Customer Reviews

The Hosta Handbook

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay, so this book isn't in stock. Well, it's worth the wait.

Mark Zilis aptly combines a decade of scholarly research with concise writing in a well-conceived handbook format. It's ideal for any hosta fan.

The author knows his hostas and provides 288 in-depth hosta listings with photos and brief descriptions of a thousand more!

If you are a hosta novice, you will be surprised to learn all the subtleties of hostas and if you are a collector, the parenting history and industry tales will prove quite interesting.

Zilis tells it as it is: if a hosta is prone to tearing, sun scorch or slugs, he says so. Talk about up-front, he even points out the downside of one of his fifty hosta introductions (I happen to adore it anyway).

Whether you are a hosta newbie or connoisseur, this is an excellent resource. With it's slim profile, take it to the local botanical garden and read the listings while you are viewing their hosta collection.

Or when you are bidding online for a Aureonebulosa or Frances Williams, use his hosta name index - very handy when you don't know a Tokudama from a Sieboldiana. Everyone isn't a horticulturalist but this esteemed wholesale nursery owner recognizes reader needs with this thoughtful addition to his handbook.

And for folks new to hostas, don't let the above Latin names dampen your interest. Mark Zilis has fifty pages of hosta basics in bite-size chunks. This book is easy to grow into as you become a hosta fanatic, so buy it now.

Mark Zilis, thanks for this comprehensive book; it's the first one I grab when I think hostas.

I think this is an excellent book for finding hosta varieties. I have found 3 hostas in it that I could not otherwise identify.
It is easy to read and includes specific elements of each hosta in order to make ID easier. Only caution: mark your pages you want to reference frequently. It can be tricky finding the variety you need because of multiple listings in the index. Otherwise great book!

An excellent overview of hostas!! Size and binding are functional for use at garden sales, etc. Loved by most members of the Midsouth Hosta Society!!

Absolutely the BEST book on hostas that I have found so far. When I first opened the package this book came in, I laughed to myself and said, "Gee, I didn't order half a book!" The book is spiral bound, 600 pages - but only 9" x 4.25" (page size) so it looks like someone chopped the book in half!

Nevertheless, this book is crammed full of great information on many of the hosta cultivars you will be able to find for sale. And because of it's size, it should be easy to bring along when I go "hosta hunting." I would imagine it would be almost impossible to write one book and include information about all - there are just too many cultivars in the hosta world!

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants the useful information at their fingertips - while looking through online selections or as a field guide while shopping or just exploring a garden!

I've learned a lot about all the Hosta varieties... how they compare and contrast to each other so I can figure out what I'm actually buying and where I should plant them, how large they can get and what they will be like when mature, and have gotten a basic concept of how the varieties were developed over the years. Very useful, it is a handbook for understanding the hobby of Hostas and does that job well.

Not really a "coffee table" type book if that is what you want, even thou the pictures are good

An excellent reference & carry along. I've been collecting hostas for 10 years. When I purchased this book in 2000, I hoped it would be the last book I'd ever need. I thought it was pretty pricey & it took awhile to talk myself into the purchase. I have not been sorry for a second. Every time I think it will be lacking -- I'm proven wrong. I have never seen or heard of a hosta that hasn't been listed. Bravo, Mr. Zilis!

When I first got serious about collecting hostas, I bought a lot of books. Mostly, they're coffee-table picture books -- totally unwieldly to carry and ones I'll never look at again. But THIS book! I've practically memorized it! I've made notes in it; I've added descriptions of new hostas and taped them inside; I've highlighted stuff in yellow. I carry this book with me everytime I go to a hosta club meeting, and I carry it with me when I go hosta shopping. When I go to the AHS convention in St. Louis in June, my trusty Handbook will be with me. I love the size and shape of it. It fits ideally in one hand, I can stuff it inside my notebook that I take with me when I go to meetings that require notetaking (it fits as perfectly in that notebook as it does in my hand!), and it lies comfortably in my passenger car seat, not taking up room or making a nuisance of itself, in between trips to meetings and greenhouses. Some experience and ssrious thought went into the writing and making of this book and it shows!

This person replyed quickly to my quetion and I would buy from him in the tuture

I had been looking for this book for a long time at the right price

Great Find!

This book HAS been a great resource for serious Hosta collectors. I have owned this book for 6 years and have over 300 varieties of Hosta. I had to weigh buying it because of the high price but having bought it decided it was well worth it. In the last few years though I have begun to outgrow it. There are now so many varieties of Hosta on the market that this book does not even mention most of them. It is however still a good resource book for me and is still a great book for beginning collectors. I understand from other Hosta collectors that a new edition of this book with thousands of new varieites will be out in the Fall of 2008. I will not have to think twice about buying it when it comes out!