Product Description

Cacti and other succulents are among the strangest and most outrageously colourful plants on the planet, and this book demonstrates how easy it is to create glorious displays in your home and in the workplace. Too often hidden away in dark corners, these remarkable growths deserve to be given a prominent place not only in your conservatory but in any warm and well-lit room. They will reward you by making few demands on your time - thriving on benign neglect. * Organizing a display * Choosing plants for particular settings * Close-ups * * Maintenance and propagation * Plant selector, with easy-to-follow lists * * Climbing and trailing species * Flowering species * Best species illustrated * * Large and low-growing plants * Cacti curiosities * Inspirational examples *

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115710 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Review
No longer are cacti viewed as boring, dusty plants that will survive anything thrown at them but remain unattractive. Architectural in form, they are now attracting the attention of garden designers and plant retailers. Today's modern planters suit these amazing plants admirably. From terracotta through to stainless steel, there are cacti and succulents that will match and enhance these materials, adding instant glamour to a home or conservatory. Furthermore they are easy to keep, except for those who have a tendency to overwater, and will happily survive alone for two to three weeks while the owners are on holiday. Another hidden charm, not commonly known, is their ability to flower on a regular basis. Provided the necessary neglect is given during the winter months, flowers will appear like clockwork in the spring to give a welcome start to the new growing season. Many flower during winter too, such as the crassulas and schlumbergias, which gives them an added attraction during these otherwise flowerless months. Shirley-Anne Bell's book is a long overdue look at the variety and uses of these wonderful plants in the home and conservatory. From clump-forming to columnar, from trailing to climbing, there are cacti and succulents for every situation and many are listed here according to their uses. Illustrated by her husband's excellent photographs it is a good overview of the subject, albeit lacking slightly in depth, in particular the cultivation details of the different genera. For the novice collector this is a well-informed look at the way these plants can be displayed and should inspire them to search out the more unusual varieties at the same time as discovering new ways of showing the plants off to their best advantage. For those uninitiated in these plant's charms, just a flick through the book will incite a more lingering look and possibly the start of a new interest.

Customer Reviews

A Good One for the Novice Collector
I applaud any book that sets out to help people enjoy their hobbies or collectibles more, but approached this book with a little trepidation. I have kept cacti and other succulents for over 40 years and I believe that the best place to keep them successfully (certainly in Britain) is in a greenhouse, where light, temperature and ventilation can be controlled to suit the plants and not humans.

Having read the book the author has gone a long way towards helping to alleviate the thousands and thousands of cacti that die either through neglect or lack of good growing conditions. This is a book aimed at those people who are fascinated by that `unusual plant' they see in the supermarket or garden centre. When they get it home they are amazed how long the flowers last, until, eventually they realise they are made of coloured paper and are stuck on, or even worse pinned to the plant.

The book has a reasonable selection of plants , it does help to differentiate between those that will remain manageable and those that will need a hole cutting in the ceiling. It also deals with plants that will flower (in fact virtually all of them will) given the right conditions and are of an age to do so. Regarding conservatories, yes they are ideal as far as light goes, but sometimes lack the ventilation required by the plants.

I hope I have not been too critical of the book as I think it is well written and well produced and for those who know little or nothing about these plants but would like to learn more it is ideal. Also of course not everyone has a greenhouse. Though be warned, once you have read this book and your eyes are opened to the wonderful variety of plants available, you probably will.