The fruit trees are broken

[Odrayak]

Greetings Vintarians!

First of all, I want to warn that my English is very bad and I'm using a translator, I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

I have been playing this game for quite some time but almost always in the default climate, which is why I hadn’t noticed this problem until now. The thing is, I started a server in a temperate climate (the equivalent of a Mediterranean climate) and obtained some cuttings during my explorations in different climates. Specifically, olives, pomegranates, pink apple trees, and pear trees. I took them to my base, hopeful to create a fruit tree orchard, and I was surprised to find that it is impossible in a climate that is supposedly the most favorable for crops.

First, the pomegranate trees died; they had already sprouted but couldn’t withstand a temperature of 10 degrees!! That’s when I started looking at the mechanics of fruit trees regarding temperature, and it was a big facepalm. The olive trees were next, when during the coldest time of the year, the temperature dropped to -1 degrees. Finally, the apple and pear trees survived, since according to the game mechanics, they can withstand very low temperatures, but they will never bear fruit, as they require a cold temperature that will never occur in that climate.

In short, at the moment, I can't have any kind of crop coming from trees because they will either never bear fruit, or they will die due to the weather conditions. We're talking about a climate equivalent to the Spanish climate, where I come from, and I can say that with similar temperatures (at most 4 or 5 degrees below zero in winter and around 40 in summer), we have good-quality pear trees, apple trees, and pomegranate trees. We are even major exporters of olive oil, alongside Greece. 

I don’t know where the statistics for fruit trees in this game come from, but they are certainly very far from reality (for instance, an olive tree can withstand temperatures as low as -6 degrees without serious damage, whereas in the game they supposedly can only handle 7 degrees). If it’s about adjusting the game’s difficulty, and I imagine it might be to prevent them from being cultivated in areas where they shouldn’t be, I think the solution should be to reduce the amount of fruit they produce or something else, rather than making them unplayable in the climate that is supposedly most suitable for agriculture. Currently, no type of tree can be grown in a temperate climate (correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t know all of them in the game), and both the temperature requirements for sapling survival and the conditions for fruit production would need to be corrected.

[LadyWYT]

44 minutes ago, Odrayak said:

Currently, no type of tree can be grown in a temperate climate (correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t know all of them in the game), and both the temperature requirements for sapling survival and the conditions for fruit production would need to be corrected.

Apples, pears, and cherries will all grow just fine in a temperate climate. Warmer climate trees like peaches will most likely need to be grown in a greenhouse in the temperate climate zone, given that winters will probably be too cold for the trees to survive. Tropical trees like mangoes can pretty much only be grown in the tropics, or some slightly cooler climates with the aid of a greenhouse. 

The biggest thing to remember on fruit trees, is that the cutting needs to vernalize before it will start growing into a proper tree, and cuttings by default only have a 40% to establish themselves even if the climate is right. The best time to plant cuttings is somewhere in mid-February, as the temperature will be cool enough to prompt them to vernalize, without being cold enough to freeze them entirely.

[Professor Dragon]

Hello @Odrayak

Everything that @LadyWYT has said is wonderful and correct. Follow that to grow fruiting trees in practice.

This thread is in a similar vein and offers tips:
* Dig down into the ground to grow warm climate trees in cooler climates
* Go up a mountain to grow cooler climate trees in warm climates
* Green houses for a small temperature boost

 

I do feel like you have a point that the base game trees don't as accurately reflect real world conditions as they should.
I think they could do with some minor tweaking.
I understand why they did what they did though, in order to make the game play work for most people, and as a first pass they can always build on.

If you wished to experiment with this for yourself, go to here and modify the values in the .json file:
CAUTION: Backup your game first. Experiment on a small test world.
\Vintage_Story\assets\survival\blocktypes\plant\fruittreebranch.json

You can then tweak the values to your heart's content. If you get something really good, then you can upload it as a mod for everyone to use.

        fruittreeProperties: {
            "pinkapple": {
                vernalizationHours: { avg: 250, var: 30 },
                vernalizationTemp: { avg: 3, var: 0.5 },
                floweringDays: { avg: 4.5, var: 1.5 },
                fruitingDays: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: 21, var: 12 },
                ripeDays: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: 9, var: 10 },
                growthStepDays: { dist: "verynarrowgaussian", avg: 5, var: 1 },
                fruitStacks: [
                    { type: "item", code: "fruit-pinkapple", quantity: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: 6, var: 4 } }
                ],
                enterDormancyTemp: { dist: "verynarrowgaussian", avg: -3, var: 4 },
                leaveDormancyTemp: { dist: "verynarrowgaussian", avg: 19, var: 5 },
                dieBelowTemp: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: -24, var: -10 },
                cuttingRootingChance: 0.4,
                cuttingGraftChance: 0.6

Professor Dragon.

