Product Description

Given their diversity and versatility, it is surprising that palms are underutilized in landscapes and gardens, even in tropical climes. Several reasons account for this, including misconceptions about the plants' growing requirements and unfamiliarity with their ornamental qualities. This pocket guide remedies both problems. It unlocks the keys to successfully growing 200 of the most common and easily obtainable palm species and hybrids, and it highlights botanical characteristics that are of interest to gardeners and landscapers. Each description includes details of trunk, crownshaft, leaf, flower, and fruit to assist in plant identification and selection. The extensive cultivation notes include details of mature tree size, cold hardiness, and light, soil, and water requirements. Suggestions for using the plants indoors and out will help even novice gardeners know where to start, and succinct information on seed germination will assist anyone who wants to grow palms from seed. Illustrated with more than 300 color photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66572 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780881927764
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
“Copiously illustrated with high-quality color photographs, the text is concise, complete, and includes tropical plant expert Riffle’s personal appraisal of each  plants’ horticultural utility.”
(CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries )

From the Back Cover
Although they are a symbol of the tropics, palms are indigenous to every continent except Antarctica and can be grown in climates with temperatures as low as 5°F (-15°C). So why are palms often under-utilized in landscapes, even tropical ones? Perhaps because of our unfamiliarity with their cultural needs. The Timber Press Pocket Guide to Palms unlocks the keys to successfully growing 200 of the most common and easily obtainable palm species and hybrids for temperate, Mediterranean, warm temperature, and tropical regions. Details of mature tree size, cold hardiness, and light, soil, and water requirements accompany suggestions for using the palms indoors and out. Illustrated with more than 300 color photographs, this guide is a valuable complement to An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms and an ideal reference for taking to the nursery or garden center.

About the Author
Robert Lee Riffle (1940–2006) was an internationally recognized authority on palms and tropical plants. His first two books, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms (co-written with Paul Craft) and The Tropical Look: An Encyclopedia of Dramatic Landscape Plants (1998) each won an American Horticultural Society Book Award.

Customer Reviews

Palm Trees can be found on every continent except Antarctica - and it isn't because of the cold that they aren't there.
Palm Trees can be found on every continent except Antarctica - and it isn't because of the cold that they aren't there. "Timber Press Pocket Guide to Palms" is a comprehensive look at this enigmatic tree, so often ignored as simply a decoration for tropical islands when it really is a resilient plant that can grow in extreme temperatures as low as five degrees Fahrenheit. The guide covers everything one would possibly need to know to grow over two hundred of the common palm species. Enhanced with over three hundred color photographs and appendixes, this information packed guide is highly recommended for community library collections on plant life and for anyone who seeks to grow a palm themselves.

To the point.
Specific to the conditions and facts of each palm, the late Robert Lee Riffle handed us a detailed, quick reference before he left the world stage.
I like this book because each palm I look up has the climate zones it can survive in, the growth rate, the color of ripe seed, the germination time and much more bullet head information of the plant.
After the vital profile comes the aesthetic overview that only Mr.Riffle could give us...a view of the unique beauty of each palm.

Adieu, Robert, and thank you.

Alot in a handy little book....
Which is just what we got this for. Something to take to the nurseries, palm group meetings, and botanical gardens.

We purchased the hardbound Craft/Riffle "An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms"(which is fantastic, BTW) but wanted something we could make notes in, etc. This turned out to be the perfect pair of books! We shop at home w/the big book, and out on the road w/the soft cover.