Customer Reviews

Orchid Growing for Wimps: Techniques for the "Wish I Could Do That" Gardener

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

 

 

I received an orchid plant a few years back and was afraid of loving it to death (ie: overwatering, overfertilizing, etc.) Happily, it seems to do quite fine, but I wanted to know when to repot it, how to get it to bloom with the most possible blossoms and how to care for it-aside from just keeping it alive. This book was VERY helpful, and I am the ultimate in Orchid wimps. The pictures helped me to match up what kind of plants I could buy that would do well in my home and had a great section on pests, diseases and interesting tips on how to make it a "humidity bath", and what is normal (big fat white roots, growing all crazy-like out of the top....normal (who knew?) ). It is a book for the novice, the wimp, the "please, hold my hand and tell me everything," kind of orchid grower....of which I am....and thankful that someone put it all in words for me. It will also let you branch out to other types once you get your "orchid growing chops"....and there are plenty of different varieties to try. So, take the plunge, get the book and learn to grow beautiful orchids.

I was the ultimate orchid wimp, a complete novice, when a friend sent me an encyclia last summer, and I panicked. I bought the Ortho orchid book, and tried to find a decent place for my plant, then went so far as to buy two more orchids - NOT knowing they were ones that needed the exact opposite treatment from the first. And THEN the same friend moved, and had some careless friends crate up 14 of her orchids and ship them off to ME! They arrived in terrible condition, having fallen out of their pots, leaves crushed, roots torn, a MESS. I had no space, no good light for them, not enough humidity, NOTHING.
Well, enter Orchid Growing for Wimps. It gave me not only information but confidence. In particular, I commend it for having pictures of the complete plants, not just the flowers. It really shows you how to perform many necessary tasks, gives good tips on care of many common types of orchids. It convinced me at last that I'd better splurge and buy a large, lighted case for my babies, and they are now quite happy and doing well.
My only complaint, and it is unrealistic, is that this book doesn't cover all the thousands of varieties and their sometimes highly speccialized culture. The remedy for that is - MORE BOOKS, never a bad thing!
But if you can only buy one book, this one may be the most helpful one you can find.

review by Janet Knori, author of Awakening In God

While this book is easy to read, and covers many of the basics, and does recommend many easy to grow orchids, it is much too limited in application. If you are an orchid beginner and an apartment dweller in New York City, this is the perfect book for you and most everything applies to your situation. If are an orchid beginner that lives in a house in a warmer climate, some of the advice is just plain poor.

A comfortable, pretty book, but not for everyone.

I found this book to be easy to read, informative and entertaining. It is full of beautiful photos too! The book breaks down the process of growing orchids into a few basic steps. The very helpful chapter on insect pests and diseases addresses a topic that many books do not cover well. I also like that the author includes profiles of many easy-to-find, easy-to-grow species to help novice gardeners choose the right plants for their growing conditions. I bought one for me and another to give as a gift!

I've read a lot of confusing books on orchid growing as well as some very good ones like Understanding Orchids. this book is conveniently short and clear with excellent charts, great pictures easy descriptions. I found of everything I have read that this one gave me the confidence and actually repot, prune and relocate my outdoor Florida orchids. I finally feel confident that I know what I am doing. I gave it five stars because it was the star in the crown of what I read but I feel that you still need to read Understanding Orchids as well to have it all.

This book really helped me grow orchids more successfully. The author is very organized and covers all aspects of growing these beautiful plants. His tips made my money go further because I realized that some orchids require very specific conditions that I couldn't replicate, so if I bought them I was doomed to failure. By following his suggestions anyone can successfully grow orchids and coax them into flowering again and again.

Visually very apealing book on about 20 different orchids, great photos, well organized practical and easy to understand information. Just a very nice book, easy, not to much reading.

This book is easy to understand with lots of detail. Good to have as reference.