Book Description
Orchids are the largest family of plants in the world. With 30,000 known species, you could acquire a different orchid every day for eighty years and still not grow them all. Back in the realm of reality, readers of this beautiful book can quickly and easily find the orchids that are right for them -- which ones will thrive on a windowsill, which prefer artificial lights, and which need a greenhouse; which are for beginners, which for experts. And you can pinpoint the species within a particular genus that are the best ones to start with. Once you select your orchid, William Cullina's authoritative guide explains what to do to keep it alive and healthy. Featuring more than two hundred color photographs, Understanding Orchids covers everything you need to know to grow orchids successfully, whatever your level of interest or experience. With improved tissue-culture techniques making orchids more affordable, and the Internet making them readily available to consumers, growing orchids is more popular than ever: membership in the American Orchid Society has more than doubled in the last fifteen years. This is the book orchid fans have been waiting for.
Customer Reviews:
very practical information.......2007-09-19
This book has alot of practical information and has much more detailed culture information about many different orchid families, also has information about small orchid families that I have not found in any other book about orchids.This book also gives step by step instructions on how to repot or divide several different types of orchids including paphiopediliums and Phrags.
Great book, lots of good ideas and beautiful pictures...........2007-02-10
I am an amateur orchid grower and have read a variety of books on the subject. So far, this is the best book I encountered and the most comprehensive. Not only that, it is a work of art, printed on high quality of paper. The pictures are outstanding and so is the carefully written text. This book is also just loaded with inexpensive ideas on various small projects that you can do to improve your results. If you are going to get one book on orchids, this should be it!
The best.......2007-02-06
I believe that this is the best book out there on orchids. Mr Cullina covers the important and often allusive culture issues confronted in growing orchids in real depth. He provides thoughtful, comon sense explanations for his reccomendations that go way beyond those found in other books I have read on the subject. The second half of the book details the cultural requirements and rates the difficulty level of 100 species of potential interest to growers with experience levels from beginner to expert. Much more than a coffee table book, Understanding Orchids is a valuable reference that belongs in every orchid enthuiast's library.
Friendly and useful.......2006-11-20
As a relatively new orchid grower, I found this to be one of the most useful books for a beginner. In addition, it is written is a very accessible, friendly style, with many examples of the author's struggles to succeed with orchids. I highly recommend it!
A great book for beginners.......2006-11-05
I bought this book as I was starting into the hobby of Orchids. The book is extremely informative on the basics and attempts to discuss common problems people have with Orchids. The most interesting sections are those on potting mediums and the individual orchid varieties commonly found at florists or even the grocery store.
biggest problem with the book is that it seems to convey the idea that any of the solutions will work which is not the case. Successful orchid growing requires an understanding through trial and error of what will work in your home. There are some basic tenants for everyone; however, they get lost in the details.
All in all, it's a great reference book and I would strongly recommend it.
Book Description
“A superb primer on orchid culture. It uses a fully illustrated step-by-step approach and doesn’t skimp on relating complete details. There’s a chapter showing easy-to-grow orchids in all their glory, and there’s also a chapter warning about ‘difficult’ orchids to avoid. This tome takes you on a visit [to] 16 terrific varieties you can easily handle....It’s a fun and rewarding winter exercise.”—Denver Post.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book On Orchids.......2007-09-09
This book is easy to understand with lots of detail. Good to have as reference.
Removed all the guess work in a book you can read in one evening.......2007-06-04
I've read a lot of confusing books on orchid growing as well as some very good ones like Understanding Orchids. this book is conveniently short and clear with excellent charts, great pictures easy descriptions. I found of everything I have read that this one gave me the confidence and actually repot, prune and relocate my outdoor Florida orchids. I finally feel confident that I know what I am doing. I gave it five stars because it was the star in the crown of what I read but I feel that you still need to read Understanding Orchids as well to have it all.
