Uncommon Fruits Worthy Of Attention: A Gardener's Guide

From Library Journal This delightful book describes 19 fruits including maypops, pawpaws, medlars, jujubes, and Asian pears. Fruits were selected for being at home in a temperate climate, tasting good to eat out of hand, requiring minimal upkeep, and possessing ornamental beauty. For each, the compact, authoritative, and interesting text offers history, description, propagation, harvest, uses, and cultivars. A precise vocabulary--"frugiverous, frass, bletting"--sparkles in a clearly written text that is never overly technical. Appendixes list mail-order sources as well as more planting, pruning, and propagation advice. Both amateurs searching for the one tree right for their backyard and serious fruiterers interested in propagation will find this book useful and valuable. Highly recommended.- Sharon Levin, Dana Medical Lib., Univ. of Vermont, BurlingtonCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Publishers Weekly Reich's is indeed a "worthy" addition to the gardening reference shelf, packed with information not readily found elsewhere. The author, a contributor to Horticulture and The New York Times , writes gracefully and knowledgeably about more than 20 fruit species easily grown in North America's temperate climate. Gardeners tired of the same old apples and pears will relish the prospect of growing such exotic fruits as the maypop, a cold-hardy passionfruit, the enticingly fragrant clove currant and the diminutive but intensely flavorful alpine strawberry. Part of what makes these fruits worthy of attention is that they are surprisingly easy to grow; they require far less spraying and pruning than their more commonly cultivated cousins, and--best of all for Northern gardeners--they demand some degree of winter cold. Reich provides detailed information, leavened with anecdotes and quotes from sources ancient and modern, on each fruit's cultivation, propagation, harvest and use, plus a list of cultivars. Appendixes cover botanical nomenclature, how to plant, propagate and care for the fruits and, last but not least, where to purchase them. Illustrations not seen by PW. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.