Product Description

The fun and easy way to grow orchids
Orchids, as anyone who has read Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief or has seen the movie Adaptation knows, inspire a passionate following. And their popularity is rising: according to the USDA, more than 12.7 million orchids were sold in the U.S. last year. Brimming with black-and-white illustrations and 8 pages of color photos, this friendly guide introduces would-be orchid fanciers to today's most popular and intriguing orchid varieties—and shows step by step how to select healthy plants at a nursery or commercial grower, cultivate them successfully at home, promote blooms, create beautiful orchid displays, and even produce hybrids.

Alan Koch (Lincoln, CA) is owner of Gold Country Orchids, a company that breeds award-winning miniature and compact Cattleyas and Phalanopsis. His orchids appear regularly at North American orchid shows, and he delivers talks at orchid societies worldwide.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25740 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 392 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780764567599
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Author
Believe it or not, orchids — the most glamorous and spectacular flowering plants in the world, nature’s true masterpieces — are easy to grow! You just need to give them what they need. And their requirements are not difficult to meet — adequate light, humidity, water, and ventilation. Sure, there are other nuances, like fertilizing, repotting, insect and disease control, but none of these are daunting. I’ve been growing and blooming orchids in my home for almost 40 years — mostly not in a greenhouse, but under lights or in the windowsill. Helping you achieve success with these glorious plants is my pleasurable mission. If you follow the steps I lay out in this book, you will grow orchids that thrive. Everything in this book comes from many years of my own trials and errors — not from theories about what should happen or what orchids might need. Sure, I’m a professional horticulturist, but probably more importantly, I’m a hands-on, sometimes fanatical, home orchid grower. I don’t share with you anything in this book that I haven’t tried myself or am sure that works. Years ago, the methods of orchid culture were well-guarded secrets, hoarded by commercial growers and private estate gardeners. That’s not the case here. This is a tell-all book where all secrets are revealed. So you can now enter this wonderful world of orchids without fear, knowing that you’re armed with the information you need to be successful and enjoy one of the most rewarding and fascinating, lifelong hobbies that you’ll ever experience — growing orchids.

From the Back Cover
Packed with photos, including 8 pages in full color

Color your world with orchids

Orchids are beautiful, fragrant, wonderfully varied, and surprisingly affordable. But aren't they hard to grow at home? No! says orchid grower extraordinaire Steve Frowine. In this handy guide, he shows you step by step how to select the right orchids, keep them healthy, encourage blooms, and even propagate your own plants.

Discover how to:

• Select orchids that will thrive in your home
• Water, fertilize, repot, and propagate orchids
• Decipher complicated orchid names
• Get familiar with favorite orchid varieties
• Create spectacular orchid displays

About the Author
Steven A. Frowine is a professional horticulturist, a consultant to the green industry, and an active garden writer and speaker. He has tended orchids at the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii and at Missouri Botanical Garden, where he managed one of the largest orchid collections in the United States---over 10,000 plants. Steve has passionately grown orchids in his home for almost 40 years. He resides in New Hartford, CT with his wife, Sascha, and two dogs, Ginger and Zoe. Steve holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in horticulture from Ohio State University and Cornell University respectively.

Customer Reviews

For dummies.
The title says it all. It is a good starter and you'll learn how to take care of your orchids. The chapter about resources is truly excellent. However, this book won't take you much further from the basics, in my opinion. The colour plates are beautiful, but they are just a handful (8 pages). Black and white pictures don't make much sense here, after all this book is about orchids, right?
In the same price range I strongly recommend "Growing orchids" by Rittershausen, which contains almost the same information of more expensive books, and shows hundreds of colour pictures of very good quality. If you are willing to spend a little more, buy either "Understanding orchids" or "Orchid's grower companion". Here you are paying for the "for Dummies" trademark. This book would be a good buy at half of the price.
As of now, all the 5 stars reviews have been written by people with ONE review in their accounts. Ask yourself "how come?"

Great Beginner Orchid Book
As a beginning orchid grower I was a bit intimidated by the whole topic. But after reading Frowine's book, the topic seems much more approachable. I've started with a few moth orchids and they've done well, but now I'm inspired to try some oncidiums and paphiopedilums. I really would like to try some fragrant orchids as well.

I like the straight forward cultural information. It's clear the temperature, humidity, and light levels needed for the various orchids. It gives me a sense of which ones to try and which to wait on. The orchid photos in the center are inspiring, though I'd love to see more!

I also liked the in-depth listing of varieties for the various orchid types. There's a whole world of orchids out there to grow.

A great book for anyone starting out in orchids growing. Clearly written with the usual "dummies" humor and lightness. A good starting point for orchid growing.

An Orchid Education
This book is the best book I have read about Orchids. You will receive an education about types, care, repotting and growing all types of Orchids. I highly recommend this book for the beginner to the advanced grower and hobbiest.