What fruits can I grow in Utah? USDA zone 6, alkaline soil.

New to Utah? New to gardening? New home needing some new fruit trees? I've got some options for you. My specialty is perennial fruiting trees and shrubs and groundcovers that can be grown in Utah. Specifically USDA zone 6, with alkaline soil and alkaline water, which I believe is where the majority of Utahns live.

Less common fruits grown in Utah. Photo by Sean David Azoulay.

Favorite Fruit Trees and Shrubs for Utah

What fruits can you grow in Utah? Well lets start by listing the tried and true classics. You're likely to find any one of these plants in your neighbor's garden, so you know they'll do well in yours too.

  • Asian Pear
  • Apples
  • Apricots
  • Blackberries
  • Cherries
  • Grapes
  • Nectarines
  • Peaches
  • Pears
  • Plums
  • Raspberries
  • Strawberries

There are also a few hybrid fruits that you can add to this list like Pluot, Nectaplum, etc.

The problem with some of these commonly grown fruits is that there are plenty of pests and diseases that go after them. Some of them can be very high maintenance if you want high quality fruit. Common funguses and borers are almost guaranteed to get your apples, peaches, and cherries if you do not spray at the right time. Local resources for gardeners can be very helpful if you pick one of these plants. Utah State University will send out pest alerts to keep you on schedule with the pest and disease maintenance of your fruiting trees and shrubs: https://pestadvisories.usu.edu/


Other Fruits You Can Grow in Utah

If you'd like to explore some fruits that are less pest and disease prone, there are lot of options. These fruits are also tried and true, but a less commonly grown for food and more often grown as ornamentals.

  • Mulberry        Morus spp.
  • Serviceberry   Amelanchier spp.
  • Persimmon     Diospyros kaki
  • Jujube            Ziziphus jujuba
  • Medlar           Mespilus germanica
  • Thimbleberry Rubus parvifolius
  • Quince           Cydonia oblonga
  • Seaberry (Sea buckthorn berry) Hippophae rhamnoides
  • Currants         Ribes spp.
  • Gooseberries  Ribes uva-crispa
  • Jostaberry      Ribes x nidigrolaria
  • Rose hips       Rosa spp.
  • Honeyberry   Lonicera caerulea
  • Chokecherry  Prunus virginiana
  • Chokeberry   Aronia melanocarpa
Wild rose hips on Timpanogos mountain.

There are also a lot of species and hybrids from the Rubus genus, which includes blackberries and raspberries. Plants like thimbleberry, salmonberry, wineberry, creeping raspberry, and cloudberry; loganberry, tayberry, boysenberry, olallieberry, and dewberry. Nearly every plant from the Rubus genus has edible fruit, and many also have useful leaves.

More Fruits You Can Grow

Here are a few more that are becoming popular but not as well tested. Some of these may be surprising, but they are hardy to USDA zone 6.

  • Hardy Figs
  • Hardy Pomegranates
  • Goji berry
  • Pawpaw
  • Hardy Kiwi or "Tara Vine" (Actinidia arguta)
  • Arctic Kiwi
  • Goumi (Elaeagnus multiflora)
  • Bush Cherry
  • Cornelian Cherry
  • Salmonberry
  • Pistachio

And here are some plants that are commonly grown but you might not have known that the fruits are edible. There are some cultivars that have better tasting fruit than the wild plants and the ornamental varieties, and some that don't have cultivated varieties.

  • Mountain ash or "Rowan" Sorbus acuparia
  • Elderberry (Blue elderberries are common natives)
  • Creeping raspberries  Rubus calcynoides
  • Highbush cranberry   Viburnum trilobum
  • Prickly pear cactus     Opuntia spp. 
  • Hazelnut                     Corylus spp.
  • Bearberry, Kinnikinic Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
  • Oregon grape             Mahonia spp.
  • Ebbing's silverberry   Elaeagnus ebbingei
  • Creeping raspberry    Rubus tricolor
  • Maple fruit/seeds       Acer spp.
  • Barberry                    Berberis spp.
  • Crabapple                  Malus spp.
  • Ornamental pears      Pyrus spp.
  • Hawthorns                 Crataegus spp.
  • Flowering quince      Chaenomeles speciosa

Rare Fruits That Should Work in Utah

Looking for something even more rare? Lets list a few more. There are a lot of places in the world that have a similar climate, and plants that could work out here.

  • Che tree                    Maclura tricuspidata
  • Korean dogwood      Cornus kousa
  • Mayhaw                    Crataegus aestivalus
  • Chinese Hawthorn    Crataegus pinnatifida
  • Japanese raisin tree   Hovenia dulcis
  • Service tree               Sorbus domestica
  • Seaberry, Sea Buckthorn Hippophae rhamnoides
  • Autumn olive            Elaeagnus umbellata
  • Sumac                       Rhus typhina
  • Squashberry              Viburnum edule
  • Nannyberry/Sheepberry Viburnum lentago
  • Wineberry                 Rubus phoenicolasius
  • Appalachian Huckleberry Gaylussacia brachycera
  • Eastern Prickly Pear Opuntia humifusa Zones 4-9
  • Hedgehog Cactus     Echinocereus triglochidatus Zones 5-9
  • Sapphireberry          Symplocos chinense, Prunus paniculata
  • Blueberry Fuchsia   Fuchsia arborescens Zone 7 
  • Plum Yew                Cephalotaxus spp.
  • Pincushion Cactus   Escobaria missouriensis Zones 4-11
You may recognize the genus Viburnum from popular ornamental bushes. The species listed here (and probably a few others) from the same genus, Viburnum, have edible berries and some of them are even native to northwestern United States, which may be a good indication that they will grow well here.
Also, several more Echinocereus cactuses have edible fruits and are cold hardy: E. engelmanii, E. enneacanthus, E. fendleri, E. fasciculatus all have varieties that can be hardy down to Zone 5.

