlight: full sun
• Needs well-drained soil

12. Early Richmond Cherry (Prunus cerasus ‘Early Richmond’)

Zone 4 is a good place to grow cherries, but don’t expect to produce delicious Bing cherries (Prunus avium ‘Bing’) like at a grocery store (zones 5 to 8). Tart cherries good for pie and jams can be found in zone 4.

Although Early Richmond is self-pollinating, planting more than one tree improves pollination. It is best cultivated in well-draining, fine sand because it can tolerate mild drought but not swampy soils. By mid-summer, the fruit often ripens about a week earlier than other types.

• USDA Zones 4 through 8
• Grown-up Size: 18 feet
• Sunlight: full sun
• Needs well-drained soil

13. Mulberry (Morus)

The mulberry crop is gathered from June to August, but the immature berries are mildly poisonous. The fruit can be used to make jams and is tasty enough to eat straight from the tree. If the mulberry receives full sun, it is simple to grow.

• USDA Zones 4 through 8
• Grown-up Size: 50 feet
• Sunlight: full sun
• Needs well-drained soil

Conclusion

Gardeners moving to or already living in a zone four region might worry that their days of growing fruit are over because cold climes have their appeal.

This doesn’t have to be so. You can locate several fruit trees in zone four if you choose wisely. We hope this list gave you an idea of what you should try planting.

If you have another zone four fruit in mind, please tell us what tree you cultivate in zone 4, so we can figure out exactly what makes your favorite fruit great. Which fruit trees thrive and which don’t? Your experiences—your victories and failures—are what we want to hear!

Post them in the comments section below!

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