AMERICAN GARDENER

Cold hardy strawberries make it possible to pick fresh berries in places where winter lows fall far below zero. The garden strawberry is a low, leafy perennial that spreads by runners. It arose in Europe in the 1700s as a cross between two wild American species, and it is now grown on every inhabited continent. … Read more

Cold hardy blueberry varieties have opened northern gardens to a fruit that once stopped short of the coldest regions. The blueberry is native to North America and was first brought into cultivation in the early 1900s. It grows as a woody shrub with white, bell-shaped flowers, blue fruit and brilliant red fall foliage. Blueberries are … Read more

Cold hardy raspberry varieties are some of the most dependable fruits a northern gardener can plant. The raspberry belongs to the rose family and grows wild across the cooler parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Its roots live for many years, but each cane lives for only two. That two-year cycle divides raspberries into … Read more

Cold-hardy blackberry varieties are harder to find than hardy raspberries, because the blackberry is the more tender of the two. Blackberries belong to the rose family and grow wild across much of the Northern Hemisphere. Each berry is a cluster of tiny, juicy segments, and unlike a raspberry it keeps its soft core when picked. … Read more

Cold-hardy cherry fruit trees make it possible to grow cherries where winter lows reach -30°F and beyond. Cherries are stone fruits in the same family as plums and peaches. They fall into two main groups, the sweet cherries eaten fresh and the tart cherries used for pies, juice and preserves. The two groups differ sharply … Read more

Cold hardy kiwi varieties bear little resemblance to the fuzzy brown fruit in the supermarket. The familiar kiwifruit is native to southern China and is grown commercially in mild climates such as California, Italy and New Zealand. China itself accounts for about 55% of the world crop. The kiwi group is much larger than that … Read more

Cold-hardy pear varieties allow one of the oldest orchard fruits to be grown where winter lows fall to -30°F and below. Pears have been cultivated for several thousand years in both Europe and East Asia. More than 3,000 varieties exist, though only a handful are sold in most stores. China grows nearly three-quarters of the … Read more

Cold hardy mangoes are a matter of degree, because the mango is a tropical tree with very little tolerance for frost. It is native to the region around northeastern India and Myanmar and has been cultivated for at least 4,000 years. India still grows about 44% of the world’s mangoes, out of a global harvest … Read more

Cold hardy pomegranate fruit trees extend one of the world’s oldest fruits beyond the hot, dry regions where it is usually grown. The pomegranate is native from Iran to the Himalayas of northern India and has been cultivated since ancient times. It grows as a dense, bushy shrub or small tree, with orange-red flowers that … Read more

Cold hardy orange fruit trees are a relative idea, because the sweet orange is one of the more tender members of the citrus family. The orange is an ancient hybrid of the pummelo and the mandarin, and it originated in southern China. It is now the world’s most widely grown citrus fruit, with roughly 70 … Read more