Steve and Sara Masterman grow fruit outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. I had the pleasure of interviewing them about their decades old orchard in Fairbanks. I was blown away by the depth of their knowledge of growing fruit in a cold climate. Steve described it as an addiction.
Steve grew up on a 12 acre farm in Wales, United Kingdom. His family raised cattle, chickens, turkeys, ducks and had a small orchard. He couldn’t believe he when heard about a guy growing apples off of Chena Hotsprings Road. He had to see it for himself and soon bought his first two apple trees from Clair Lamers.
It was 2007 and those were some of the last trees Claire sold. Claire was the master fruit grower in Interior Alaska for many years and taught Steve how to graft.
In Alaska, a scion that will fruit in our short growing season and is also tasty is joined with a very cold hardy crabapple rootstock.Two trees quickly turned into 50 or 60 trees on a quarter acre lot which they describe as their test orchard. They later acquired an additional lot (about 3 acres) which they cleared and planted out over a period of about 8 years. They used what they learned from their test orchard to plant their larger orchard. Still, Sarah lamented they don’t have quite enough space for everything they want to do — which is a lot.
In addition to a U-pick for apples, they sell trees in Alaska and to growers in other states with cold climates and short growing seasons. Over the years, they’ve tested over 300 varieties of fruit (mostly apples but also cherries, plums, and pears). Many of these were also tested or grown by Claire and developed by the University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program which is one of the coldest sites for fruit and berry breeding in North America (Note: It’s difficult to purchase plants directly from the University of Saskatchewan Fruit Program so look for U.S. growers who sell those plants).
But it’s even colder in Interior Alaska. Now Steve and Sarah are breeding their own varieties and rootstock. They’re experimenting with grafting techniques including the timing of it which is important in short growing seasons. They’ve learned how to care for the fruit trees in the winter and summer in Fairbanks.
“None of this is written down. A lot of it is by trial and error,” Steve said. Sarah added, “There just is not a lot of research that has been done in this kind of climate.”
To be successful, they’ve had to develop their own manual, techniques, and varieties. They freely share what they’ve learned on their website, in workshops, and on the farm.
Testing and Breeding Varieties
When it comes to breeding, first they ask if it will survive the winter. Then, will it fruit during the short growing season? Finally, does the fruit taste any good? Other questions may be whether the fruit is best fresh, good in a pie or suitable for cider. Most of the apple varieties grown in Alaska will not store long, although there may be some that store for a couple of months. When looking at rootstock, they’re looking mostly at survivability, productivity and compatibility with different varieties.
Testing 300 varieties of fruit trees over the years takes a lot of time and space. They’ve come up with more efficient ways to test different varieties. Instead of planting individual trees to test each variety, they now graft up to 30 different varieties on one tree; so what would have required 300 trees only requires 10 trees. Further, they’ve found that some apple trees do fine when they are covered by the snow, but then once they get above the snowline, they suffer. The solution is to graft in place on more mature trees that are already above the snow line.
Below and on their website are some of the best varieties they’ve found, after trialing dozens of varieties.
| Number of Varieties of Fruit they are Growing | Most reliable/ Easiest to Grow | Most Productive | Tastiest for Fresh Eating | Tastiest in a Pie | |
| Apples | 95 | Trailman, Prairie Sun, Alma Sweet | Trailman, Prairie Sun, Alma Sweet | Trailman, Lee 31, Clair 9 but it depends on the year. | A matter of opinion but Lee 17 stands out. |
| Cherries | 8 | Carmine Jewel, Valentine, Juliet | Evans, Valentine, Carmine Jewel | Juliet, Romeo, Evans | All are good |
| Plums | 14 | Lee Red, Brookred, Vic Red | Manchester, Lee Red and Vic Red | All equally good (except Assiniboine, which some don’t like) | |
| Pears | 14 | None | None |
This year, they’re looking forward to seeing cherries fruit and their trial apples make it through the winter. Last year, Lubsk Queen fruited for the first time, and they’re excited to plant some of the new cherry varieties from the University of Saskatchewan. They’re also excited to grow their own rootstock as well as propagate more plants.
Want to plant a few fruit trees or an orchard?
Here are some of the basic steps to planting and maintaining a few fruit trees or an orchard in Alaska. You can find more detailed information in UAF Extension’s Growing Tree Fruits in Alaska as well as University of Minnesota Extension’s Growing Apples in the Home Garden.
