Customer Reviews

Hippeastrum: The Gardener's Amaryllis (Royal Horticultural Society Plant Collector Guide)

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

 

 

Timber Press's horticultural books always present beautifully: glossy paper, colored plates, and densely-packed text that makes you think you'll learn all you ever wanted to know about a particular plant family. Many appear to be written by British horticulturalists associated with some Royal garden or another. And, many appear to be written FOR other British horticulturalists of some Royal garden or another. I was excited to get this book, because I love hippeastrums; but I found many pages that I needn't spend much time on, such as long descriptions of research and researchers in countries around the world. As for learning more about how to grow them, you'll glean a few ideas, but unless you have a tissue culture laboratory, a climate-controlled greenhouse, and access to all the soil and chemical products that are available in the UK (or only given by their UK name or description), you'll probably not do much with the rest of the cultural information.

I've looked over a number of the Timber Press plant guides, and this one seems to be typical of their presentation. The pictures are a joy to look at. But these books are often heavy on varieties and products that the average person will never come across, even in the age of the internet. I'm not saying they'll not be valuable to someone; only that I find they don't live up to their promise to me, and I suspect to most average plant lovers.

Hippeastrum: The Gardener's Amaryllis by Veronica M. Read is a 344-page compendium dedicated to the hybrids of this popular indoor plant (commonly called amaryllis) that exhibits flamboyant blooms during dark winter months. An internationally recognized expert who draws upon more than ten years of personal experience, Veronica Read explains how gardeners and horticulturalists can get the best results from their efforts with a wealth of plant descriptions (including more than one hundred beautiful, full color photographs), practical advice, specially formulated growing medium used by the Royal Botanic Gardens, propagation instructions, and even an effective hot water treatment for pests! Hippeastrum is an impressive and strongly recommended specialized addition for personal gardening, professional horticultural reference collections.

This book is a nice book for those who like Hippeastrums. I ordered it hoping to get a photo catalog of all hybrids (as they were listed in the index). However, for each of hybrids there is only text information (though rather full), but no photos. There are also some nice photos in the colourful middle of the book with some rare varieties and hybrids.

Books on Hippeastrums are very few and far between. Veronica Read has attempted a comprehensive description of her knowledge and understanding of the genus as it applies to cultivation in the United Kingdom. The illustrations are good but unfortunately do not cover many of the more important cultivars, mentioned in her narrative. Genetic information is unfortunately almost non existant, which is not altogether surprising as very little genetic information has been published anywhere concerning Hippeastrums. Generally speaking Veronica Read has gathered together much of the more general information which has been published around the world and has presented it in a manner which is very suitable for the average gardener. Those of us who may have been looking for a more technical tretise on Hippeastrums must unfortunately look elsewere.

I read this book through in one sitting. As a new Amaryllis enthusiast, I needed help in identifying a mislabeled bulb that I had received in the mail. The excellent pictures and detailed discriptions, in this book, answered my identification question, and many more questions that I had about the proper culture of this beautiful plant. The book identifies many of the more unusal cultivars which are now becoming available through mail order catalogs. The author's enthusiasm and love of Amaryllis is evident on every page.

This book is very helpful to anyone wanting to know about the history of hippeastrums, as well as detailed instructions on growing them in both climates. Even tho it is written for English climate, it includes pieces about warmer climates as well. As a beginner collecter altho I haven't read all the book yet I found what I have read very informative.

Well done book. I hope a second edition is in the works with updated material, and of course more illustrations/photos.