Really good, but not enough pages!.......2004-04-01
I was the ultimate orchid wimp, a complete novice, when a friend sent me an encyclia last summer, and I panicked. I bought the Ortho orchid book, and tried to find a decent place for my plant, then went so far as to buy two more orchids - NOT knowing they were ones that needed the exact opposite treatment from the first. And THEN the same friend moved, and had some careless friends crate up 14 of her orchids and ship them off to ME! They arrived in terrible condition, having fallen out of their pots, leaves crushed, roots torn, a MESS. I had no space, no good light for them, not enough humidity, NOTHING.
Well, enter Orchid Growing for Wimps. It gave me not only information but confidence. In particular, I commend it for having pictures of the complete plants, not just the flowers. It really shows you how to perform many necessary tasks, gives good tips on care of many common types of orchids. It convinced me at last that I'd better splurge and buy a large, lighted case for my babies, and they are now quite happy and doing well.
My only complaint, and it is unrealistic, is that this book doesn't cover all the thousands of varieties and their sometimes highly speccialized culture. The remedy for that is - MORE BOOKS, never a bad thing!
But if you can only buy one book, this one may be the most helpful one you can find.
review by Janet Knori, author of Awakening In God
... This wimp loved it!.......2002-11-27
I received an orchid plant a few years back and was afraid of loving it to death (ie: overwatering, overfertilizing, etc.) Happily, it seems to do quite fine, but I wanted to know when to repot it, how to get it to bloom with the most possible blossoms and how to care for it-aside from just keeping it alive. This book was VERY helpful, and I am the ultimate in Orchid wimps. The pictures helped me to match up what kind of plants I could buy that would do well in my home and had a great section on pests, diseases and interesting tips on how to make it a "humidity bath", and what is normal (big fat white roots, growing all crazy-like out of the top....normal (who knew?) ). It is a book for the novice, the wimp, the "please, hold my hand and tell me everything," kind of orchid grower....of which I am....and thankful that someone put it all in words for me. It will also let you branch out to other types once you get your "orchid growing chops"....and there are plenty of different varieties to try. So, take the plunge, get the book and learn to grow beautiful orchids.
Not for everyone!.......2002-10-08
While this book is easy to read, and covers many of the basics, and does recommend many easy to grow orchids, it is much too limited in application. If you are an orchid beginner and an apartment dweller in New York City, this is the perfect book for you and most everything applies to your situation. If are an orchid beginner that lives in a house in a warmer climate, some of the advice is just plain poor.
A comfortable, pretty book, but not for everyone.
Book Description
This is a book for adventurous gardeners with an appreciation for temperate orchid species and native wildflowers. A surprising number of terrestrial orchids are hardy, some able to withstand temperatures down to minus 50°F or minus 45.5°C. Though they have a reputation for being challenging to cultivate, in truth, most hardy orchids are no more so than a rose. This is great news for gardeners, who will enjoy filling their gardens with their enchanting fragrances, vibrant color displays, and long-lived blooms. At the center of the book is a catalog of 103 hardy and half-hardy orchids. In addition to detailing the techniques of cultivation and propagation, the book covers conservation and includes lists of suppliers and organizations offering nursery-propagated plants — an especially critical issue for species in danger of extinction. Awards for this book: American Horticultural Society Book Award
Customer Reviews:
very informative but..........2006-01-27
This book is fairly inspiring and very informative but there are some respects in which it does not meet/suit my learning style. I wish that the 'catalog of hardy and half-hardy orchids', fully half of the the text of the book before the very interesting epilogue, were arranged taxonomically rather than alphabetically by genus. I would find it more useful if related genera (that may not be alphabetically nearby) were listed together. That would help me learn to classify the taxa into functional groups rather than by the spelling of their genus (recognizing microhabitat differences such as pH that some widespread genera like Cypripedium and Platanthera spread across). The relationships of the genera are listed elsewhere but a lot of back and forth flipping could have been avoided wiith a different arrangement of the list of species.
