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Zone 2a: What Grows in Alaska's Interior

Zone 2a is the first zone where a real list of perennials, shrubs and fruit is rated to survive. In interior Alaska, Fairbanks-area growers have found hardy apples, bush cherries, currants, haskaps, raspberries, rhubarb, lilacs and peonies that come back year after year, especially with good snow cover.

Coldest winter night
-50 to -45°F
ZIP codes in the zone
23
Typical last frost
May 19
Typical first frost
September 5
Frost-free season
About 107 days

Frost dates in zone 2a

Hardiness zones measure winter cold, so places in one zone can have quite different springs. Across zone 2a, the typical last frost ranges from about May 13 to May 25, and the first fall frost from September 1 to September 13 (the earliest and latest tenth of ZIP codes). For a typical place in the zone:

  • May 8Risky: a later frost happens in 9 years out of 10
  • May 19Typical last frost
  • June 1Safe: a later frost only 1 year in 10

What a zone 2a winter means

Zone 2a is still extremely cold, but it marks the line where tested hardy plants become available. Many fruit and shrub varieties bred in Saskatchewan, Minnesota and Alaska carry a zone 2 rating. They survive best where snow comes early and stays deep: snow insulates the root zone, and UAF notes that some fruit trees do well while covered by snow but suffer above the snow line. Pruning to keep trees low also limits branch breakage as snow settles in spring.

Where zone 2a is

All of the zone’s ZIP codes are in interior Alaska. They include North Pole and other communities in the Fairbanks area, Tok and the upper Tanana valley, and military posts in the region.

Fruit

UAF’s recommended list for the Interior and the Fairbanks orchard trials it reports on are the best guide:

  • Apples: ‘Trailman’ (the hardiest for the Tanana Valley), ‘Schafer’, ‘Alma Sweet’ and the Prairie series. The most reliable in one Fairbanks orchard were ‘Trailman’, ‘Prairie Sun’ and ‘Alma Sweet’.
  • Cherries: Romance series bush cherries, hardy to zone 2a; ‘Carmine Jewel’, ‘Valentine’ and ‘Juliet’ were most reliable.
  • Plums and pears: ‘Lee Red’, ‘Brookred’ and ‘Vic Red’ plums; ‘Early Gold’ pear.
  • Berries: ‘Kiska’ raspberry (the hardiest, developed at UAF), ‘Red Lake’ and other currants, gooseberries, and haskaps. Summer-bearing raspberries are the norm because most fall-bearers do not ripen before frost.
  • Rhubarb: does well; UAF recommends ‘Canada Red’.

Fruit trees need well-drained soil and, in moose country, an 8-10 foot fence.

Perennials and shrubs

Common lilac and rugosa rose are hardy to zone 2 (NDSU). Peonies have a long track record in Fairbanks, and UAF’s Georgeson Botanical Garden found that even Itoh (intersectional) hybrids have survived far better than expected. Hardy lilies come through winter under adequate snow.

Vegetables

Use UAF’s Interior variety list, warm the soil with clear plastic, and start cabbage-family crops as transplants. UAF found plastic mulch plus row covers can bring zucchini in 10-14 days earlier with several times the yield.

What to plant each month in zone 2a

For a typical place in the zone. Your own dates may be a couple of weeks earlier or later; enter your ZIP code to see them.

  1. January

    Start indoors: onions

  2. February

    Start indoors: celery, collard greens, leeks, onions, petunias, ranunculus

  3. March

    Start indoors: black-eyed susans, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, celery, chives, collard greens, kale, leeks, lettuce, marigolds, onions, oregano, parsley, petunias, ranunculus, rosemary, sage, snapdragons

  4. April

    Start indoors: basil, black-eyed susans, cabbages, chives, cilantro, collard greens, cosmos, eggplants, ginger, lettuce, marigolds, nasturtiums, okra, peppers, ranunculus, sage, snapdragons, spinach, swiss chard, tomatoes, zinnias

