Cacti & Succulents- Vol 3 AHS Illustrated Encyc.
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This volume, Cacti and Succulents, begins with an introduction to these specialized plants. There is a fast overview of the various types, and the differences between cacti and succulents. There are a number of especially beautiful photographs of gardens featuring these kinds of plants.
Next there is a chapter about propagation and care of these plants. Although they are very tolerant, there are some basic needs that must be attended to if they are to thrive. Propagation methods are also rather different for succulents than for other plants. There is a large chart with genuses and their temperature ranges and other requirements: soil, light, humidity, water, ease of culture and their most attractive feature. This is very helpful, since many of these plants can be too fussy for the average gardener, and although many of them do bloom, it is often another feature that makes the plant most interesting.
Next there is a section about landscaping, indoors and out, with these plants. There are pictures of impressive gardens, especially in warm, dry climates. There is a whole chapter devoted to developing a collection of these plants. It is often difficult to find any but the most common succulents. And often finding the right container is also important to show off the plant’s features.
The final 50 pages of the book are a plant selection guide. This lists species of succulents or cacti and their features; it begins with a glossary since these plants have many specialized parts. Most entries are by genus. The family is given, origin, general description, flower description, propagation, culture, and some suggested species which work well for gardens. Each entry has a picture of the plant. The final two pages have a directory of common names.
When I was just beginning to build a collection of succulents I must have read this book cover to cover more than five times. It is mind-boggling how beautiful of a garden can be grown just using these water-thrifty plants. Of course, the let-down for me is that a lot of them are not hardy in a Michigan climate. However, over the years I’ve collected quite a few that will make it through our winters. And it really all began with this book.
This set of books was published in 1981 by Ortho for the American Horticultural Society. I signed up on one of those “get one book every 6 weeks and stop when you want” deals. I was determined to come up with the money to get the entire set, and managed to do just that. At the time each volume cost about $15. I now find that they are considered rare and the volumes I am able to locate on line are selling more in the $30 range. The books are richly illustrated with color photographs which do a good job of expanding the text.
Each book is 8.5 x 11.25 inches, hardcover, and 144 pages including the index. The bindings could be higher quality; they are tending to crack.
If you pick up the softcover Ortho books from the racks at your local garden center, you will find some of the same pictures, and some overlap of information, but this encyclopedia goes into more detail and covers many more topics than the Ortho series.
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Cacti and Succulents Author:
American Horticultural Society / Ortho Purchased at: mail offer Price: about $15 Category: Books Movies & Music / Gardening Books Published: July 31, 2008 20:06
Cacti and Succulents Author:
American Horticultural Society / Ortho Purchased at: mail offer Price: about $15 Category: Books Movies & Music / Gardening Books Published: July 31, 2008 20:06
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Sharkbytes
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Rank: 4th
ShareScore: 100%
Gender: Female
Age: 61
Education Level: post_graduate
City: in Michigan
Country: United States
Industry: web site management, writer
Position: just me- I do it all
Income: $0.00 - $20,000.00
More reviews by this Author
- Here are three other reviews you may like.
1)
This looks like such a beautiful book! It reminds me of the southwest!
This looks like the book for me! I love cactus and succulents. They really are the only potted plant I can keep alive.