Customer Reviews

Orchids Simplified: An Indoor Gardening Guide

5 star:		(9)
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3 star:		(1)
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Everyone I know is amazed that I grow orchids. They are really as not as difficult as everyone thinks they are. Henry Jaworski makes orchids simplified. Orchids Simplified was the first book I read about orchids. I already owned a dendrobium, but knew nothing about taking care of it. Jaworski's book was easy to read and understand. He gives a good background about several genera and outlines some basics about orchid care. There is also a section on orchid growers and orchid societies. It continues to be a good resource three years and many orchid shows later.

My amatuer gardening career spans a period of 40 years. In all that time, my interests did not include orchids until about 3 months ago. I purchased one plant and decided I needed to find a book for novices. Orchids Simplified is a wonderful book for a beginner. I found the book well organized, highly detailed without being boring or overly technical. The author displayed his great knowledge, devotion to orchids and delightful sense of humor throughout the text. In my opinion with the suggestions of the author, I will make fewer mistakes (but definitely make mistakes) because of the information contained in the book. The photographs are beautiful and I appreciated a glossary of terms and definitions.

As an accredited rose judge, I love beautiful flowers and recognize good photos when I see them. So many books seem to try to make gardening hard, or in an effort to simplify, edit out information that a reader would need to know. Mr Jaworski has side stepped those pitfalls, penning instead a consise book chock-full of stunning photos, served in tandem with good advice artfully delivered to the reader. The information contained between its covers was consise and to the point. New to orchids, I am now successfully growing and blooming cattleyas under lights after reading. Well worth reading and I highly regard this book

The photographs here are gorgeous and cover a wide range of orchids. The writing is down-to-earth and easy to read. It offers some sound advice on both culture and how to set up good structures for growing orchids. It doesn't have much illustrations of orchid diseases and symptoms though. All and all a very enjoyable book.

The photos are beautiful and the advice useful. I especially liked the table on how to guage footcandles of light. It made it easier for me to measure how much light I was getting in my apt. I also like the section on building your own light stand, but I was disappointed that the information on artificial lighting was scant. There are good step-by-step photos on repotting and I like the advice on how to revive a plant just shipped. This is a good book for a beginner because it adds fuel to your enthusiasm and curiousity and the photos make you drool with envy.

Review of 1992 Paperback Edition

For those looking for a more personal introduction to the world of orchids, look no further than Henry Jaworski's Orchids Simplified. Lavishly illustrated with stunning colour photographs (and drawings), Jaworski sets out to entice the beginning orchid grower by sharing his own experiences as both an orchid admirer, and subsequent enthusiast. Introductory chapters explore the mystique of orchids and debunk some of the myths surrounding them. After a basic primer on growing phalaenopsis orchids to get the reader started , Jaworski launches into a sensible discussion of where to buy orchids and what to buy, pointing out the differences between seedlings and meristems, and explaining how to decipher plant tags. The next few chapters discuss where to grow orchids, and Jaworski provides good basic advice to ensure success. Jaworski provides an illustrated overview of the various potting mixes available, though there is no mention of peat-based 'mud-mixes' that have become extremely popular among some growers in recent years. Jaworski's discussion on pests and diseases are disappointingly abbreviated. For a book dubbed as "An Indoor Gardening Guide", the discussion on pest control is relegated to the chapter on growing or summering orchids in " The Great Outdoors", and as such calls for the dunking or spraying of infested plants with chemical pesticides, methods that are poorly suited to the indoor grower who may live in a high rise building and not have access to outdoor space in which to safely spray plants.

Jaworski provides a sampling of " orchids you can grow" and describes some of his favorites in each genera, mostly species. He covers the main genera, including Cattleyas, Dendrobiums, Cymbidiums, Phalaenopsis, Pahiopedilum, Miltonias, Odontoglossums, Oncidiums, Brassias, and Vandas. Catasetums, and Stanhopeas are also discussed though neither are particularly well-suited to indoor growing. Chapters on propagation describe how to d! ivide plants and resprout old back-bulbs.

Jaworski concludes with a thoughtful and balanced discussion on the destruction of orchid habitats and the need for conservation, often lacking in treatments of this controversial topic in other books. His love for these plants is evident here, as it is throughout the book. Orchids Simplified is a stylish, and easy to read introduction to growing these most sophisticated of flowers.

I enjoyed this book and think that any orchid lover will find something useful. The photographs are very nice, with lots of closeups. The text is well-written and easy to read and covers a wide variety of orchids and growing situations. As the Orchids host at BellaOnline.com, I read a lot of books and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this one to any beginner.

I had a few orchids - I thought maybe I should repot them, or maybe not. I thought they were too cold, or hot; it could be they didn't have enough (or too much) sun; or maybe they only flower once in a lifetime. I didn't want to be a professional, a full-time orchid grower...so this book was perfect - small and approachable. It even has a chapter that says, for the basics, it's all you need, and it really was all I wanted. But, I read the rest anyway and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't know if my orchids will benefit, but they'll soon have more company as I add to the population with my new found confidence and knowledge. A great survey book.

This is simply the best book for the novice who has an interest in learning about orchids or in growing your own orchid.

The author wrote from his own experience and it's easy to relate to his stories. I wish it had a clearer structure to follow. Very nice pictures though.