    Plant or sow outdoors: beets, black-eyed susans, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, chives, cilantro, collard greens, figs, garlic, gladioli, grapes, grass seed, hollyhocks, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, poppies, radishes, ranunculus, raspberries, rhubarb, roses, spinach, strawberries, swiss chard, turnips, wildflowers

  5. May

    Start indoors: basil, cantaloupes, cucumbers, pumpkins, ranunculus, tomatoes, watermelons, winter squash, zucchini

    Plant or sow outdoors: asparagus, beets, black-eyed susans, blackberries, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chives, cilantro, cosmos, dahlias, dill, figs, garden mums, gladioli, grapes, green onions, lavenders, leeks, lettuce, lilies, marigolds, mints, nasturtiums, okra, onions, oregano, parsley, peanuts, petunias, potatoes, radishes, ranunculus, rosemary, roses, sage, snapdragons, spinach, sunflowers, sweet corn, swiss chard, thyme, turnips, zinnias

    Plant for fall: brussels sprouts

  6. June

    Start indoors: cucumbers, pumpkins, winter squash, zucchini

    Plant or sow outdoors: asparagus, basil, bermudagrass, cantaloupes, celery, centipedegrass, cosmos, cucumbers, eggplants, garden mums, ginger, grapes, green beans, green onions, kentucky bluegrass, lavenders, lilies, marigolds, mints, nasturtiums, okra, oregano, parsley, peanuts, peppers, perennial ryegrass, petunias, pumpkins, rosemary, sage, st. augustinegrass, sunflowers, sweet corn, sweet peas, sweet potatoes, tall fescue, thyme, tomatoes, watermelons, winter squash, zinnias, zoysiagrass, zucchini

    Plant for fall: bearded irises, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, lettuce, peas, radishes, snapdragons, spinach, swiss chard, turnips

  7. July

    Plant or sow outdoors: asparagus, bermudagrass, cantaloupes, centipedegrass, cucumbers, eggplants, green beans, green onions, peppers, pumpkins, st. augustinegrass, tomatoes, watermelons, winter squash, zoysiagrass, zucchini

    Plant for fall: azaleas, bearded irises, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, clematis, coneflowers, crocuses, daffodils, daylilies, grass seed, hostas, hydrangeas, kale, lettuce, lilies, ornamental alliums, peonies, radishes, roses, saffron, snapdragons, spinach, swiss chard, tulips, turnips

  8. August

    Plant for fall: cabbages, cauliflower, crocuses, daffodils, daylilies, grass seed, hostas, hyacinths, kale, lilies, ornamental alliums, peonies, radishes, saffron, spinach, tulips

  9. September

    Plant for fall: crocuses, daffodils, garlic, hyacinths, lilies, ornamental alliums, peonies, tulips

Planting schedules for zone 2a

Where zone 2a is

States with zone 2a ZIP codes, the largest first: Alaska.

Zone 1bZone 2bAll zones and the zone finder

Questions

Can you grow apples in zone 2a?

Yes, with the right varieties. UAF Extension recommends 'Trailman', 'Schafer', 'Alma Sweet' and the Prairie series from Saskatchewan for the Interior, grafted on very hardy crabapple rootstock. Plant two different varieties for pollination and expect fruit after 3-5 years.

Do peonies grow in zone 2a?

Yes. UAF researchers report that peonies have grown well in interior Alaska for more than 50 years when given ample snow cover and a warm, sunny spot. Because the season starts in May, they bloom in July and August rather than late spring.

What vegetables grow best in zone 2a?

Cool-season crops that handle cool soil and long days: peas, leaf lettuce, carrots, turnips and radishes sown directly, and cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower from transplants. Choose bolt-resistant varieties of beets, spinach and radishes. Warm-season crops such as squash, corn and tomatoes need clear plastic mulch and row covers, and varieties from UAF's recommended list for the Interior.