I would love to see range maps. Obviously there are too many species (never mind hybrids) to give a range map for each one, but what about a range map for each genus or set of genera, w/ gradations indicating the number of species (or genera, as appropriate) in each part of the map? I'm picturing a cloud plot which is densest where the most species occur, and diffuse where few occur (and obviously blank where none occur).
Finally, I wish the USDA hardiness zone map had zoomed in on the lower 48 so that I could actually read it. Maybe I am just unfortunate enough to be in an area that may or may not be in a striking outlier zone (if the map were bigger I could tell, and I am off to google to find a better map when I'm done writing this). Not to be too US-centric, if the map showed everything below a straight line between the northern tip of Vancouver Island and the Gaspe peninsula you would probably have sufficient info for the vast majority of your Canadian readers too. Actually the map probably wouldn't need to show much below the lower extent of the Appalachians in the east and I'm not sure what in the west to cover the areas of interest to people likely to attempt cultivating these specific orchids.
Anyway, I wish the information in the book were more targeted so I didn't feel like I have to read it cover to cover (potentially multiple times) before feeling like I had a sufficient grasp of the material. As is, digesting it in time for this spring's planting doesn't seem likely. But I'll keep looking for supplementary web pages. And maybe this is the author's/publisher's subtle way of suggesting that I shouldn't dash off to the store, buy a bunch of soil amendments and tubers and fill up the yard w/o taking more time to mull it over and plan.
fish and orchids.......2005-11-13
Mr John Tullock, the author of this tome, was interviewed today On the Jane Nugent Gardening Show on WPTT-AM 1360 Pittsburgh, PA, 12 November 2005. He gave an excellent overview of the subject of orchiculture which he delightfully integrated with his studies of pisciculture, ichthyology and ecology. The book is an excellent and accessible resource, well illustrated, for the individual who enjoys orchids for their beauty and the amateur or professional grower who enjoys the cultivation of orchids of diverse habitats. Another great offering from Timber Press.
Book Description
Proven advice on many easy-to-grow orchids.
Long considered expensive and difficult to grow, modern orchid varieties are far from fragile and come in a vast array of colors and sizes to suit any gardener and home environment.
Easy Orchids explains how to grow orchids at home, from choosing a healthy plant to transporting and caring for it.
An extensive A-Z orchid directory includes cool, warm and intermediate varieties and hybrids, each with detailed care instructions. The directory also features:
- Strength of fragrance
- Ease of growth
- Ideal growing temperatures and locations
- Size of bloom
- Watering and humidity levels
- Feeding, potting and summer care.
Advances in home climate technology have spurred the dramatic rise in popularity of orchid houseplants. Wide availability and affordability have made them more accessible.
Beautifully illustrated and up-to-date,
Easy Orchids also includes a checklist for gardeners buying orchids online. Other buying tips include what to look for in healthy roots and leaves and the wrapping of the orchid for shipping or travel.
With the valuable tips and advice in
Easy Orchids, gardeners of all levels will discover how fail-safe it can be to grow orchids.
Book Description
Orchid lovers of all levels will delight in this unique approach to selecting new and exciting varieties of fragrant orchids. More than 100 different orchids are profiled here, with exquisite images of each, and salient details are included for another 355 enticing varieties. Profiles include cultivation information and detailed notes on each fragrance, which can range from elegant and sophisticated to downright pungent, from fruity and spicy to medicinal, from light and fresh to heavy and intoxicating. With some 20,000 fragrant orchids available today, orchid enthusiasts will appreciate this first-ever guide to choosing, growing, and showcasing orchids with the right look and most enjoyable scents, including cinnamon, chocolate, lemon, and vanilla.
Product Description
The Gardeners Guide to Growing Hardy Perennial Orchids exposes the best kept secret in the gardening world by introducing the reader to many hardy perennial orchids that can be grown almost anywhere in the US including Alaska with a little care and preparation.
Many beautiful color photographs are included to tantalize the reader and peak their interest in these beautiful plants. Also, many color illustrations are used to demonstrate bed preparation, planting and other cultural practices.
