Product Description

Cacti are visually exciting, bold, architectural plants. They provide form and structure to any display and create an interesting focal point. The wonderful thing about these fascinating plants is that they thrive on neglect, requiring minimal water and tending - perfect for today's busy lifestyle. In this practical book, Shirley-Anne Bell shows how to create dramatic displays indoors as well as out, with ideas for planting schemes, landscaping effects, and container use. There is also advice on planting, maintenance and propagation, plus a plant directory to provide plenty of inspiration. This book includes: advice on keeping cacti in conservatories and other rooms in the house, choosing plants for particular setting, planning an indoor display, instructions for planting cacti outdoors and ideas for bedding displays, maintenance and propagation, and an illustrated plant directory. It is illustrated in full colour with over 150 colour photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #444253 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

A Good Down to Earth Book

This a very interesting book, not up there with the Cactus Family or the Cactus Lexicon but one that fills its own niche in Cacti literature. Not everyone wants one of the large volumes mentioned above and they are extremely expensive.

This book not only deals with cacti but also other succulents. For the uninitiated all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti and this book gives information on a good cross section of both cacti and other succulents. There is all the usual advice that these books give, I.e. how to plant, where to plant, what to plant in etc. it also gives advice on where in the home they will be best suited. Unless they are in a conservatory a bright window is a must and the plant should be as close to the glass as possible.

There are lots of full colour photographs in the book and if you cannot seem something you like from all of those then you are in the wrong hobby. I am not sure about the minimal watering part of the book's synopsis. Cacti enjoy water as much as any other plant it is knowing when and how to do it. True they can survive for longer than most plants as they use a water storage system, but eventually the will succumb to lack of water, like any other plant.

I like this book and thought it was a down to earth, no nonsense type of book that anyone thinking of keeping a few succulents or already doing so, would enjoy very much.