Fall Fruit Planting Desk: bare-root trees, shrubs, and chill hours

Mid-October through late fall is bare-root and dormant planting season in many zones. Get a zone call for fall versus spring, open catalog fall windows, match chill-hour tags, and work a planting checklist. Trees and nursery stock are not Seeds Now products.

Zone-aware fall vs spring call for bare-root fruit trees and shrubs, catalog fall windows for apple peach pear blueberry blackberry raspberry strawberry grape and fig, chill-hour guidance, and a planting checklist.

Fall vs spring planting by zone

  • Zones 3 to 5: Prefer early spring after thaw. Fall only if soil works and 6 or more weeks remain before hard freeze.
  • Zone 6: Spring safer inland; fall possible in mild pockets with the same 6-week rooting cushion.
  • Zones 7 to 8: Late fall and winter dormant planting preferred after leaf drop.
  • Zone 9 and warmer: Plant in the short dormant window. Chill matching is critical.

Fruit crops with fall windows

Catalog crops with fall planting windows still relevant in October and November. Open each plant page for zone dates and care.

  • Apple
  • Peach
  • Pear
  • Fig
  • Blueberry (general, northern highbush, rabbiteye, lowbush)
  • Blackberry
  • Raspberry
  • June-bearing and everbearing strawberry
  • Table grape

Browse the fruit catalog

Chill hours and variety choice

Chill hours are a cultivar trait. Zones 3 to 5 usually fit high-chill stock. Zones 6 to 7 need mid to high chill with careful tags. Zone 8 and warmer need mid- or low-chill matches. This site does not estimate chill from a ZIP code. Use nursery tags plus extension or nursery chill maps.

How to match fruit chill hours to your zone

Bare-root planting checklist

  • Keep roots moist until planting (soak 1 to 2 hours)
  • Dig a hole wide enough for the roots
  • Set the graft union 2 to 3 inches above soil
  • Water in thoroughly to settle soil around roots
  • Mulch in a ring, pulled back from the trunk
  • Stake if the site is windy or the whip is tall

How to plant a bare-root fruit tree

Sources

Shop Seeds Now: strawberry. Some outbound seed-house links may be affiliate links. Fruit trees are not sold on Seeds Now, so tree sections have no shop CTA.