Growing Hardy Orchids [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

John Tullock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2005

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this detailed and informative volume, the author seeks to persuade the reluctant gardener that anyone can raise orchids successfully. Bookseller 20050415 An exquisite treatment of hardy orchid cultivation and an indispensable addition to every gardener's library. -- Bart G. Jones Tennessee Native Plant Society 20050830 John Tullock's book is thoughtful ... presenting his personal views on orchids in nature, their conservation, and the problems with previous efforts to grow hardy species. -- Larry Mellichamp American Gardener 20051101 An eye opener, more than just a how-to book, although there's a lot of that. The author also offers his readers a thought-provoking lesson in conservation ethics. -- Karen Preuss Northwest Garden News 20060601 A delightful horticultural book that should give lovers of native plants the encouragement to grow some of the most charming of native plants: temperate orchids. -- Root Gorelick Plant Science Bulletin 20060601 I can recommend this book to anyone who is interested in growing hardy orchids. ... It brings together a lot of previously scattered information about basic growing requirements of 104 species of hardy orchids. -- Barbara Gravendeel Blumea 20060701 Imparts the basics of orchid cultivation and propagation through easy to follow tips and beautiful, illustrative photos. ... A great gardener's companion in that it provides the tools necessary to start- cultivating, and catalogs 103 hardy and half-hardy plants as well as an extensive list of suppliers and organizations. -- Megann Daw Chesapeake Home 20061001

Book Description

Grown for their fragrance, brilliant color, and longevity, hardy orchids have a reputation for being difficult to cultivate. The author dismantles this myth and teaches readers how anyone can grow these plants with just a few simple techniques. 103 hardy and half-hardy orchids are featured along with cultivation, propagation, and conservation information.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 244 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881927155
• ISBN-13: 978-0881927153
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,831 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Orchid Book, October 20, 2007

By 

Bob Alberts (Big Smith Pond, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Growing Hardy Orchids (Hardcover)

While I am just a neophyte as far as Orchids are concerned I found "Growing Hardy Orchids" to be a well thought out and well planned book. I live in Northern Maine and have always been interested in my local Orchids. Thank You Mr. Tullock for your insight. Bob

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fish and orchids, November 12, 2005

By 

Donald Kerr "video-audio-bibliophile" (Turtle Creek, Pa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Growing Hardy Orchids (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very informative but..., January 26, 2006

By 

DebauchedSloth "debauchedsloth" (Olympia WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Growing Hardy Orchids (Hardcover)

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.