 

Edited November 2, 2025 by Professor Dragon

[Odrayak]

39 minutes ago, Professor Dragon said:

Hola @Odrayak

Todo lo que @LadyWYT ha dicho que es maravilloso y correcto. Siga eso para cultivar árboles frutales en la práctica.

Este hilo está en una línea similar y ofrece consejos:
* Excave en el suelo para cultivar árboles de clima cálido en climas más fríos
* Suba a una montaña para cultivar árboles de clima más frío en climas cálidos * Invernaderos para un pequeño aumento de
temperatura

 

Siento que tienes razón en que los árboles del juego base no reflejan con tanta precisión las condiciones del mundo real como deberían.
Creo que les vendrían bien algunos ajustes menores.
Sin embargo, entiendo por qué hicieron lo que hicieron, para que el juego funcione para la mayoría de las personas, y como primer paso siempre pueden construir.

Si desea experimentar con esto por sí mismo, vaya aquí y modifique los valores en el archivo .json:
PRECAUCIÓN: Primero haga una copia de seguridad de su juego. Experimenta en un pequeño mundo de prueba.
\Vintage_Story\activos\supervivencia\tipos de bloques\planta\fruittreebranch.json

A continuación, puede ajustar los valores al contenido de su corazón. Si obtienes algo realmente bueno, puedes subirlo como un mod para que todos lo usen.

fruittreeProperties: {
"pinkapple": {
vernalizationHours: { avg: 250, var: 30 },
vernalizationTemp: { avg: 3, var: 0.5 },
floweringDays: { avg: 4.5, var: 1.5 },
fruitingDays: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: 21, var: 12 },
ripeDays: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: 9, var: 10 },
growthStepDays: { dist: "verynarrowgaussian", avg: 5, var: 1 },
fruitStacks: [
{ type: "item", code: "fruit-pinkapple", quantity: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: 6, var: 4 } }
],
enterDormancyTemp: { dist: "verynarrowgaussian", avg: -3, var: 4 },
leaveDormancyTemp: { dist: "verynarrowgaussian", avg: 19, var: 5 },
dieBelowTemp: { dist: "strongerinvexp", avg: -24, var: -10 },
cuttingRootingChance: 0.4,
cuttingGraftChance: 0.6

Profesor Dragón.

 

The fact is that they do not reflect the real temperatures to which fruit trees may actually be subjected, and that is a problem for the game's immersion itself, since any player starting to play for the first time and planting any of the fruit trees I have mentioned in the climate in question would think that they should not have any problems with the subsequent harvest, only to be as surprised as I was. On the other hand, the file cannot be altered since it is the official server. That is why I believe it is a problem that should not be fixed with mods or modifications in the .json file, but should be addressed in the vanilla game itself.

2 hours ago, LadyWYT said:

Las manzanas, las peras y las cerezas crecerán bien en un clima templado. Lo más probable es que los árboles de clima más cálido, como los melocotones, deban cultivarse en un invernadero en la zona de clima templado, dado que los inviernos probablemente serán demasiado fríos para que los árboles sobrevivan. Los árboles tropicales como los mangos solo se pueden cultivar en los trópicos, o en algunos climas un poco más fríos con la ayuda de un invernadero.

Lo más importante que hay que recordar en los árboles frutales es que el esqueje debe vernalizarse antes de que comience a convertirse en un árbol adecuado, y los esquejes, por defecto, solo tienen un 40% para establecerse, incluso si el clima es el adecuado. El mejor momento para plantar esquejes es en algún momento a mediados de febrero, ya que la temperatura será lo suficientemente fría como para que se vernalicen, sin ser lo suficientemente fría como para congelarlos por completo.

The problem is that fruits that are native to temperate climates in real life, such as pears or apples, are not produced in the game because vernalization does not occur due to the temperature mismatch. Additionally, according to what I have seen on the wiki, and assuming the data is correct, all types of evergreen trees have the same vernalization start temperature, which is set at -3 degrees, which seems like an overly simplistic approach to me and could result in none of these trees bearing fruit in the place where I am located, and that is where I think the main problem might lie.

