Canadian flowers, 'weeds', trees, and 'pests'.

September 1, 2009 3:43 PM

Are there any respectable horticulture textbooks with specifically Canadian content?

I've found/bought several British textbooks but they're clearly tailored to the specific micro-climates of the British Isles. Principles are well and fine but I'd like a text where all I'd have to do to really ground myself in what I'm learning is stick my head in some tall grass outside. Introductory texts are fine since I'm new to both self-directed study and plants but all suggestions are welcome...

posted by RollingGreens to Science & Nature (6 answers total)

Where abouts are you in Canada? It's a huge country with multiple climates and geographies.
posted by KokuRyu at 4:04 PM on September 1, 2009

Response by poster: Silly me, thought I included that. Eastern Ontario/Quebec if possible.
posted by RollingGreens at 5:23 PM on September 1, 2009

I don't know of any books specifically aimed at that area, but it's not geographically/climactically/horticulturally all that different from the US border states (NY, VT, NH, ME), all of which have agricultural extensions attached to State Universities (as a part of the university's original charter). I would not be at all surprised if there were equivalents to University Extension Offices in Canada, but I have no idea where to start looking. Perhaps there's something at the provincial level?

You may also have some luck looking for books aimed at USDA Agricultural Zones 3, 4, and 5 (Zones are determined by average high and low temperatures and length of growing season), which are a rough guide for which plants will grow where.
posted by jlkr at 6:09 PM on September 1, 2009

Response by poster: That's a good suggestion but I feel like that's still just confusing another country's information for another... As far as I know the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and USDA hardiness zone maps are different, as an example, where Ottawa is on the USDA North American map the zone is 4a but for the A&A-F's it's 5a... That's maybe nitpicking as the plants and majority of horticultural practices are undoubtedly similar, but different laws would still apply regarding pesticides and the like.
posted by RollingGreens at 7:06 PM on September 1, 2009

Gardening with Trees and Shrubs in Ontario, Quebec and the Eastern United States

The University of Guelph offers a distance education program in horticulture, and many of the courses list recommended reading. Perhaps one of the books can help you out.

Not a textbook, but Ontario Trees & Shrubs may be a useful starting point. The links section looks pretty good.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:40 PM on September 1, 2009

Look for books by Lois Hole who gardened on the prairies. I've found her books accurate in the most part, complete with colour pics and easy to understand. The only problem I have is that she was gardening in a much colder zone than Toronto, so 8' max height turned out more like 12'. Other than that, I'd recommend her first for choosing plants. There are separate books for perennials, shrubs and trees, etc. I like that she tells you whether a particular tree is prone to disease or not as I don't use chemicals and can avoid problems rather than try to cure them.
posted by x46 at 4:04 AM on September 2, 2009