Customer Reviews

American Horticultural Society Pruning & Training (American Horticultural Society Practical Guides)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is only book on pruning that will meet your every need as a beginning or seasoned gardener. It is a complete encyclopedia of information with many color photographs and wonderfully detailed, clear, color illustrations of techniques you may need for any pruning challenge.

Brickell and Joyce in, "Pruning and Training", have the most complete answers to questions on how to prune almost any plant you may have, or want to have in your garden.

It covers all the basics. Then Brickell and Joyce include very detailed information for pruning Ornamental Trees, Tree Fruits, Ornamental Shrubs, Soft Fruits, Climbing Plants and Roses. Each chapter contains general information for the whole rangeof plants they've assigned to that category. Detailed instructions then follow for each specific plant included in each chapter category. Details include the growing areas (3-7,etc), descripttion of each plant and flower, and, how and when each should be pruned or trained. Training and pruning instructions for popular hybrids of many plants are also included.

It has become and will continue to be my pruning bible, replacing my four other books I have collected on the subject.

For many years Mr. Brickell's "Pruning" (96 pages) was my bible. It recently occurred to me that this 20 year old book might be updated and I came to Amazon to find that it had. The new book is much more specific as to individual trees and shrubs and the horticultural information is up to date and beautifully detailed. The book also very attractive. Since woody plants are my passion, I have to say that I love this book.

Expands what most books cover in a chapter, at best, to over 300 pages with thousands of color photos and ilustrations. Sections are devoted to ornamental trees, fruit trees, shrubs, soft fruits, climbing plants, and roses. Each section gives specific techniques for pruning different varieties of plants with plant-by-plant instructions. Equal coverage for training plants into ornamental forms is detailed for most plants. I originally borrowed this book from the library and, within 1/2 hour after opening it, decided that this was one book that I had to buy for myself.

I have been dabbling with fruit trees for the last twenty years. I usually end up moving just when my trees are finally old enough to produce. This has finally changed and I have a beautiful orchard to enjoy. I went searching for some books this past Christmas so I could learn more and get the most out of my trees. I could not be happier with this book. The things I have learned about pruning and training are fascinating and they are already paying dividends. The writing is very understandable and the photos are incredible - and there are many of them. For every popular variety of fruit tree there are photos of the first three years (from planting as a single whip)showing exactly what the tree should look like in the spring and summer of years one through three and then they explain how it should be pruned thereafter for the rest of its life. They make great use of shading leaving no doubt what cuts should be made, and where. The book covers the pruning of just about anything that grows. I wish I could give it more than five stars!!!

The strength of this book is in the solid way the information is presented - anyone from the greenest beginner to the most experienced pro will find information in here that is practical and useful.

The book is arranged into sections - general pruning information and techniques, with excellent, full color diagrams, photos, and thorough text explaining every tip and technique they show. The section on rose pruning, for example, has photos of roses trained in different ways, diagrams of different kinds of tangled roses which need pruning (with shading to show which stems they'd remove and keep, and the angles and positions of each cut), and explanatory text detailing exactly why each branch was cut, the theory behind the mechanics, and some tips to keep in mind when you get outside with your pruning shears.

Then there is the encyclopedia portion - divided into types of plants - like trees, shrubs, fruiting shrubs, etc. If you know the name of what you are trying to prune, you can get detailed information on how to renovate an old gnarled shrub, how to train a new one, and how to give an existing plant shape and a nice form. Each plant has accurate information on whether you can cut it to the ground, prune to hard wood, and what training and pruning techniques are successful on each type of plant.

I have been a landscaper for over ten years, doing design and maintenance, and this book is one I carry with me every spring when I do my seasonal pruning jobs - if there is a plant that I have never hard pruned or renovated before, I just look it up quickly to check which techniques are successful on which plants, and it has never guided me wrongly.

If you'd like to begin caring for your own plants, this is one of the top books you should pick up. Disabato-Aust's The Well-Tended Perennial Garden is another good one, for after you have learned some of the techniques presented here.

This is THE book to buy on pruning and you really do need a book of this size and scope when it comes to the general subject of pruning because there is so much information that needs to be imparted. I was so impressed with this book I also ordered the Horticulture Society book on Pests and Diseases, sight unseen. If you're going to take responsibility for the care and maintenance of your landscaping you should have these books.

I have been pruning trees for 30 years (wow), and this is definately the best single source for technical information, and ideas, but it's especially good for its depth & breadth of coverage: a great variety of tree/vine/rose specimens and treatments. The drawings, pictures, sketches are the best I've seen in one presentation. These guys have done it right -- a first class book for the serious gardener!

I borrowed this book from the library earlier this year along with several other books on pruning. This was the best of the bunch. It provides clear descriptions of the methods of pruning, along with details for many specific plants. The photos and diagrams are helpful and easy to understand.

After checking with a few reputable online resources, I've found that some of the recommendations for when to prune pear and sour cherry trees might be incorrect for my particular location (Wisconsin, USA). This doesn't necessarily indicate that the book is flawed. It's just that one book can't cover all possibilities for the US and Britain.

After learning so much from it earlier, I'm now purchasing this book to keep as a reference throughout the seasons and years.

Very informative. I've learned more about pruning from this book than from any other source. It's easy to read and understand and contains so much additional information such as best times to water, planting techniques, affects of weather and bugs, etc. I could go on and on, but I'll just state what my cousin told me ..... just buy this book!

Saw this book at regular retail store but it was too expensive. Checked Amazon and the price was right! I thought I knew all about pruning and found it a "therapeutic pleasure" then I learned so much more from this publcation. It's excellent. Lots of detail, color pictures and virtually all plants, trees & shrubs and their structure types are covered. I highly recommend this one - puts the others in the shade with clear up-to-date & authorative ideas & instructions.