All Zone 4 (or Hardier) Plants

History: Spigold (aka Spy Gold) was developed at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York and released in 1962. It is a cross between Red Spy and Golden Delicious that has remained somewhat popular in North America. 

Why We Grow It: Spigold marries the best qualities of Golden Delicious and Red Spy. It produces very large apples that are crisp and juicy with a honeyed sweet/tart flavour. These large apples are excellent for fresh eating, making applesauce, baking into pies, and making into cider. They also store quite well and some say the flavour actually improves in storage. 

History: Rescue was developed at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada's Scott Research Station in Scott, Saskatchewan and was released in 1933. It is an open-pollinated seedling of Blushed Calville. 

Why We Grow It: Although the fruit is on the smaller side and doesn't keep well, Rescue has a good sweet-tart flavour that is good for fresh eating and is also good for cooking and preserves. This cold hardy applecrab is an excellent pollination partner for other apple trees.

History: Prairifire (sometimes spelled Prairiefire or Prairie Fire) was created by DF Dayton at the University of Illinois and released in 1982. It is a hybrid of several Malus species which gives it excellent disease resistance along with a striking visual appearance. Prairifire remains a popular ornamental variety today!

Why We Grow It: This striking crabapple boasts a profusion of reddish pink blooms in the spring, reddish leaves, and lovely red fruit in the fall. Along with its ornamental appeal, Prairifire is also quite disease resistant, a great pollination partner for other apple trees, and a source of food for wildlife. 

History: Makamik is one of many Rosybloom crabapples developed by Isabella Preston at the Canadian Department of Agriculture Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa. She bred them with the goal of creating cold hardy, ornamental trees for harsher Canadian climates. Like the other crabapples in the series, Makamik is named after a Canadian lake. It was released in the 1920s or 1930s and remains a popular ornamental crabapple to this day.

Why We Grow It: Makamik is a very cold hardy and disease resistant crabapple valued for its ornamental appeal. Sporting pink blooms and leaves with a reddish tinge, it makes a lovely addition whether you're looking for visual appeal, a pollination partner for your other apple trees, or a food source for your local birds in the winter! 

History: Harcourt was developed by the University of Alberta and released in 1955. It was named after George Harcourt, a key player in the creation of the university's agricultural program, in honour of his legacy in shaping Albertan agriculture as a professor, civil servant, and horticulturalist. 

Why We Grow It: This cold hardy variety produces apples that are lightly waxed with prominent red striping. The fruit is crisp and juicy with a pleasant sweet-tart flavour. Harcourt apples do need to be enjoyed quickly since, like many early-ripening varieties, they do not store well. Fortunately, they are great for juice, sauce, and drying!

Species: Aesculus glabra

History: Ohio Buckeye is native to Walpole Island in Ontario and some central and southern states in the United States. The Shawnee name for the tree is 'hetuck' which means 'eye of the buck' due to the nut's resemblance to a deer's eye. Indigenous peoples such as the Lenape traditionally use the nuts for medicinal uses, tanning leather, and jewellery. Ohio Buckeye is the state tree of Ohio and people from Ohio and graduates of Ohio State University are sometimes called 'buckeyes'. Unsurprisingly, the nuts have an important cultural place in Ohio. There is a candy resembling the nuts called 'buckeyes' that are popular and the nuts make numerous appearances in Calvin and Hobbes whose author is from Ohio. Its wood is too soft to be used for much and it has limited uses as a street tree since it is considered messy due to the nuts it drops.

Why We Grow It: Ohio Buckeye is an attractive ornamental tree with its large, palmate leaves and notable yellow flowers in spring. Although the tree is toxic and generally not fed on by wildlife, the large flowers are very attractive to a variety of pollinators including hummingbirds!