Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates - Hardcover

Rose,Nancy; Selinger,Don; Whitman,John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0809224917 ISBN 13: 9780809224913

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2000

Synopsis

An all-in-one guide designed for northern-tier gardens from coast to coast

Growing Shrubs and Trees in Cold Climates provides northern-tier gardeners from coast to coast with an incredible range of choices, no matter what their skill level.

Part I profiles 50 plant groups best suited to gardens in zones 1 to 5. Each plant has been tested for hardiness over a period of at least 10 years--and has proved hardy to no less than -30 degrees F. Readers will easily be able to select shrubs and trees that produce wonderful fragrant flowers and those that bloom more than once in the spring and summer seasons.

Part 2 covers the basics of growing shrubs and small trees, with special attention on solving problems that occur in cooler climates.

About this title

About the Author

Nancy Rose has an extensive background in growing shrubs and small trees in cold climates. Since 1990 she has worked in the woody plant research program at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Previously she worked with plant collections at the Morton Arboretum outside Chicago. A popular garden writer, she writes a column for the Star Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul and contributes articles to several magazines including Northern Gardener and American Nurseryman. Rose has earned degrees in horticulture from the University of Missouri and Ohio State University.

Don Selinger has more than 35 years in the nursery business in Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota. Since 1973 he has worked for Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, where he oversees the production of nursery stock distributed wholesale throughout the northern tier of the United States and Canada. Selinger has traveled widely in the United States, Canada, and Europe to seek out new plants for the nursery trade. He speaks frequently at state and national nursery association groups. Selinger received his degree in floriculture and ornamental horticulture from the University of Illinois.

John Whitman is a veteran gardener. He was a grower at Bachman's, the largest retail florist and nursery in the United States. A member of the Garden Writers Association of America, Whitman has written or been a contributing writer and photographer to numerous books and gardening magazines. Whitman is the coauthor of two other books in this series, Growing Perennials in Cold Climates (with Mike Heger) and Growing Roses in Cold Climates (with Jerry Olson).

From the Back Cover

If you live in a region in which winter temperatures can dip below -20°F (-29°C), then no matter how hot your summers, you live in a cold climate. In the United States, this broad northern tier sweeps from coast to coast, dipping as far south as Kansas and as far north as the coldest parts of Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and Montana; it also encompasses most of Canada.

Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates provides all the help you need to select, plant, and care for cold-hardy shrubs and trees that thrive despite the challenges of your climate. Experts Nancy Rose, Don Selinger, and John Whitman have selected 750 varieties of woody plants proven--through extensive field testing--to grow well. Among these are shrubs and trees that produce colorful blossoms, many with exquisite fragrances. There are plants with deep purple or variegated summer leaves; others have rich fall foliage, stem, and bark coloration. Many offer delicious berries and fruits perfect for attracting wildlife. Others have been chosen for their winter interest, from unique architectural form to persistent fruit, seed heads, or evergreen foliage.

In clear, easy-to-use charts you will find the information you need to choose the trees and shrubs ideally suited to your area's growing conditions and your landscape design. A five-star rating system helps you select the best plants, and detailed lists of suppliers show you where to locate them.

Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates is much more than a guide to plant selection. It is a gold mine of information covering not only the basics but also the best-kept secrets of successful horticulturists. The authors explain everything: preparing a site, planting and transplanting young shrubs and trees, pruning for optimal growth and bloom, and using organic and inorganic methods to control disease and insects. Hundreds of color photographs emphasizing multi-season interest will help you visualize how you can enrich your landscape with carefully selected shrubs and small trees.

For expert advice on selecting just the right shrub or small tree for a specific site or creating a well-designed landscape on a larger scale, there is no better source than Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates.

From the Inside Flap

If you live in a region in which winter temperatures can dip below -20°F (-29°C), then no matter how hot your summers, you live in a cold climate. In the United States, this broad northern tier sweeps from coast to coast, dipping as far south as Kansas and as far north as the coldest parts of Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and Montana; it also encompasses most of Canada.

Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates provides all the help you need to select, plant, and care for cold-hardy shrubs and trees that thrive despite the challenges of your climate. Experts Nancy Rose, Don Selinger, and John Whitman have selected 750 varieties of woody plants proven--through extensive field testing--to grow well. Among these are shrubs and trees that produce colorful blossoms, many with exquisite fragrances. There are plants with deep purple or variegated summer leaves; others have rich fall foliage, stem, and bark coloration. Many offer delicious berries and fruitsperfect for attracting wildlife. Others have been chosen for their winter interest, from unique architectural form to persistent fruit, seed heads, or evergreen foliage.

In clear, easy-to-use charts you will find the information you need to choose the trees and shrubs ideally suited to your area's growing conditions and your landscape design. A five-star rating system helps you select the best plants, and detailed lists of suppliers show you where to locate them.

Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates is much more than a guide to plant selection. It is a gold mine of information covering not only the basics but also the best-kept secrets of successful horticulturists. The authors explain everything: preparing a site, planting and transplanting young shrubs and trees, pruning for optimal growth and bloom, and using organic and inorganic methods to control disease and insects. Hundreds of color photographs emphasizing multiseason interest will help you visualize how you can enrich your landscape with carefully selected shrubs and small trees.

For expert advice on selecting just the right shrub or small tree for a specific site or creating a well-designed landscape on a larger scale, there is no better source than Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates.

Reviews

Whatever one's garden's status--a new yard, a landscape under renovation or a flimsy flower bed that needs some fortification--this book offers cold-weather comfort that northern gardeners will warm to. Written by gloves-on horticulturists who live in Minnesota, the well-organized text scrimps nowhere, giving equal attention to 750 plant species and to cultivars. Easy-reference tables rate plants on a five-star system, while simplifying plant comparisons by hardiness, size at maturity and color of leaf, flower and fruit. Additional information, often missing even in comprehensive tomes, appears in consistent categories: site, light, soil type, moisture requirements and landscape uses. Along the journey from evergreen abies to deciduous wisteria, gardeners will encounter some lovely plant combinations, such as spreading cotoneaster with its bright red berries interspersed with white potentilla, all against a dark evergreen background. Although this exhaustive treatment of individual plants serves as the book's ballast, there's still plenty of expert counsel in additional chapters covering such topics as plant selection, planting and transplanting. From rots to wilts and from bagworms to leafrollers, pests and problems also get their due. "What to Prune and When"--24 concise paragraphs on the gardener's craft should be tacked on the wall of every toolshed. Photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Any gardener who has ever been frustrated when trying to select the right small tree or shrub, or been thwarted by the worst of winters, can breathe a sigh of relief now that Whitman, Rose, and Selinger have addressed both these problems in their outstanding new book. From abies to wisteria, more than 750 species and cultivars are covered in depth as the authors explain the basics: how to grow, where to plant, landscape uses, and care and maintenance. Highlighted by easy-reference charts with essential information such as color, size, and hardiness, the book also features a unique five-star rating system with which the authors give their expert evaluation of each plant. This book goes beyond the norm in several areas, from the useful life expectancy for each plant to its special uses as cut or dried material. The backbone of a garden, small trees and shrubs are often the most expensive plants to buy. This book will save novice gardeners years of trial-and-error disappointment, while seasoned gardeners will wish they'd had it years ago. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The authors, who live, work, and garden in Minnesota, provide an authoritative, detailed guide to more than 750 species and named varieties of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and small trees that thrive when winter temperatures fall to minus 20 F or lower. Part 1 is arranged alphabetically by genus, with each entry consisting of a description of the genus; light, site, soil, and moisture requirements; spacing; landscape use; planting instructions; culture (watering, mulching, fertilizing, pruning, and winter protection); insect, disease, and animal controls, including organic remedies; propagation; and sources to purchase plants. A listing of species/varieties follows covering foliage color, flower color, height/width, and hardiness for each. The authors also rate the plants for landscape value and cold adaptability using a five-star system. Part 2 explains plant selection, site preparation, planting, transplanting, culture, problem-solving, and propagation. Color photographs complement the text. Highly recommended for beginning and experienced gardeners, especially in USDA zones 1-5.DSue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809224917
• ISBN 13: 9780809224913
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448