Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan [Paperback]

James A. Fizzell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Month-By-Month Gardening in Michigan | Publication Date: July 3, 2001

Do I prune my hydrangea in the fall or do I wait until early spring?
When is it safe to put out tomatoes?
Can I divide iris now?

If you have ever asked yourself questions like these, Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan is for you. Gardening is a journey, not a destination. The day-by-day gardening experiences - planting a few onion sets in the first warm afternoon of spring … the surprises - a purple crocus before the snow has even gone … the satisfaction - fresh green beans on the dinner table, or tomatoes, bright and red, safely in quart jars … these are the things that keep the gardener coming back year after year.

Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan is packed with information that explains what needs to be done and when it needs to be done in the Michigan garden. Topics include:

• The most effective planting techniques.
• How and when to prune.
• The best season for fertilizing your lawn.
• The differences between bare-root, container, and balled-and-burlapped plants.
• Eleven plant categories, including Annuals, Bulbs, Herbs, Vegetables, Houseplants, Lawns, Perennials, Roses, Shrubs, and Trees.
• Twelve monthly calendars for each plant category - 132 calendars in all! - that make is easy to find the proper gardening advice.

Whatever your gardening interests or the time of year, you can take the guesswork and mystery out of gardening. You will become a more satisfied gardener … and your garden will show it!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fizzell has more than 40 years of hands-on horticultural experience. Fizzell has been featured often on television and radio and in leading trade journals, and has become a celebrated guest speaker at industry seminars and horticultural associations throughout the Midwest. Fizzell was the horticultural advisor for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service for nearly 35 years. In 1991, he founded James A. Fizzell and Associates, Ltd., which provides services to professional horticulturists, arborists, municipalities, sports turf managers, media, and other plant experts needing specialized help. Fizzell attended Pasadena California City College and California State Polytechnic College and received his B.S. in Floriculture and his M.S. in Horticulture from the University of Illinois.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888608196
• ISBN-13: 978-1888608199
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,683,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful guide to the Michigan gardening year, March 22, 2001

By 

E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan (Paperback)

"Month-By-Month Gardening in Michigan" is split into chapters on types of plants, e.g. Annuals, Bulbs, Herbs, Houseplants, Lawns, etc. Each chapter is then split into the following subchapters: "Introduction", "Planting Chart", "January", "February", ... "December". Here is how to use this book:

Suppose you live in Michigan and want to know whether to prune your climbing roses in March. Turn to Chapter 7, "Roses" and the subchapter called, "March". This subchapter has sections on "Planning", "Planting and Transplanting", "Rx Care for Your Roses", etc. In the section entitled "Pruning", the author recommends, "Prune climbing rose plants to fit their supports. Remove thin canes, and pinch back overly vigorous canes to force branching."

This book is very easy to use, as you can see from the above paragraph. I used to live in Winter Hardiness Zone 3 near Cadillac and am now a Zone 6 gardener down near Lake St. Claire , so I know from experience that you might have to adjust Fizzell's time-table of recommendations by as much as three or four weeks, depending on your specific zone.

Organic gardeners probably won't want to use some of the author's "Rx Care" suggestions (Fizzell recommends actual products such as "Orthene" and "D-Con"), but other than that, "Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan" should prove useful to all of us who garden in this state, whether it be the 'helpful hints', the planting charts, or the month-specific instructions for tending to your water garden.

This is a handy reference for any Michigan gardener (like myself) who needs an occasional reminder not to start her pepper plants in January.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Organization could be better, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan (Paperback)

The information seems pretty thorough, but Fizzell has organized the book mainly by types of plants -- vegetables, annuals, perennials, trees, and so on -- and then month-by-month under each group. So when you're trying to figure out what to do in May, you have to look up "May" under "Annuals," then "May" under "Perennials," then "May" under "Trees" .... I'd much rather he'd used the months as main categories, and each type of plant as a subcategory of those.

And Fizzell is pesticide- and herbicide-crazy! Forget it if you're an organic gardener. (I'm still looking for a book on organic gardening in Michigan.)

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Usefull for timing reference is LP, September 25, 2005

By 

R. Burgan (Holland, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Month-by-Month Gardening in Michigan (Paperback)

The timing info in this book is useful, if you live in Michigan's average area. Skip it if you live in Northern Michigan. Very little of the timing will apply to you. One other thing I didn't like was how many chemicals (of various sorts) they tell you to dump on your lawn. Every month it seems like they're telling you it's time to put one or two more on your lawn or in your beds. This type of gardening is not for me, and it scares me to think that people just strating with gardening might read this and think that they are all necessary.