Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73856 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Garden Trade News, May 01
The traditional Experts are bibles for many in the trade

Sunday Express, June 3 01
Although they don’t look as sexy as a hardback on roof gardens, they are where you turn to for help

The Guardian, 11 August 01
The ever-selling Dr Hessayon, of whose no-nonsense guides the books pages thoroughly approve

Customer Reviews

All you need to know in one concise volume.
This beautifully illustrated and photographed book is a very informative and easy to use reference for anyone who wants authentic expert advice on growing and maintaining house plants. This practically organized book is divided into nine readily accessible sections:
* Plants in the Home: serves as an introduction to the book and gives some advice on choosing, buying, housing, and repotting plants, as well as learning the basic rules of care and creating the right growing conditions for your house plants.
* Displaying Indoor Plants: discusses the many considerations needed to be taken into account when keeping plants indoor, including mixing specimens, choosing pots, and selecting the right plant for each room.
* The Classification of House Plants: includes foliage house plants, flowering house plants, flowering pot plants and cacti.
* House Plants A-Z: is the most extensive alphabetized guide on house plants in print in a single volume. Each plant's entry includes its image and/or picture, a description of its most common varieties, details on how to plant, grow and care for it, and a list of the ordinary problems that affect it.
* Plant Care: gives instructions on how to optimize the natural elements that impact the plant's health, including temperature, light, water, humidity, and air.
* Increasing Your Stock: explains how to successfully propagate house plants by using the most suitable reproduction techniques.
* Plant Troubles: presents advice on how to speedily prevent or correct each trouble.
* Dictionary: defines both the technical and the not so technical terms used throughout the book.
* An Index.
This book deserves to be one of the best-sellers on house plants because with its excellent selection of plants common to many countries and its clear, invaluable information it simply is an essential resource for anyone, whether beginner or professional, who wishes to grow and keep beautiful house plants. I assure you that it's a book you will refer to time after time after time.

A Necessary House Plant Reference Book.
There must be an extraordinary number of house plant books, and while many of those are well worth the time, some are required in your library. It's nonsense to dismiss any such resource-guide as worthless if it does not excel in this or that: it's often wise to relay on a variety of such books so that you can compare information.

That all said, this is sure to be a staple in many bookcases, because it offers comprehensive and concise information regarding plant identification, basic growth necessities per plant (lighting, water, humidity, soil) or even plant groups (such as Succulents or Philodendrons, one of my favorites). The range of material is varied and includes all well-known and lesser-known plants that'll do well in your house or greenhouse (or even terrarium, which I do recommend, by the way).

Furthermore, there are additional chapters on for example diseases and what to do about them, displaying indoor plants, etc.. Inside these chapters can be found a wealth of information for beginners and experts alike. But what defines beginner or expert I'll leave to others.

The House Plant Expert even offers golden rules ... each his/her own rules, but you won't hear me arguing with these.

Anyway, for people growing tropical plants, I found out that they adore frequent misting, diffused sunlight, high humidity, company of each other, and room to grow (watch out for Monstera Deliciosa, that one goes fast and all over the place). And do invest in the right soil types; that makes a difference.

Good luck.

The House Plant Expert
I do NOT have a green thumb, but this book was so easy to follow and it made indoor gardening extremely simple. Previously, I could not recognize the signs of a plant in need (i.e. watering, too much sun exposure, natural age progression, etc.). Now I have made small cards to stick in each plant that tells me what I need to do to nurse them back to health if they look "sad." I would never have known these remedies if it weren't for the easy read of The House Plant Expert. If you do not know what kind of indoor plant you have, they are easy to look up by photo. Originally my green-thumbed sister gave me an old copy of the book and I got hooked! I ordered myself one, one for my mother-in-law and often loan mine to friends in need! I highly recommend this one!