Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World's Most Exotic Plants [Hardcover]

William Cullina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2004

Orchids are the largest family of plants in the world. With 30,000 known species, you could acquire a different orchid every day for eighty years and still not grow them all. Back in the realm of reality, readers of this beautiful book can quickly and easily find the orchids that are right for them -- which ones will thrive on a windowsill, which prefer artificial lights, and which need a greenhouse; which are for beginners, which for experts. And you can pinpoint the species within a particular genus that are the best ones to start with. Once you select your orchid, William Cullina's authoritative guide explains what to do to keep it alive and healthy.
Featuring more than two hundred color photographs, Understanding Orchids covers everything you need to know to grow orchids successfully, whatever your level of interest or experience. With improved tissue-culture techniques making orchids more affordable, and the Internet making them readily available to consumers, growing orchids is more popular than ever: membership in the American Orchid Society has more than doubled in the last fifteen years. This is the book orchid fans have been waiting for.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cullina has maintained a personal collection of orchids for decades, and still gets "that spine tingling, toe-tickling feeling of WOW" from an unfamiliar or outstanding specimen. It's a feeling he's eager to share with "orchid lovers at every level of expertise, from absolute beginner to experienced grower to expert." He succeeds in addressing such a broad audience by organizing his work into independent modules that can be consulted as needed. The first portion covers basic orchid information: detailed guides to growing them on a windowsill, under lights, in a greenhouse or outdoors, and practical advice on meeting their requirements for light, temperature, humidity and air movement in each of those settings. Cullina then systematically examines orchid culture, with in-depth discussions of watering, fertilization, potting and mounting, and pests and diseases. A brief but fascinating overview of orchid reproduction follows, with directions for hand pollinating, propagating and hybridizing. Finally, Cullina meticulously examines more than 100 of the most popular genera. Happily, a good number of these seductively described plants are rated for beginners (the other skill level ratings are experienced and expert). Cullina, who directs the New England Wild Flower Society, is extremely well versed in his subject and a skilled writer. His lively text, with its clear instructions, will make orchid growing as irresistible to readers as it is to Cullina. 300 color photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

With 30,000 species, orchids compose the largest plant family in the world. Cullina's informative guide, with 300 color photographs, tells what to look for in buying your first orchid. Much of the book is devoted to a list of common orchid genera, detailing more than 100 of the most popular ones. Each entry contains information on where the plant can be grown (at a window, under lights, or in a greenhouse), the level of skill it requires to grow the plant (beginner, experienced, or expert), and lists a good introductory species that would be easy to grow. Cullina, the author of Wildflowers (2000) and Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines (2002), also gives instructions on watering, light, potting, and fertilizing. This extensive guide includes a section on taxonomy and nomenclature and a glossary. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; None edition (November 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618263268
• ISBN-13: 978-0618263264
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,934 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William Cullina (kul-EYE-nuh) Currently Bill is the Director of Horticulture/Plant Curator for one of North America's newest and most exciting public gardens, The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. Previously he was the Director of Horticultural Research for the New England Wild Flower Society in Massachusetts. A well known author and recognized authority on North American native plants, Cullina lectures on a variety of subjects to garden and professional groups and writes for popular and technical journals. His books include, Wildflowers, Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines, Understanding Orchids, Native Ferns, Mosses, and Grasses, and most recently, Understanding Perennials, published in 2009. He and his wife, Melissa live with their three young children on Southport Island along the central Maine Coast. Visit his website www.williamcullina.com for writings, photography and updated lecture information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

161 of 162 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything the orchid grower needs to know, October 22, 2004

By 

W. Oliver (Alabama) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World's Most Exotic Plants (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book on orchid growing, much more detailed and text oriented than others on the market, yet easy to read and the author's conversational writing style will be most comforting to beginner's.

The book is divided into four parts:

Part 1 - "Setting up the Orchid Environment" talks about buying your first orchid, the anatomy of the orchid, where to grow them, light, temperature, humidity and air movement, and quite detailed information about artificial lights.

Part 2 - "Care and Feeding" covers the basics of watering, fertilization, potting and repotting, types of mixtures, mounting orchids on trees and branches, pests and diseases, and a troubleshooting guide.

Part 3 - "Orchid Reproduction" is about hand pollination and the care of seedlings, and hybridization.

Part 4 - "Common Orchid Genera from A to Z" features a gallery of orchids with photos and cultural advice as well as skill levels (beginner, expert, experienced).

This is a book for both beginners and advanced orchid growers.

85 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for novice on up to expert, March 3, 2005

By 

Orchid grower (SF, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World's Most Exotic Plants (Hardcover)

I've been growing orchids for 20 years and have read dozens of orchid books. This is by far the most clearly written, entertaining and informative general orchid book I've ever come across. It is filled with helpful information on orchid culture as well as anecdotes that capture the mental progression of how one goes from a single plant to a whole collection. If you can feel yourself becoming hooked on orchids this book will come in very handy as your collection expands.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best orchids books I've ever seen, December 18, 2005

By 

JoBi (Madrid, SPAIN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide to Growing the World's Most Exotic Plants (Hardcover)

We have eight orchids at home, with no special greenhouse for them. The book is simple and direct, giving exact tips to take care of them. The author show his passion for flowers by writing a book for both rookies -anyone with a window can have an orchid- and professionals. From the best light for a specimen to how to get hybrids. Includes step-by-step pictures.

Really excellent.