Customer Reviews

Indoor Plants: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Houseplants

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The photography and text of this beautiful book are well-done and easy to follow. The authors cover most aspects of plant care, from basic watering and lighting to reproduction and pest control to extensive entries on houseplant varieties. Every plant entry seems unique, breaking from the dull template of information that the more encyclopedia-like plant books have. This engaging style is a strength of the book, but it is also a weakness because the style lends itself to inconsistency. For example, the entry on Saintpaulias (African Violets) specifies the height at which artificial lights should be placed above the plants, but many of the other entries do not give such information. Another complaint is that the secondary plant list in the back does not feature a photograph of every plant. For the price I paid, I would have willingly give up a few of the extra photos in the front if it would result in a more comprehensive photo collection in the back. Identifying p! lants without pictures is very difficult. Nonetheless, no plant book is perfect, and this one comes very close. It combines two types of books -- the coffee-table book and the reference text. All too often plant books do one at the expense of the other.

As a novice houseplant keeper, I rely heavily on the books I read for information I need to keep my plants healthy. This book helped me identify ALL the plants I own, which was no small feat in that most were given to me by others who didn't know the variety. It has easy to read information on caring for plants, and I am able to understand the language used. Some other encyclopedia type books make it difficult to get the info needed, and are geared toward professional horticulturists, rather than laymen like myself. I found this book to be very useful, and would highly recommend it to others who have "hobby" plants. The pictures are great, too! They provide a good explanation for the written description of problems common to houseplants, and are a great guide to diagnosing ailments.

This has been a joy to go through. I am a novice at this. Its hard finding a good first book to start with. This is it. It has great pictures for you to match your plants to and enough detail on how to take care of them without loosing you in a bunch of detail. I would recommend this book to anyone starting out.

Good photos of plants and great information on care with pest and health issues of plants included.

I've been trying to find a good comprehensive book on indoor plants that is at least the equal of my old standby, Foliage Plants for Decorating Indoors by Mr. and Mrs. Elberts (1989, Timber Press)[q.v.]. That book gives info on each plant from the direct knowledge of the authors and as a result has proved to be the best tropical houseplant book bar none, thus far. They give personal observations, recommendations, etc. Whereas 19 out of 20 such books have the usual set of short paragraphs with pedestrian info (i.e. dimensions, temperatures, light requirements, etc.). The Elberts also cover a goodly number of varieties and cultivars one is likely to encounter.

This present volume, dated 1997, is far better than the Readers' Digest edition of 2006, in that the photos are illustrative of the plant, and not illustrative of the artistic prowess of the photographer. It is also better in the text with at least some inkling that real people are writing about the species from their own experience.

There is alot of extra stuff on indoor plants that I didn't need, but that occurs in all of these kinds of books. The question is how sophisticated it is. Here it is not sophisticated. I do like the use of double-page treatments of some of the more popular types; tons of info and good illustrations of everything: flowers, leaves, unhealthy leaves, varieties, and so forth.

I have given this book 4 stars for these reasons. In fact I might even buy a copy given how cheap they are. As I go about deciding upon what plant I want to use in a given situation (I am currently working on several vivaria) this book is easy to use quickly to give a quick idea. I am still looking for something more like my old standby however.

I am a professional gardener and I use this book a lot. I love that it has the common and scientific names. There is also a lot of good information about propagation, planting practices, etc.

This is by far my favorite houseplant book. Fantastic pictures, comprehensive plant descriptions, helpful tips and thorough care information make this book the first one I reach for in my collection. Perfect for beginners or the seasoned houseplant lover. I highly recommend this book!!

Indoor Plants by Jane Courtier & Graham Clarke is as would you expect from a Reader's Digest book - an excellent general reference on indoor plants. Information is provided in a thouroughly accessible, attractive and informative manner. The many illustrations are a combination of drawings and photographs and they are clear, detailed and useful. No, this is not a text book on indoor botany and it certainly does not pretend to be. It does an excellent job of providing lots of general useful information. The selected plants are not comprehensive, but there are many idoiosyncratic plants that one would never expect to see in a book like this. They make for very pleasent surprises. Well worth the price.

I couldn't find the plants that I liked and wanted to know about how to grow and take care, and some plants didn't have pictures, only written description.