Let's keep going. Here are some very uncommon "edible" fruits that meet the qualifications of USDA zone 6 and tolerance to alkaline soil and water. Some of them may be delicious (and some less so). For most of these I haven't heard of anyone growing them, except for maybe myself.

  • Buffaloberry               Shepherdia spp.
  • Cluster autumnberry
  • Alaskan bunchberry   Cornus unalaschkensis
  • Canadian bunchberry Cornus canadensis
  • Swedish bunchberry   Cornus 
  • Crowberry                  Empetrum nigrum
  • Pacific madrone         Arbutus menziesii
  • Beautyberry               Calliacarpa americana
  • Porcelain berry vine (known to be invasive in some areas)
  • Strawberry spinach    Blitum capitatum
  • Chocolate vine           Akebia quinata
  • Hackberry                  Celtis occidentalis

  • Wonderberry              Solanium burbankii
  • Watermelonberry       Streptopus amplexifolius
  • Creeping raspberry    Rubus calcynoides
  • Partridgeberry            Mitchella repens
  • Sloeberry                    Prunus spinosa
  • Agarita                       Mahonia trifoliata
  • Blue sausage fruit       Decaisnea fargesii

  • Blue Flax Lily            Dianella congesta
  • Cili fruit                     Rosa roxburghii
  • Sugarberry                 Celtis occidentalis
  • Sea grape                   Ephedra distachya
  • Mock strawberry       Duchesnea indica
  • Roebuck berry           Rubus saxatilis
  • Treacleberry              Smilacina racemosa
  • Gorse                         Ulex europaeus
  • Myrobalan                Prunus
  • Bird cherry                Prunus 
  • Whitebeam               Sorbus aria
  • Manzanita berry

There are many Crataegus species that have edible fruit, some have excellent cultivars, which go by many names like mayhaw, thornapple, and hawberry.


Fruits That Won't Do Well

I just want to add a few plants that you may have noticed were missing from all of the lists. These plants are hardy to at least USDA zone 6 but they prefer or NEED a low soil pH. In Utah the soil is alkaline (high pH) and the water is also alkaline so these plants will struggle in the ground.
  • Blueberry     Vaccinium corymbosum
  • Huckleberry Vaccinium ovatum
  • Red Huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium
  • Cranberry     Vaccinium macrocarpon
  • Wintergreen  Gaultheria procumbens
  • Bilberry        Vaccinium uliginosum
  • Lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idea
  • Cloudberry  Rubus chamaemorus
  • Creeping snowberry Gaultheria hispidula
  • American wintergreen or Teaberry Gaultheria procumbens
  • Chilean wintergreen Pernettya mucronata
  • Chilean guava Ungi molinae
  • Wisley pearl Gaulnettya wisleyensis
  • Salal             Gaultheria shallon

Several of these plants are from the Vaccinium and Gaultheria genuses. There are more plants from these genuses that have edible fruits, but I would expect they have the same soil pH requirement and would be difficult to grow here.

Zone Pushing Plants

If you're going to use a greenhouse or put protection around your plants in the winter to push the zone limits, or keep your plants in pots and bring them inside or into your garage in the winter, you've got quite a few more options. Probably too many to list here, because you can keep plants that are only hardy to USDA zone 8 if you protect them properly or bring them into a protected area during the winter. I know some people have had success with some particular plants, so I will list them here.
  • Citrus
  • Dragonfruit
  • Himalayan Chocolate Berry Leycesteria formosa)(Zone 7)
  • Ice cream bean
  • Chocolate pudding tree
  • Ice cream banana
  • Bolivian mountain coconut
  • Strawberry tree
  • Suhosine mulberry tree Debregeasia edulis
  • Azarole

Obviously there are a lot of tropical trees you can grow if you are growing in a climate controlled greenhouse space. I've just listed these ones because they are almost hardy enough to not do that (so you could grow them in ground a put up seasonal protection insead), or they are popular among the growers I know.

And here, I'm just going to add this species which is considered invasive. Probably not a good idea to grow it intentionally, but it's not like it isn't everywhere already.
  • Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)


Lets Not Forget the Nuts

I probably have a couple in the list of fruits already, but I decided to make a special category for the nuts right here:
  • Walnut
  • Butternut
  • Chestnut
  • Hazelnut/Filbert
  • Hickory
  • Almond
  • Yellowhorn
  • Ginkgo bilboa
  • Pine nuts
  • Acorn
  • Pistachio
  • Pecan
  • California bay laurel (only to zone 7 though?)
  • American beech nuts
And for fun, some spices:
  • Carolina allspice
  • St Lucie cherry
  • Spice viburnum
  • California bay laurel (again)
There you have it. A longer but incomplete list of fruits and other things you can grow in Utah.

I want to add this video tour of the plants one gardener is growing in zone 6 here at the end, so that you can see some of these plants in a real garden. So check it out if you want: https://youtu.be/jGj5_Co7pds


Did I miss something? Let me know in the comments!

Are you having success growing one of the less common fruits? Tell me in the comments!


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