The author divides the discussion into three groups of species Upland, Transition, and Wetland. Within each group, selected species are discussed in detail with a strong focus on a non-technical presentation of the necessary cultural requirements for these species to survive and thrive in most any garden setting.
Some of the principles that are emphasized include:
Hardy orchids survive and thrive in temperate and more frigid climates. In fact, some actually require temperatures at or well below freezing for several months each year to maintain proper growth, much like tulips or daffodils.
The most important requirement for growing this kind of orchid is good soil drainage, which in most cases requires excavation and the addition of premixed soil in a raised bed. Sand or Perlite are key ingredients to achieving good drainage.
Orchids in general have low nutrient requirements, and do not tolerate lots of fertilizer. In fact, the addition of a good leaf or bark compost to the soil mix usually supplies all the nutrients an orchid needs.
The author stresses that while these requirements are relatively easy for most gardeners, terrestrial orchids can not be planted just anywhere and expected to grow. To be successful, its absolutely necessary to plan ahead and prepare a site to meet the specific requirements of a species. This process is covered in depth in The Gardeners Guide to Growing Hardy Perennial Orchids.
Customer Reviews:
Growing Hardy Perennial Orchids by William Mathis.......2007-05-31
An excellent guide for the beginner or experienced gardener interested in growing these relatively unknown orchid species. The consistent structure of this book makes it very easy to find the information the user desires about a particular species after having read it once.
Detailed information is provided regarding the proper techniques for cultivating these orchids in the garden or in containers. What questions that can't be answered by this book can be found by emailing the author who is very approachable and willing to help.
This book is perfect for the beginner or the more experienced gardener who wants to grow terrestrial orchids. No one should grow them without purchasing this book first.
A great book for all gardeners! .......2006-04-23
As for growing orchids in the back yard, I don't think there could be a better book. The real "KICK" that I got from it was that it taught me some very important principles. These concepts can be use in preparations and installations of other plants , like hostas, Japanese maples, hydrangeas and many other plants, I believe I can say that his teachings will take you well beyond that of growing hardy orchids.
The book is a very well written book, in form and composition. Being unlike many other books that are simply writing for profit and lacking in expertise, Dr. Mathis is serious about his work,his explanations, and ideas are complete. He is like the veritable chef that whispers in your ear, that he did indeed use Grand Marnier in the Madeira sauce.
I have read a few books on organic gardening, gardening in general yada yada yada, but I must say this is by far the best book on gardening I have ever read.
Orchids in your garden -- not just for Floridians.......2005-12-17
I live in the Pacific Northwest though I grew up in Montana. My gardening interests started with bonsai, but I quickly also got lured into a fascination with the wildflowers that grow under the forest canopy.
Much to my surprise, there are 200 or more species of orchids that live in the US and Canada, many of them in snowy and colder areas -- like Glacier National Park and Mt. Rainier. More and more material has started to become availalbe through specialty nurseries. So a few years ago, I set out to learn how to grow some of the species in my garden and in pots outdoors. I was hooked.
The unfortunate problem was that, while there are a ton (literally) of books on tropical orchids, there was hardly any information anywhere about how to grow the various species of hardy orchids.
I do not review books. This is my first. William Mathis, an MS in botany and PhD in agronomy, who spent a career as a research scientist for an agricultural company, and then retired to start his own hardy orchid nursery, wrote this book. It is beautiful. Though it's self-published, it's as nicely organized, written, edited, illustrated, and detailed as any gardening book I've ever seen. The color photos, of which there are lots, are stunning. What's more, the book is designed to be practical -- truly a "Gardener's Guide."
This book came out in February 2005 and, sort of ironically, in September, a major gardening book publisher came out with a book on the same topic. I have both and I like them both for different reasons. But for plain usefulness and clearly written text, if I had to pick one, it's this one. When I talked with Mathis about his book he told me that if he'd known that other publisher's book was coming out he wouldn't have done his. I disagree. I find the other book useful. I find this one invaluable.
