zone 3 hard and soft mast trees?

[tmoenhunter]

I'm looking for soft mast trees other than apple ans hard mast other than bur and red oak that will work up here in zone three. any oaks that will grow fairly fast. I've been looking at DCO but don't think they would make it through the winter. any ideas would be great thanks.

[smsmith]

There are a few pears that are hardy to zone 3, but not many. St. Lawrence Nursery carries the hardiest pears I've found.

As far as oaks go -- look at some of the hybrids. Some are hardy to zone 3, but again - not many

[sacco]

what he said. St Lawrence nursery for cold hardy fruit trees.

[BigBuck]

Not much is going to grow fast when ya only have a 2 month growing season!

Zone 3 is getting tough, many, many plants make it to zone 4, but 3 is brutal!
I would stick with Crab / apple trees. Any introduction from Univ. of Minn.

[smsmith]

As far as hardy and soft mast go - pretty tough to beat ranetka and baccatta crabs. Not exactly "tasty", but they get eaten.

Ussurian pear is I think the most hardy pear. When looking at pears - look for them on ussurian rootstock (for zone 3 anyway)

[innova]

Honeycrisp is ok in zone 3 as are quite a few MN developed apples. Dolgo crab does well. I frequently see apple trees way up north - I'd ask the owners which type they are.

Pears are a little tougher. I believe Parker may tolerate zone 3 (I'll be experimenting this winter).

There are a few plums that will do well in z3.

You could call an orchard in zone 3 and ask for recommendations.

[hardwood11]

I am in zone 4 Western MN.... I am ordering Bur English (hybrid) from The University of Idaho Nursery and they (the nursery) says they grow fast and produce acorns early and are rated for zone 3. They are $2 each.

Another possibility would be northern pin oak.

[tmoenhunter]

For fruit trees I have chestnut , red splendor and manchurian crabs. a ton of wild plum but they drop between now and middle of Aug. I have red and Bur oak. I'll be looking into the pears and the bur English thanks.

[tmoenhunter]

Just looked up University of Idaho. They have both Bur English and Bur Gambel which one should I try or would be best?
St. Lawrence Nursery has alot of pears to choose from- Cabot, Golden Spice, Jubilee, Patten, and Pepi are ones that I think might work for me. Does anybody have experience with any of these?
I found a local source (60 miles) for the ussurian pear. what would be a good pollinator for it?
I just want to say thank you to everybody that gave me info on where to look for these trees I will be getting some hopefully for next spring.
just need to decide what and how many. if anybody has any ideas or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated thanks again to all you that helped me

[smsmith]

I think that the Gambel portion of the BurGambel would make it hardier than the English part of the BurEnglish, but I'd have to double check on that.

I have in my head that the hardiest hybrid oak I'd found previously was a Sargent oak. Where I plant north of here isn't zone 3 officially, they get zone 3 lows most every year. Major frost pocket I guess. Anyway, Sargents would be another to look at.

Another source for a few hybrids that wasn't mentioned is Lawyer Nursery. They have all kinds of stuff - very addicting looking at their website

I think any other pear will pollinate the ussurian - but again I'd have to double check.