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Chilling Hours for Fruit Trees Explained

Most stone fruit trees like Apples, Peach, Pears, Nectarines, Plums, Apricots, Cherries, etc.; that is fruit trees whose fruit have a pit, stone or seed, need cold in the winter or their flowers don't set fruit the next Spring. Citrus (oranges, lemons, grapfruit, etc.) require no chilling hours, but even figs require some chilling hours.

Fruit tres like this are deciduous, meaning they drop their leaves in the Fall and go into dormancyThrough the winter the trees go into another state known as rest, during which they cannot grow even if the weather warmed up enough for tree growth. The tree needs a continued exposure to chilling temperatures to overcome this period of rest, after which normal buds grow and break open once growing conditions are favorable.

The minimal duration of chilling length for any particular variety is known as the chilling hours requirement for that variety. That is a number, in total hours, of temperatures below 45 F. although some authorities say the range may be from 32 to 50°F.  The lower the chilling requirement, the earlier the tree will begin growing once temperatures are warm enough. As an example, North Carolina typically receives in excess of 1,000 chilling hours annually and Florida gets less than 500.  Since most stone fruit trees need more than 600 hours, you won't find apples, peaches, etc being grown commercially in Florida or along the Gulf coast.

Chilling hours

Fruit trees:

• Apple 400 to 1000 (there are a few low chill varieties which need fewer hours). Click here for more about apples.
• Apricot 500 to 600
• Cherry 700 to 800
• Currant 800 to 1000
• Fig 100 to 200
• Mulberry 400
• Peach varieties vary greatly in the number of chilling hours required from less than 500 hours to 1,000 hours, most are in the range 650 to 850 hours. See more on this page.
• Pear (European) 600 to 800
• Pear (Japanese) 400 to 500
• Persimmon 200 to 400
• Plum (European) 800 to 900
• Plum (Japanese) 300 to 500
• Pluots and plumcots 400
• Pomegranate 100 to 200
• Quince 300 to 500

Fruit bushes, vines and brambles

• Blackberry 200 to 500
• Blueberry (Northern) 800
• Gooseberry 800 to 1000
• Grape 100 and more
• Kiwi 600 to 800
• Strawberry 200 to 300
• Raspberries 700 to 800

Nut trees

• Almond 500 to 600
• Chestnut 400 to 500
• Filbert 800
• Walnut 600 to 700