Book Description
Whether your garden is a windowsill, a basement, a greenhouse, or a plot of land, Home Orchid Growing is the only reference book you will ever need to cultivate one of nature's most varied and fascinating plants. In the past forty years, it has become the best-known and most authoritative work in its field, and even gardeners who still have an original copy of this classic work will find much to inspire and delight them in the revised and updated fourth edition.
This completely revised and updated edition includes introductions to 650 of the more than 30,000 species of orchid, with advice on which plants to choose for a variety of growing conditions. For the neophyte, there are explanations of the fundamentals of plant structure and function, plus basic care instructions. For those who have already mastered the fundamentals, Home Orchid Growing provides detailed instructions on:
* Growing with artificial light
* Genetics and hybridization
* Seed germination and seedlings
* Cloning (micropropagation)
* Control of flowering
* Dealing with pests and diseases
This beautiful book is complete with drawings and photos of every phase of cultivation (including the construction and management of greenhouses and sample lighting setups). There are also full-color plates of the orchids themselves.
Of particular importance to growers is the updated information on the destruction of the tropical forests where many species of orchid thrive and discussions of how to save these natural habitats and develop seed banks for the future.
Customer Reviews:
A VERY VERY VALUABLE RESOURCE - RECOMMEND HIGHLY!.......2005-09-08
I began attempting to grow orchids in my home a number of years ago. After making an absolute wretched mess of things and killing many a beautiful plant, I happened upon this book. It is one of the best purchaces I've made concerning this art, i.e. growing orchids. I must admit to having read this thing cover to cover and find myself constantly going back with each new purchase or gift of a plant. I simply could not grow the things without it! The text is quite understandable and the illustrations are concise and fit perfectly with the text. I do respectfully disagree with some other reviewers in that I actually found many of the black and white photos more helpful than color. If I wanted a book of pretty pictures I would buy it, or better yet attend one of the many, many orchid shows in the area. I wanted, and desperately needed hard information...with this book that is exactly what I got. I am sure there are other very good books out there on this subject, but this one certainly met my needs and I recommend it highly. Thank you Ms. Northen.
All you need to know about orchids!.......2001-06-22
If colleges offered "Orchids 101", this would be the text book! Clear, concise, easy to read and understand, this book spells out all we need to know about growing orchids. Interesting sections on sowing seeds, the culture of seedling orchids, and even the dynamics behind orchid names, make this book much more than a simple 'how-to' book. It's a complete source of all you need to know. The one book to buy first, it'll probably be the only book you need.
The best book on Orchid growing.......2000-04-24
If I were interested in looking at pictures of orchids I'd buy a book of orchid photographs but in the 20 years I have been growing orchids, my opinion is unwavering in holding this book in the highest esteem. It was my first book on orchid growing and was always invaluable. When I lost it I didn't hesitate to buy it again as it has all the information one needs to grow any orchid and how to provide it with what it needs to bloom.
The "Bible"........1999-10-16
If you're going to have one book on orchids this should be it. Vast numbers of species descriptions, beautiful color photos, and complete information on general culture as well as exhaustive details of specific cultural requirements for many varieties; AND all you'll need to know about orchid genetics, hybridization, and natural history! This has been a standard reference for me for the 28 years I've been growing orchids.
Why publish black and white photos of orchids?.......1999-03-19
This book has a great deal of useful information, but about 90% of the orchid photography is in black and white. One of the joys of any orchid book is the illustrations. In this case, most of the art is not even very useful for identifying the plants, as color is so essential. Very disappointing.
Product Description
Growing Orchids is the complete practical guide to orchids and their cultivation. An inspirational encyclopedia of orchids, with guidance on the best orchids to choose. The book contains clear, practical advice on growing and displaying orchids indoors, under glass and outdoors. Everything you need to know to grow orchids successfully, with step-by-step information on potting and mounting orchids; propagation; feeding, watering and light levels; and dealing with pests and diseases. An easy-to-use orchid directory of over 200 fabulous orchids, with photographs of each orchid and vital information on habitat, size, flowering time and growing requirements. There are over 600 specially commissioned photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Duplication.......2007-05-30
Growing Orchids is a duplication of The Practical Encyclopedia of Orchids by the same authors.
