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

Grahame Clarke (Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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8 new from $12.95 46 used from $0.50

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This well-designed introduction to houseplants by garden writer Courtier and horticulturist Clarke begins with a brief section on decorating with plants followed by the book's strength?a plant directory of 170 common houseplants plus a secondary list of 130 more unusual plants. Arranged by scientific name, entries list common name, plant requirements, growing techniques, propagation methods, and recommended related plants. Most entries contain a beautiful color photograph of the plant. The final section offers clear explanations, with illustrations, of light, humidity, temperature, watering, feeding, repotting, training, propagation, and pests and diseases. A few errors such as conflicting information on watering bromeliads and reversed identification of thrip and vine weevil pictures are minor problems. While similar in style and content to other available houseplants books, this is an attractive, informative choice for libraries needing an additional book about houseplants and their care.?Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description

Everything you need to know about choosing and caring for houseplants. An extensive plant directory describes 300 indoor plants; an alphabetical chart provides at-a-glance information on each plant's needs and preferred conditions.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Reader's Digest (March 10, 1997)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0895779218
ISBN-13: 978-0895779212
Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #482,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#67 in Books > Home & Garden > Gardening & Horticulture > House Plants

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
PLANTS HAVE A VERY SPECIAL PLACE IN OUR homes. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
standard liquid fertilizer, pot one size larger, added coarse sand, desired pot size, weak liquid fertilizer, added leaf mold, special orchid medium, damp pebbles, winter direct sun, propagator with bottom heat, maximum desired size, soft stem cuttings, added peat moss, take stem tip cuttings, water more sparingly, balanced liquid fertilizer, moist pebbles, moderate bright, balanced liquid feed, spell outdoors, soil thoroughly moist, pots one size larger, potash liquid fertilizer, added perlite, mist the foliage

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
South Africa, Foliage Upright, South America, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Cape Province, Central America, West Indies, Flowers Bushy Plentiful Bright, Flowers Trailing Moderate, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Flowers Upright Plentiful, Tropical Asia, Colored Bushy Moderate, New Caledonia

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Citations (learn more)

3 books cite this book:

What to read, and how to read, being classified lists of choice reading, with appropriate hints and emarks, adapted to the eneral reader, to subscribers ... of books. Brought down to September, 1870 by Michigan Historical Reprint Series on page 133
Month-by-month Gardening In Louisiana by Dan Gill in Back Matter
Month-by-month Gardening In Texas by Dale Groom in Back Matter

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The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual by Barbara Pleasant

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Month-by-month Gardening In Illinois by James A. Fizzell

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The Complete Book of Plant Propagation by Jim Arbury

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Bulbs by John E. Bryan

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	42% buy the item featured on this page: Indoor Plants: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Houseplants by Grahame Clarke Hardcover 4.5 out of 5 stars (8)
	30% buy The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Essential Gardening Know-How for Keeping (Not Killing) More Than 160 Indoor Plants by Barbara Pleasant Flexibound 4.3 out of 5 stars (19) $16.47
	14% buy The House Plant Expert Book Two: The Must-Have Sequel to the World's Bestselling House Plant Book by D.G. Hessayon Paperback 4.6 out of 5 stars (54) $10.17
	8% buy Complete Guide to Houseplants (Miracle Gro) by Miracle-Gro Paperback 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $13.57

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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

94 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift and/or reference book., July 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Indoor Plants: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Houseplants (Hardcover)

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.

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55 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Reliable Help, October 24, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Indoor Plants: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Houseplants (Hardcover)

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.

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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, January 20, 2004

By A Customer

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This review is from: Indoor Plants: The Essential Guide to Choosing and Caring for Houseplants (Hardcover)

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.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Not too bad given its genre; better than the 2006 Readers' Digest edition
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. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Breck Breckenridge

3.0 out of 5 stars okay
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.

Published 17 months ago by Kanako Ishida

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book!
I am a professional gardener and I use this book a lot. I love that it has the common and scientific names. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Marni L. Lange

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for any houseplant lover!!!
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... Read more

Published 22 months ago by Tina

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Plant Guide
Good photos of plants and great information on care with pest and health issues of plants included.

Published on May 12, 2007 by Terry Nickel

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