Product Description

Step by step to success with more than 1,000 indoor plant varieties.

This highly regarded encyclopedia contains all the expert advice the indoor gardener needs, from purchase and placement to controlling pests and diseases. Any indoor gardener can achieve success, even with exotic plants and rare varieties, by using this book.

At the book's core is a 250-page A-Z listing by botanical name of 1,000 houseplants for the home, from interior rooms to the balcony, patio, and sunroom. Each entry includes a full-color photo of the plant, a detailed description, and straightforward advice on placement, care, and propagation. Cleverly designed at-a-glance symbols indicate the plant's light, watering, and feeding needs.

Frequent boxed features and sidebars provide additional data about the particular care requirements of a wide range of plants. Hundreds of helpful hints and tips offer sound advice on getting the most from indoor plants. A tiny sampling of the many items discussed includes:

• The most common mistakes
• Watering during vacations
• When a plant gets too big
• Aromatic plants
• Pruning and training
• Why to avoid peat moss.

With an extensive glossary, a practical index, and a list of useful addresses for ordering plants and tools, The Houseplant Encyclopedia has something for everyone -- from the casual windowsill gardener to the expert horticulturist alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148958 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Library Journal
This book is somewhat misleadingly titled, as the first 155 pages are narrative, covering many different short topics on container gardening. Sections include room locations for plants, botanical information, plant care and propagation, pests and diseases, and garden types such as miniature and desert. The glossary included in this section is misplaced for optimum use. The two-part encyclopedia section, which lists house plants alphabetically, covers the plant family name, native habitat, flowering time, care directions, propagation, pests and diseases, and uses and also provides a color photo. (The many excellent color photos are an attractive feature.) The first section of the encyclopedia includes better-known container plants, while the second section covers specialized plants, including orchids and cacti, that are difficult to grow in home situations because of their unique requirements. The authors are experts in gardening and plant care, and their text is a translation from a European publication. Recommended for the circulating collections of larger public libraries.?Dale Luchsinger, Milwaukee Area Technical Coll. Lib, Wis.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Agnes Palazzetti, The Buffalo News, Dec 17, 1999
It has an A to Z listing of 1,000 houseplants with full color photos; information on how to tackle pests and diseases for each plant along with a detailed description, advice on placement, care and propagation as well as advice on light, watering and feeding needs.

Review
This reference book has something for everyone -- from the casual windowsill gardener to the expert. (Michigan Gardener 200712)

Inspiration and advice... The encyclopedia's 1,000 illustrated entries provide a profusion of choices. (Jane Gadd Globe and Mail 20060908)

Use this manual to choose wisely; it also helps with trouble-shooting and care advice... should be on your reference shelf. (Valerie Easton Seattle Times 20060830)

Useful and thorough... my favorite part of the book recommended plants to complement particular furnishing styles. (Jarrett Smith Minneapolis Star Tribune 20061213)

Easy to navigate and obviously well thought out... excellent photographs take the guesswork out. (Patty Jessome Edmonton Sun 20060924)

It is an absolute given that you are going to love and cherish this engaging new book... sane and practical. (Larry Cox King Features Syndicate 20060619)

Handsomely illustrated... comprehensive... The section on general houseplant care is particularly enlightening, full of valuable tips for the indoor gardener. (National Garden Clubs 200610)

A reference of 1,000 illustrated entries. Information on each plant includes optimal heat, light and humidity... a comprehensive book. (David Hobson Kitchener-Waterloo Record 20060610)

This wonderfully detailed book will provide enough information and winter projects to keep even the most avid of gardeners busy. (Nicole Vaive Calgary Sun 20060805)

This step-by-step guide to more than 1,000 houseplants is intended to make the task easier... goes beyond basic upkeep. (Science News 20061118)

Unexcelled in its thoroughness and expert advise, both written and illustrative... exquisite photography and the range of topics it covers. (Ken Smith London Free Press 20011207)

The [houseplant book] I use the most. (Robert Stiffler Lancaster New Era )

If you or someone you know really enjoys gardening indoors, you must have this book. (Mary Cameron Frey Chicago Sun-Times )

Should be one of the first books you buy if you're serious about collecting houseplants. (Dallas Morning News )

Every once in a while a books come along that you just have to buy ... [This] is that book. (Knight-Ridder News Service )

Clean, simple text lays out the basics ... Supplemental charts and diagrams make the information easy to absorb. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )

Well organized and particularly strong with technique. (Hartford Courant )

STARRED REVIEW: Beautiful color photos complement exhaustive plant care advice including tips and boxed sidebars. (Library Journal )

Customer Reviews

Excellent--"plain speak" good advice
I have a huge assortment of plant/gardening books, and often do alot of cross-referencing w/my hobby. This book is one of the first that I always pick up. It's "plain speak" approach (i.e. author will say, "I have always found..." etc.) is just terrific; I often find myself wondering how "Ingrid can help me with this?!" The tips are a wonderful "sidebar" feature, both highly informative, and just interesting! The descriptions the author provides of each plant is a true DESCRIPTION....detailed, and geared to educate the reader. They're not just a bullet-point listing of a few of the essentials on the plant, with questions left unanswered.

I went to my library over and over again, consulting this book on a number of plants questions and issues, until finally, I got my own precious copy!!

100% worth the investment of time and money for your gardening needs, both indoors and (gosh, what a bonus!) outdoors as well.

very disappointed, not worth to buy
At best, I would say it is an ordinary plant book. For the three things I wanted to look for, I didn't find any good answer in it. First, I would like to know what kind of plants I have in my house (my mother gave them to me.) Just by looking at the pictures in this book as the book suggests, I would only identify several very very common plants. Second, I want to know how to take care of them. There are symbols in the book about light, water, food etc, but the paragraph I thought should be more specific on it simply repeats the symbols above (which as in a book, it is redundent and takes more space than it should.) Third, I like to know some tips on keeping the plants in good shape. However, what I found most the so said tips are like "I put my (a certain kind of) plant outside beside a pond and under a tree in summer." They are not very useful at all. It is either a book that helps you focus on making one specific decent, healthy plant, nor helps you to know and take care of many plants in general. I read it several times and tried find some positive sign that I should keep it, but I returned it at last.

Very comprehensive!!
This is a wonderful book. Having only recently discovered the joys of houseplants, I was looking for a thorough and comprehensive book that would help me identify my plants, and properly take care of them. This book does both and more. There is a section devoted to the conditions and care required for a wide range of houseplant species, plus great sections on diseases, pests, and common mistakes. After each in depth section is an "at a glance section" for quick reference.

Another very important and often overlooked feature is that it has a list of poisonous plants, so that we can make sure we place plants that can be dangerous out of reach of our pets and children (or better yet, avoid buying them all together).

I am also a big fan of its construction. Sturdy hard cover binding and glossy pages make it easy to wipe off all of the potting soil that gets dropped on it. :-)

Great book! Worthy investment!