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Tropical Fruit Trees You Can Grow in the US

Tropical fruit you can grow in the US: mango, avocado, banana, pineapple, dragon fruit and passion fruit, with the zone, pot and winter plan for each.

You can grow tropical fruit in the US, but your winters decide how. In zones 10–11 (South Florida, coastal Southern California, Hawaii, Puerto Rico) the whole list can go in the ground. In zone 9 you can plant avocado and banana, and in zone 9b passion fruit and, with frost protection, dragon fruit. Everywhere colder, the answer is a big pot that you carry indoors before the first frost.

This collection gathers the tropical fruit we cover. Each tile links to a full guide with zones, varieties, planting and care, written for US gardens.

What “tropical” means for your zone

Be honest about the cold limit before you buy. Mango and pineapple are in-ground plants only in zones 10–11, and dragon fruit in zones 10–11, or 9b with frost protection. Avocado and banana grow in the ground in zones 9–11. Passion fruit wants zone 9b and above, though its hardy native cousin, maypop, is listed for zones 7b–11. For the full picture, see our guide to fruit trees by zone.

Colder than that, tropical fruit is a pot project. Pots let you control the winter, and our guide to growing fruit trees in containers covers sizes and mixes, while overwintering fruit trees indoors says when each one comes in.

How to pick

  • Pick for your winter first. Check the cold limit on each guide. Pineapple does not tolerate freezing below 28°F (−2°C), and young mango trees can be killed at 29–30°F.
  • Pick for your space. Choose a compact type for a pot: a grafted Carrie mango, or Dwarf Cavendish banana at 4–7 ft.
  • Pick for patience. Dragon fruit from a cutting can fruit within a year. A banana flower stalk takes 10–15 months, pineapple 15–24, a grafted mango 3–5 years and a grafted avocado 3–4. See fast-growing fruit trees for the full ranking.
  • Pick for pollination. Mango is self-fertile. Many dragon fruit plants need a second type, and a brush at night helps.
  • Buy right. Choose a labeled, grafted plant from a regional nursery: our guide on where to buy fruit trees in the US explains what to check.