Great Book, But . . ........2006-06-08
I agree with the reviews below. The book is helpful, educational, thorough. It clearly conveys the authors' passion for orchids and I can see it being inspirational. The photos are magnificent. The only drawback is that if one just wants a guide on keeping an orchid alive and blooming, this book might be more sophiscticated than one wants. This may be because there are SO MANY types of orchids, that tips on care need to be very specific, but there must be a resource out there just for care of the hearty, common hybrid orchids one is most likely to find at florists and garden centers.
That said, all I wanted was a simple book, and I am glad I got more.
Absolutely recommended........2005-03-29
This book is one of the best buy in its price range. It contains about the same information that you find in 40$ books and the quality of the colour pictures (there's is a zillion of them) is almost as good. I really can't understand why it scores so low in terms of selling rate. The beginner can use it as a starter. This book can be used by the intermediate orchid lover as well: it contains everything to get well established in this hobby. Highly recommended. An excellent alternative to this book is "the complete guide to orchid's" By Ortho books.
Excellent for the amateur.......2004-12-14
This book combines spectacular photographs, practical growing tips, interesting orchid history/folklore, and adequate descriptions of evergrowing number of varieties. I am relatively new to the art of orchid-raising, and I found this book inspirational.
Average customer rating:
- an excellent book for beginners
|
All About Growing Orchids (Ortho Library)
Rick Bond
Manufacturer: Ortho Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Orchids
| Flowers
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Ornamental Plants
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0897211510 |
Book Description
Grow breathtakingly beautiful orchids right in your own home. New orchid hybrids are much easier to grow than their finicky ancestors. This practical guide contains the information you need to bring 120 orchids into bloom in a windowsill, under lights, or in a greenhouse.
Customer Reviews:
an excellent book for beginners.......1998-06-22
All About Growing Orchids provides a wealth of information for the beginner orchid grower and dispels the myth that orchids are difficult to grow. Attractively laid out (and priced), the easy to read text is complemented by colorful drawings and excellent photographs. Written primarily with the home hobbyist in mind, many of the photographs depict orchids displayed in the home, which should inspire readers to fully exploit the potential of these breathtaking flowers for home decoration.
To cover all this territory in 96 pages is a challenge and All About Growing Orchids succeeds admirably. What are the drawbacks? The biggest is that the Orchid Selection Guide, though it provides an excellent overview of the different types of orchids to grow in a few pages, inevitably has to resort to some generalities. The information on orchid sources is also due for an update, and the book could benefit from a guide to orchid resources on the Worldwide Web. Nevertheless, armed with this book, beginner orchid growers will be well on their way to learning how to grow and bloom orchids in their homes.
Book Description
This book, revised in 2002 and published by the American Orchid Society, was written by experts on cultivation of popular orchid genera, growing areas, pests and diseases, nomenclature and more. It also discusses orchid names and intergeneric hybrids; growing orchids in the home, under lights and in the greenhouse; repotting; and growing popular genera, including Angraecum, Cattleya, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Oncidium and Paphiopedilum, among others. A dictionary of less-common orchids describes 16 genera, from Anguloa to Zygopetalum. Fabulous color photographs illustrate specific hybrids, species and growing techniques. Contains more than 120 color photographs.
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- What Color Is Your Swimming Pool? A Homeowner's Guide to Troublefree Pool, Spa & HotTub Maintenance
- Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener's Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More
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Books Index
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Orchids for Dummies
Taylor's Guide to Orchids: More Than 300 Orchids, Photographed and Described, for Beginning to Expert Gardeners (Taylor's Gardening Guides)
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids
Ortho's All About Orchids (Ortho's All About Gardening)
Botanica's Orchids: Over 1200 Species (Botanica's Gardening Series) (Botanica's Gardening Series)