Likewise, according to what is stated on the wiki, these temperatures are under development and may change, so at least I pass on the feedback, in case you care to take it into account. In any case: orange, pear, olive, and pomegranate not only withstand temperatures well below the ones they have been assigned, but the optimal climate for their development, as can be clearly seen from the main exporting countries, is the Mediterranean climate, where, currently in the game, they do not produce fruit or the tree outright dies, making harvesting impossible.

Thank you for responding to both of us!

 

[Guimoute]

On 11/2/2025 at 7:45 PM, Odrayak said:

(for instance, an olive tree can withstand temperatures as low as -6 degrees without serious damage, whereas in the game they supposedly can only handle 7 degrees).

Fruit trees look at the temperature at noon. That means you need below 7°C at noon for the tree to take damage in the game. I have an outpost around 30°N where it snows at night in January and the olive and orange trees have survived for a decade despite showing 6°C and 7°C as their threshold. 

[Facethief]

6 minutes ago, Guimoute said:

decade

That’s an old world.

[Odrayak]

On 11/4/2025 at 5:03 PM, Guimoute said:

Los árboles frutales miran la temperatura al mediodía. Eso significa que necesitas menos de 7 ° C al mediodía para que el árbol sufra daño en el juego. Tengo un puesto de avanzada alrededor de 30 ° N donde nieva por la noche en enero y los olivos y naranjos han sobrevivido durante una década a pesar de mostrar 6 ° C y 7 ° C como su umbral.

I don't know what kind of climate that will be, but if it snows, allow me to doubt that at noon it won't drop below 7 degrees, since in my current world, at an altitude just a little above sea level, in winter I don't reach -3 degrees at the worst times during the early morning, the snow doesn't settle, and berry bushes bear fruit almost all winter. At noon, on no day has it dropped below 5 degrees, and it is a very stable climate. It’s no longer about whether your fruit trees have survived, it’s about improving the survival rate of fruit trees in extreme climates, since in reality it’s not as demanding as in the game. From what I saw on the wiki, they all start from the same cold tolerance and that’s what I think should be adjusted and adapted for each type of tree independently. There’s little else that would need changing, honestly.

[Facethief]

1 hour ago, Odrayak said:

From what I saw on the wiki, they all start from the same cold tolerance and that’s what I think should be adjusted and adapted for each type of tree independently. There’s little else that would need changing, honestly.

That doesn’t seem right. There’s tree-specific information on the various temperature thresholds for all of the fruit trees in the handbook, so I’d check there before taking the wiki at face value.

Also, it occurs to me that translating forum posts is a great way to learn another language, as long as the poster uses decent grammar and syntax.

[Mac Mcleod]

On 11/2/2025 at 12:45 PM, Odrayak said:

Greetings Vintarians!

 

You may wish to try a Greenhouse.  That will give you +5 degrees.   

But there is a clear zone where warm trees grow and never die, a zone with the issues you describe, and a zone where cold trees do well.   

[Guimoute]

On 11/4/2025 at 5:10 PM, Facethief said:

That’s an old world.

Yeah, I don't make new worlds ever. I just explore and make outposts if I want a change of air. It's December of year 16 now. 

[Odrayak]

On 11/7/2025 at 11:35 PM, Mac Mcleod said:

Es posible que desee probar un invernadero. Eso te dará +5 grados.

Pero hay una zona clara donde los árboles cálidos crecen y nunca mueren, una zona con los problemas que describe y una zona donde los árboles fríos crecen bien.

Exactly.
That’s the problem: precisely in the type of climate where this issue exists is the type of climate where this problem shouldn’t occur; quite the opposite, it should be the climate where both types of trees overlap. But it so happens that the tolerances are miscalculated and unrealistic, making it impossible to have either type of tree: some because they die, others because they don’t bear fruit.
Has it been decided to make it this way as a design choice? Fine. But I still think it kills immersion. At least for people who live in that climate and know that this wouldn’t happen in real life.

On the other hand, I don't think the solution is to use a greenhouse. In my opinion, it should be used for plants that are grown in a climate that is not suitable for them, or for off-season cultivation, but not in a supposedly favorable climate. That is why I insist on adjusting the survival values of fruit trees, for immersion and realism. They are not so crucial for survival, especially before the first winter, and I don't think making this adjustment will break the game; on the contrary.