• Many people grow fruit for both pleasure and profit, though you do not need to have an orchard in order to enjoy a fruit harvest. Fruit trees grow throughout most of the United States, however climate plays an important role in where a specific tree will grow. If you want to grown fruit in a northern climate, consider planting apples, pears and cherries, which adapt to cold climates better than citrus fruits.
  
  

Apples

• Apples naturally grow well in the northern United States because the trees require exposure to cold temperatures in order to produce fruit properly. The cold period, known as chill hours, differs between different varieties of apple trees. Usually, apples requiring a minimum of 500 chill hours to survive and flourish through a northern winter. Some of the best varieties for this climate include McIntosh, Northern Spy and Honeycrisp. Apples typically ripen enough for harvest in the early fall, making September an ideal month for apple picking throughout the northern United States. Some apple trees have been known to produce apples even in the coldest areas of zone 1.
  
  

Pears

• Pears grow well throughout much of the United States, flourishing from planting zone 5 throughout the most northern points of the continental United States. Like apples, pears also require a cold period in order to produce fruit. Exposure to cold temperatures benefit pear trees by allowing them to produce more fruit than those grown in a warmer environment. A single pear tree, grown in the north, may produce several bushels of fruit in a single growing season. Some hardy, winter-ready varieties of pear include Ayers and Summercrisp. Growth zone 2 has a short growing season of only 150 to 180 days, but pears often grow perfectly in these climates.
  
  

Cherries

• The first cherries were grown in the northern areas of the United States by European colonists. Compared to other varieties of fruit, cherries have a short growing season that allows them to adapt easily to the shorter summers of northern climates. Cherries mature quickly during the spring and summer, producing fruit throughout the summer months. These trees are also hardy enough to survive northern winters without any problems. Popular cherries grown through the United States include Bing, Rainier and Montmorency. Sour cherry varieties have been known to produce fruit annually even in the coldest zone 1 areas of northern Oregon. Sweet cherries grow best in the warmer climates of zones 4 and 5.