Step 1. Test and develop your soil. You’ll want well drained soil with a pH of 6-6.5, high in organic matter with a depth of at least 18 inches.
Step 2. Decide on how you will protect your trees from moose and other would-be fruit tree eaters. Ideally, you will have a sturdy, 8-10 foot high fence to dissuade the moose with smaller gauge fencing to keep out rabbits, ect.. Use tree guards to protect the trees from small animals and other injuries from tools like weed whackers. You can also fence each tree individually although this can be hard to remember each year and hard to time it right.
Step 3. Choose the fruit and variety carefully and make sure you have a cold-hardy rootstock as well. The Mastermans have identified 50 apple varieties, six sour cherries (plus Nanking and Ping Cherries), 6 plum varieties, and 5 varieties of pears that are cold-hardy in Interior Alaska.
Step 4. Plant your trees at the recommended distance apart for the variety, which varies from 10 to 30 feet.
Step 5. Water, fertilize as needed with a little nitrogen and weed regularly.
Step 6. Each year, prune your trees as and thin the fruit. Additionally, the Mastermans have found that pruning above the level of snow helps keep branches from breaking when the snow starts to melt and settle in the spring. This is not a concern for cherries which grow more in a bush format. Romeo cherries grow as a short bush and may benefit from being covered by snow which hides them from the moose.
Step 7. In the winter, the Mastermans recommend brushing off the snow every time it snows as well as spreading coffee grounds to speed spring melt-off and to add fertilizer.
Step 8. After three to five years you should be able to enjoy your fruit! Apple and cherry filling are some of the Mastermans’ favorite ways to use and preserve their fruit. Apple dumplings are one of my favorite ways to cook with apples.
Step 9. At some point, you may want to try purchasing rootstock and scion wood to graft your trees yourself.
Want to learn more? The Mastermans offer a wealth of information on their website and teach grafting and pruning workshops for the folk school in Fairbanks. In 2025, they have scheduled classes April 19, April 26 and May 17 this spring.
Fruit trees from the Mastermans can be purchased at the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Tree and Shrub sale which will be held May 23 and 24, 2025 in Fairbanks. The sale features a wide variety of non-invasive trees and shrubs (ahem, no chokecherries will be sold!). Many of them will be bare-root so they will be cheap, but some are potted. They have also had students from the AFFECT Farmer Training program visit their farm.
Growing Fruit Around Alaska
The Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers is a great way to hear about what’s growing around the state.
In Anchorage, Boyer’s Orchard, a non-profit, offers a variety of opportunities for the public to learn and be a part of an Alaska orchard. Here is a Fruit Tree Pruning workshop that they offered. Also in Anchorage, Faltz Landscaping & Nursery recommends fruit and berries that do well in Anchorage.
In the Haines area, the Chilkat Valley Orchard Project produced a handbook, guides, and workshops for fruit growing in the area.
In Nikiski, Obrien Garden and Trees grows nectarines, peaches, apples, berries and more both under plastic and outdoors.
In Homer Dave Schroer and Dave Erickson have been growing apples since the ’70s. They’ve had issues with black bears in their orchard. The cubs would climb the trees and break the branches. They’ve had issues with rabbits and moose as well. Dave Erickson puts concrete reinforcing wire around the trees each year and take it off each spring. Dave Erickson said Norland is a fool proof apple but it doesn’t keep very well. It grows quickly, but they have 20 species and they are all doing well. Dave Schroer’s favorite apple is a Parklands and Norlands. Virtually none are keepers. Don’t even touch late apple trees because they won’t mature. Dave Erickson said to pay a lot of attention to the fence around your trees as a new grower. Dave Schroer said that good drainage and wind protection is key. Finding a good microclimate in the Homer area is important too and that growing them at an elevation over 500-600 feet is much more challenging in Homer. He’s found that even within his own orchard, the elevation differences has prohibited him from growing trees in certain elevations in his own orchard.
Homer farmers shared their knowledge about growing fruit trees with Tribal farmers in Kodiak.
In 2023, I interviewed Rob Bishop about his orchard, Alaska Apple Farms, in Hoonah.
I also got a brief tour of Igiugig’s orchard in 2024.
What types of fruit and which varieties have you successfully grown where you live in Alaska? Share in the comments below.
Published in the Fairbanks Daily News-miner March 30, 2025.