Customer Reviews

Citrus: Complete Guide to Selecting & Growing More Than 100 Varieties for California, Arizona Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida (Illustrated)

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

 

 

I have read several other books on citrus cultivation, but this book is by far the best i've run across. It has excellent photographs of the hundreds of citrus fruits, both on the tree and of the inside of the fruit itself. It has some great citrus recipes, but it mainly focuses on the cultivation and care of each variety. This book tells the grower what he/she can exactly expect to see, and how to best care for your tree. If there is ANYTHING this book lacks, it is more info on out-of-zone citrus gardening. For example, i live in NC and i have phenomenal success with all my trees in containers (i winter them in a "cheap" plastic greenhouse). That is my only criticism of this book---otherwise, all cultivar info is detailed and well illustrated!!!!

The book is attractive and does contain a lot of information about different citrus varieties. My main criticism is that the Planting and Care section could have been much more substantial. Specifically, since the descriptions of various citrus ailments (poor nutrition, inappropriate watering, infection with pests) are not accompanied by photos of the symptoms, it makes it harder for the reader to figure out what these problems might actually look like. The black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings of pests are somewhat informative, but they're very limited compared to what might be conveyed by a photo.

Also, a few diagrams to help illustrate "good pruning" would have been great.

I'm not suggesting that this book should have been a definitive technical treatise on citrus, but I think it would have been more useful if more attention had been paid to what goes wrong when you're trying to grow citrus.

This book is a nice overview of citrus: it has a well-rounded history section, which I found very interesting, a brief summary of about 80 types of citrus, a section on rootstocks with positive and negative characteristics, and many other chapters on various topics.

I do agree with an earlier reviewer that calamondin is NOT a sweet fruit: the SKIN is light, thin, and can be described as sweet, but the actual fruit is something like a lemon or lime, with a flavor that is puzzling and new (to me, anyway). The rest of the information on the calamondin is accurate.

I wouldn't give the book one star, but it definitely was a disappointment for me in that I wanted more hard information on the particulars of growing citrus.

I'll give the book three stars. This was my first citrus book, given to me as a present, so I want to say that I have no comparison to other authors. The author of this book does, however provide a broad overview of citrus, from a beginner's perspective: a good section on pest control (but the author doesn't suggest the ultimate method for getting rid of scale: bareroot the tree and submerge everything but the roots in a horticultural oil solution contained in a rainbarrel or bathtub), and a few funny anecdotal stories. I did like the book.

a very useful and short guide for citrus amateurs growers. Very imortant and good information about citrus USDA zones and many citrus varietes carefully described. I think there is a essentail book for amateur citrus growers in temperate zones (atlantic europe coast)

..becasue this book provides you with compareable pictures of the different and often unusual citrus varieties today grown and sold. It give you a hint about were to plant, how to care and shows you the different varieties, so you easily can select an enjoyable variety for you container or backyard. The magnificent pictures make this book worth to buy, because you can choose your tree right from the fruit and see if taste and usage fit to your demand. Let's grow citrus!

The nursery where I bought my citrus tress recommended this book. I think it provides a very comprehensive coverage of growing citrus in AZ. This is a must for your reference library.

This book has informatiom for the professional as well as the village farmer in Africa , its teachings are simple and clear for all those interested in the subject to follow , the illustrations and instructions are simple even for those with a basic knowledge of subtropical fruit growing. Africa is not covered in the distribution map never the less the fruits are for example the mango tree is synonymous with Africa , it gives food, and shelter from the elements and fuel what more can you want from a tree. Every African school would benefit from a book like this , and i know one that will.