Introducing SnowCzar: A Cold-Hardy Almond 5 Years in the Making

This almond has been five years in the making—although that's not long relative to typical research breeding operations.

Disclaimer: This variety is still in trial, and we make no guarantees. That said, read on if you're interested in our efforts to breed almonds for cold climates.

The Breeding Journey

We began with 800 seeds. Through a specific “Antifreeze Protein Selection” process developed by Luke (see below), 40 seedlings survived. After two years, we culled 32 of them, leaving us with just 8 elite selections.

SnowCzar comes from this final group. During the first customer field trial last winter, one of our test plots in Salmon, Idaho experienced -25°F—yet SnowCzar showed no winter damage.

Antifreeze Protein Selection Process

Our cold hardiness selection process is based on Luke’s “Antifreeze Protein Selection” method. Here's how it works:

1. Seed Selection: 800 seeds were deliberately frozen and thawed during cold stratification.

2. Initial Survivors: The 40 seeds that germinated were planted.

3. Second-Year Selection: During the following winter, trees were left unprotected in pots to simulate natural freeze-thaw cycles.

4. Final Culling: We selected only those seedlings that exhibited strong antifreeze protein secretion, similar to what we see in native cold-hardy species like chokecherry and serviceberry.

After culling at both the seed and juvenile stages, the remaining almonds have proven to be the strongest and most cold-hardy survivors.

SnowCzar's Ancestry

SnowCzar descends from NC1, a seedling selection of the Titan almond developed by Doug Collins in Ontario, Canada. NC1 produces average-sized nuts in well-sealed shells. It is self-fertile, with reportedly good disease resistance and dependability.

Cold Hardiness Potential

We believe SnowCzar is hardy to -25°F, and potentially even -30°F or lower, as there was no tip dieback observed at -25°F.

Rootstock and Tree Sizes

SnowCzar is grafted onto Krymsk 86, a rootstock significantly hardier than almond itself. Krymsk 86 is known to tolerate temperatures well into the -30°F range, and possibly as low as -40°F.

Available Sizes:

• 3–5 ft.

• 5–6 ft.