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Title: The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Essential Gardening Know-How for Keeping (Not Killing) More Than 160 Indoor Plants
ISBN: 1580175694
Author:
Barbara Pleasant
Publicate Date: 2005-09-01
Publish: 2005-09-01
List Price: $24.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Turtleback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $10.55
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $9.19
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.47
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| Customer Review: |
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1: The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Essential Gardening Know-How for Keeping (Not Killing) More Than 160 Indoor Plants
Good quick guide for care of many common houseplants. Easy reading but I would have liked more detail.
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2: not so complete
Maybe it's a good reference guide to the most common houseplants, but when I want to look up a new plant I just brought home, it's never in there. I find myself looking them up online more often than the book.
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3: A great resource for beginners
Until recently my houseplant experience was limited to two spider plants and a ficus, both of which I managed to kill in about a year. I actually credit the plants for holding on so long, since they got horrible light, no fertilizer, and a little water every other month.
I recently decided to give it another go, but I was fairly nervous because I didn't know anything about how to take care of houseplants in general, let alone the special requirements of the commonly available varieties. I checked out several books before settling on this one, which is a good compromise between encyclopedic coverage of different plants and practical advice about plant care. Each of the 160+ plants in the book has at least one page of information and at least one full-color photo (sometimes more). The entry for each plant gives some basic information, specific requirements and things to watch out for, and a short troubleshooting FAQ. The book is divided into three parts, on flowering houseplants, non-flowering houseplants, and houseplant care. The final section on houseplant care goes into a lot more depth on just about every topic under the sun, including soil, light, water, fertilizer, seasons, training, propagation, leaching, repotting (and potting up, and top-dressing), and has a lot of helpful illustrations to get you through. At the end of the book there is a big list of resources, including plant clubs and sources for more in-depth information.
Right now I have 17 houseplants, all chosen without benefit of this book, just because they looked nice. But they're all in here. The book is NOT comprehensive, though--160 species is a lot but it is hardly exhaustive, and your local garden center or home supply warehouse probably has plants that aren't covered here. Still, almost all the common species and varieties are in here, and it is very nice to have instructions and tips that are specific to each plant. If you have some plants that aren't in here, you might want to pair this with a more taxonomically comprehensive book, such as The House Plant Expert or one of the houseplant encyclopedias.
I should add that the book is very well written, interesting, engaging, and accessible. I find myself picking it up to look up one thing and an hour later I'm still reading.
Oh, and all my new plants are doing great. Mostly thanks to this book.
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4: Perfect for environment and care demands.
So many houseplant guides glut the market that it may initially seem difficult to see the need for yet another - but here's something different, offering color photos, a plant ID guide to help those who receive 'mystery houseplants' as gifts, details on low-maintenance plants, and an A-Z of care basics for quick and easy access. Brighter and more detailed than most, THE COMPLETE HOUSEPLANT SURVIVAL GUIDE helps buyers choose the plant which is perfect for environment and care demands.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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5: The Complete Houseplant Survival manual: Essential Gardening Know -How for keeping (Not Killing) More than 160 Indoor Plants`
Excellent resource manual. Specific details on the care of individual plants as well as sections pest management with recipes for non-toxic sprays for pests, potting, watering, etc. One probably does not need another resource for houseplants.
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