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Summary: excellent up to date reference book
Review: This book has many plants you will not find in other books
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Summary: The best compilation for plants out there yet!
Review: This book is absolutely wonderful with all the quick information you would ever need for plants in North America. It does cover propogation, cultivation, and common pest for a particular plant very well, and the color pictures are superb. The common names for plants found in your stores are are easily found by doing a cross reference at the back of the book. It's not at all difficult to find what you are looking for. Ofcourse, you cannot expect to find every single hybrid names that are being churned out everyday covered in here 'cause thats not practical. I found that pretty much all the plants i reasearched for with names from hardware stores and nurseries were covered in here. You do need the sister book for identifying and controlling pests and diseases. Nevertheless, this is a superb book for a resource and the best out there yet. It's worth the weight! Get the sister book for pests and diseases and you'll be all set!
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Summary: Strange--the zone information often appears to be wrong
Review: This book is great in some ways--beautiful pictures of plants are more useful than Southern Living or Sunset. Minor quibbles are that a very few unusual species aren't listed and it doesn't always give a good reason why a particular cultivar is preferred. The choice of zone information--USDA & AHS--is more useful for me than the more-general Southern Living or Sunset zones. But the USDA zone rating appears to often be inaccurate, particularly (but not only) for the new tropical zones 12-15 (lots of plants commonly grown in the continental US can't be grown there, according to this rating). Since I don't get the USDA zone from Southern Living or Sunset, I was hoping to get it from this book. It's often correct---but since it also has many mistakes, I always need to double-check elsewhere.
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Summary: Excellent Referance
Review: This book is the ultimate reference guide for the home gardener. The pictures and detailed information is staggering. There are also sections for creating your own garden with some very good drawings. Maps show the temperature zones and planting times. The only downside(which is minor) is the plants are listed by their botanical name and not the common name. There is a section in the back that cross-referances them so you won't be totally lost. This minor inconvienance may not affect more advanced gardeners. The lack of an index also is a short-coming. Over all though, this book has the most comprehensive information in one volume. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Good book for flower people
Review: This book is very indepth in showing pictures, information and how to grow them. I thought this book was great for my mom for christmas and me too. This book has every thing you'll ever want to know about flowers!
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Summary: A BOOK FOR EVERY GARDNER
Review: THIS BOOK SHOULD BE A MANDATORY, MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE WHO PURCHASES A HOME, ALREADY HAS A HOME, OR IS THINKING OF DOING ANY GARDENING AT ALL.........
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Summary: A Comprehensive Guide to Plants
Review: This enormous reference book is exactly what an avid gardener needs - with entries covering perennials, annuals, woodland plants, trees, shrubs, and just about any other plants available both commercially and naturally. The individual entries contain information about cultivars, propagation, problem pests and diseases, as well as a concise description of the plant's appearance and growth requirements. Most, though not all, include a small photograph of at least one specimen. Plants are listed by their botanical names; if you do not know the genus, you'll have to look up the common name first in the index.This volume also contains a visual glossary (inside the front cover), and excellent sections on general botany, the garden environment, and propagation techniques. The only drawback to this otherwise excellent encyclopedia is the near-impossibility of identifying unknown plants. The entries are not listed (or cross-listed) by type, requiring the gardener to page through nearly one thousand pages of pictures to identify, say, a particular woodland plant. And forget leaf identification since most photographs are taken from a distance to capture the whole of a species. This would make an excellent gift for any gardener. It is hefty and comprehensive. Especially for those interested in non-mainstream plants, this book is a must-have.
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Summary: Gardener's 'must have' book
Review: This is a great reference book! I was amazed at the content! It has great pictures, the 'real' name, the 'common' names, planting tips, pruning tips, climate, etc etc. Just a terrific book for plant lovers. Scary price, but WELL worth the money.
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Summary: review of Amer. Horticultural A-Z Encyclopedia
Review: This is my number one reference book for my seed business! I also recommend their companion books, "Plant Propagation" and "Pests and Diseases". Easy for the home gardener to understand with tons of information! A "must have" in my gardening library! J. Moore Virtual Seeds Co.
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Summary: great book
Review: This is one of the best books I have bought for doing Landscape Design. I am still in school studying this, so it is increadibly helpful. It has size, hardiness zone, different cult and var and pest problems. It even shows pictures of almost every species. All 1000+ pages completely worth it.
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