Customer Reviews

Cacti and Succulents: An Illustrated Guide to the Plants and their Cultivation (Crowood Aviation S.)

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

 

 

This is my favorite reasonably priced but high quality introduction to the cultivation of cacti and succulents. Graham Charles writes clearly and leaves you with the feeling that he knows his subject. It is beautifully illustrated. For a sound introduction to the subject this book is an excellent value.

The old adage never judge a book by its cover, fortunately does not apply with this offering. True, the cover will have anyone interested in the subject smacking their lips, but the content is just as good and the book is by Graham Charles, a well respected name in cacti circles.

The book certainly is not up there with the `Cactus Family' or the `Cactus Lexicon' and does not even try to compete with these expensive and truly comprehensive volumes but what it does it does well. It is not aimed at any specific section, i.e. those starting out in the hobby or the more experienced. It is simply a well written and well illustrated book, with many colored photographs to add emphasis to the informative text. It is worth a place in anyones bookcase.

Great pictures. A lot of educational information regarding cultivation, display, pests & diseases, plant distinctions etc. A large selection of recommended species with detailed information about each.

I was very disappointed in this book. It gives only the barest information about the plants and left me with even more questions about which to plant and where. It has a lot of nice pictures, but mostly tells where the plants originated. I was looking for a guide to cultivation, but this is a long way from that. I enjoyed seeing the pretty pictures, but am left not knowing much more than I knew before I bought it. It's a book you might look at for half an hour, put on a shelf and not look at again. I'll have to continue my search.

It really was up to my expectations. I've recently developed a passion for cactus.
They are great companions, give wonderful flowers, need little care and have amazing forms. I bought the book to be able to understand more about them. The excellent pictures, very difficult to accomplish, (try photographing one of them) meet my goal: to be able to baptize them correctly. I strongly believe that images need to be named, and to do so, this book is marvelous. My thanks to the authors for all the work done to put it together. A last comment, classifying cactus enhances memory, attention and other brain functions that one needs to keep on going as age sets in.

Great book. Excellent if not necessary reading material any and all succulent and cactus lovers and gardens need. It gives great details on care and description of many individual groups of succulents as well as the general care for succulents. However it seems to assume you are going to either grow them in a greenhouse, or you live in the southwest or hot dry climates. Simply put, it is an excellent book but incomplete with all methods of succulents. It is not a substitution for people who live in wetter climates or have no greenhouses. I would suggest getting also a book on how to grow Succulent in every climate. If you are not a gardener of succulents, it is still a great book for those who love flowers and plants. It encyclopedia section is second to none. It makes identification of succulents easy. As well as they care, history and description of it to go along with it.
Quality: 5/5
Content: 4/5
Design and Format: 5/5
Detail: 4/5

Libro muy completo y con hermosas fotos. Si bien no contiene a todas las especies, entrega datos útiles sobre muchas especies (como cuidarlas) para un mejor crecimiento y propagación.