Hardy Apples - by Bob Osborne (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Hardy Apples is both a practical guide and a loving tribute to the wonderful abundance and diversity of apple cultivars available to the northern gardener and orchardist. Full of tips, facts, beautiful photographs and fascinating stories about apples both popular and obscure, this volume is sure to inform and entertain in equal measure. Drawing on over 40 years of experience propagating and selling apple cultivars from his nursery in Corn Hill, New Brunswick, author Bob Osborne walks you through the basics of how an apple tree grows and the ideal conditions needed to cultivate a successful crop. Osborne also includes vital information about planting, pruning, harvesting, storing, and propagating apples and devotes an entire chapter to preventing and dealing with the pests and diseases that plague so many growers. Following the section on growing apples is an extensive catalog of over 90 apple cultivars. Each profile features a brief history and description of the apple as well as information and photos to help identify cultivars you might already have in your yard. With the growing popularity of hard-cider making, Osborne includes a special section dedicated to excellent cultivars that cideries across North America should seek out. The guide also features North American hardiness zone maps, resources and a handy table of hardy cultivars, a great at-a-glance reference when shopping for trees. With over 200 exquisite photographs and illustrations, Hardy Apples is an elegant, educational and entertaining reference that is equally at home atop a coffee table or a propagator's station."--

Book Synopsis

An essential guide to growing apples at high latitudes and altitudes.

Hardy Apples is both a practical guide and a loving tribute to the wonderful abundance and diversity of apple cultivars available to the northern gardener and orchardist. Full of tips, facts, beautiful photographs and fascinating stories about apples both popular and obscure, this book is sure to inform and entertain in equal measure.

Drawing on over 40 years of experience propagating and selling apple cultivars from his nursery in Corn Hill, New Brunswick, author Bob Osborne walks you through the basics of how an apple tree grows and the ideal conditions needed to cultivate a successful crop. Osborne also includes vital information about planting, pruning, harvesting, storing and propagating apples, and he devotes an entire chapter to preventing and dealing with the pests and diseases that plague so many growers, plus the challenges of hard winters and unpredictable weather.

Following the section on growing apples is an extensive catalog of over 90 apple cultivars. Here are just a few of the apples you will find:

• Ashmead's Kernel
• Bottle Greening
• Cox's Orange Pippin
• Fameuse
• Red Astrachan
• Seek-No-Further.

Each profile features a brief history and description of the apple as well as information and photos to help identify cultivars you might already have in your yard. With the growing popularity of hard-cider making, Osborne includes a special section dedicated to excellent cultivars that cideries across North America should seek out. The guide also features North American hardiness zone maps, resources and a handy table of hardy cultivars -- a great at-a-glance reference when shopping for trees.

With over 200 exquisite photographs and illustrations, Hardy Apples is an elegant, educational and entertaining reference that is equally at home atop a coffee table or a propagator's station.

Review Quotes

An absolute 'must' for the personal reading lists of novice and professional fruit growers, Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates is impressively comprehensive, well written, beautifully and profusely illustrated with full color photography, exceptionally 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, and unreservedly recommended as a core addition to personal, professional, and academic library Gardening and Horticulture collections.-- "Midwest Book Review" (10/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Canadian farmer Osborne (Hardy Roses) condenses more than 40 years of experience nurturing apple cultivars into this book covering everything from ancient apple seeds to the art and science of grafting, as well as site planning, soil, pests and diseases, and harvesting. He offers details on more than 90 cultivars, with notes on each fruit's size, shape, flavor, and uses (cooking, cider), accompanied by Powning's photos of trees and mature fruit. Also useful: maps of plant hardiness zones and the ability to cross-reference apple cultivars by name or trait. Practical for Northern Hemisphere libraries, with mouth-watering, often amusing descriptions that will have readers everywhere sourcing Ambrosia apples and Granite Beauties.--Maggie Knapp "Library Journal" (5/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Hardy Apples is clearly and engagingly written, well organized, and very attractive. With great photos by Beth Powning (mostly from Corn Hill Nursery), it could serve as a field guide for identifying old and uncommon cultivars.--David Lindsay "Rural Delivery Magazine" (3/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)

If you enjoy apples and are considering growing some apple trees you may want to get a copy of Bob Osborne's book... And all of this interesting apple information is complemented with more than 200 photographs and illustrations.--Glenn Perrett "Simcoe.com" (12/21/2022 12:00:00 AM)

If you're looking to insert apple trees in your garden planning, you'll need a copy of this book to ensure you choose the best variety for your location and climate. Author Bob Osborne has researched this topic and provides us with an alphabetized highlight of all apples perfect for Canadian landscapes. Before we get to that treasure trove of information, he first ensures you are set up for the best possible outcome including the type of soil best suited for apple trees, planting and maintaining the trees, the pests and diseases to control, grafting and budding for propagation, and more.-- "CanadianCookbooks.ca" (3/20/2023 12:00:00 AM)

Osborne's book, Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates, which profiles of 90 winter hardy apple varieties, is a great resource.--Poizner "Orchard People Blog" (9/29/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Part guide, and part homage by longtime CBC gardening columnist from Cornhill Nurseries.-- "CBC" (12/3/2022 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Bob Osborne is the owner of Corn Hill Nursery in New Brunswick, Canada. He is a gardening author, a columnist on CBC radio and a member of several horticultural organizations.

Beth Powning has photographed four previous books, including Hardy Roses with Bob Osborne.