Product Description

Doing research and making informed choices save the gardener money, work and time. The best plants for a location and a good plan will provide rewards for many years.

At almost 1,000 pages, The Plant Finder is big enough to contain 5,000 carefully researched entries on the best garden plant varieties for every zone. Yet it's compact enough to be portable. Kept on the bookshelf or carried to the garden center, it's every gardener's best reference. Based on the material used in the classic Flora: The Gardener's Bible, The Plant Finder helps every gardener match the latest, hardiest and most favored plants to specific location, soil and climate.

The book is organized by major plant groups. Each section opens with a comprehensive plant selection table featuring all the plants in that section and showing, at a glance, all the characteristic growth habits and needs of each plant. Once you identify a suitable plant, you check the extensive entry for a more detailed description. Each description includes notes on origins, cultivation requirements, growth habit, propagation, pests and diseases -- and more.

The Plant Finder will be useful to the many thousands of garden and landscape professionals wanting a comprehensive reference. But it will also be a complete resource for the amateur gardener who makes a big investment in new plants every year, constantly changing and improving the garden. This market numbers in the millions, with an annual budget of hundreds of millions of dollars, a passionate interest in gardens, and a strong will to find the best plants and put them in the right place.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #233757 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 992 pages

From Publishers Weekly
This massive tome is a sort of Petit Larousse for the plant world: over two inches thick, with profuse color illustrations and tiny print on glossy pages, it gives basic descriptions and growing conditions for more than 5,000 plants, with a focus on the temperate zones. After a short introduction that includes a global map of hardiness zones, the book is divided into 10 sections—trees and shrubs; annuals and perennials; bulbs, corm and tubers; grasses, sedges and bamboos; fruit and nuts trees and bushes; vegetables and herbs; climbers and creepers; cacti and succulents; orchids; and ferns, palms and cycads—all listed by genus. Each chapter begins with a description of the plant group, followed by a chart concisely outlining the physical characteristics and growing conditions needed for each plant. The rest of the chapter goes into more detail, with short sections on each genus and its species, often accompanied by small but sometimes dramatic color photographs: blossoms of yellow and red Hamamelis japonica (Japanese witch hazel) emerging from snow-draped branches; a wild meadow of the daisy Townsendia parryi (Parry's Townsendia), its purple and yellow blossoms brilliant against a backdrop of rock-bare Colorado hills. Sections are color coded for easy navigation, and beginning gardeners as well as plant fanatics may find this comprehensive volume an indispensable midwinter reference for yearly garden planning, as well as a useful outdoor planting companion come spring. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
This book is a fabulous reference. (Jessica Damiano Newsday 20070524)

Encyclopedic entries for each plant... excellent reference source. (Phillip Oliver Library Journal 20070415)

[If heft counts for anything, [this] is the big book of the season ... Yet [it's] surprisingly portable. (Natalie Danford Publishers Weekly 20070226)

A must have for every gardener. (Shelf Life 200704)

This book carries a wealth of information on more than 5,000 plants that are suitable for gardens. (Science News 20070623)

For the quality of the book and complete coverage of plants around the world [it] is a steal. (Brenda Ruzycki Edmonton Sun 20070715)

A no-nonsense and handy resource for all garden enthusiasts that will help save time and money. (Larry Cox Decatur Tribune 20070530)

The perfect reference for the home plant enthusiast. (Larry Cox Hampshire Journal (IL) 20070531)

Heavier than a sack of potatoes, this nearly 1,000-page plant encyclopedia offers the basic details on practically every garden plant. (George Weigel The Patriot-News (Harrisburg PA) 20071220)

A wealth of information on over 5000 plants suitable for every zone. (Eboni A. Francis Library Journal 20071115)

One gardening book that no gardener (casual or professional) should be without.... A horticultural gem not to be missed. (Ann Cohen Booklist 20071001)

An excellent idea book. (Joel M. Lerner The Washington Post 20070804)

Easy to hold and full of information. This is a handy little book to have around. (Garden Gate 20007091)

Do you have a question about a plant? Chances are you'll find the answer in The Plant Finder. (The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH) 20071101)

Current information on over 5,000 plants of wide interest to gardeners... comprehensive... concise yet detailed entries... excellent color photographs. (J. Ariel, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Library Choice 20080101)

This magnificent gardening resource ... helps you plan ... what should go into your garden -- and what shouldn't. (Mike Gillespie CanWest Syndicate 20071218)

A no-nonsense and handy resource for all garden enthusiasts that will help all of us save both time and money. (Larry Cox (U.S. Syndicated Reviewer) Journal-Pioneer (Summerside, PEI) 20080316)

Highly recommended for broadening your plant palette! (HortIdeas 2008)

A sort of Petit Larousse for the plant world... an indispensable midwinter reference [and] a useful outdoor planting companion. (Publishers Weekly and publishersweekly.com )

A fascinating book, despite a dull title. (Mary Fran McQuade Beach Metro Community News )

The ultimate answer to the question, "What could I have in my garden?" (Linda Turk Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal )

This volume can serve as an excellent, quick source for novice and expert gardeners alike. (Rachael Green American Reference Books Annual 2008 )

About the Author

Tony Rodd is a former horticultural botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia. He has worked as a consultant on reference books for more than 20 years, with a specialty in plant identification. He also photographs plants and grows his own collection of unusual ones.

Geoff Bryant is a New Zealand-based horticultural writer and photographer and was a plant propagator and nurseryman for some 10 years. He has written 11 books, including several plant propagation handbooks, as well as numerous magazine articles illustrated with his own photographs.

Customer Reviews

Hefty plant reference source
I really like the design of this book. It has 992 pages and it feels heavy when you pick it up. On the other hand, the dimensions are small (6"x8"), about the size of a trade paperback, so you can easily hold it in one hand. I'm not sure if it would be practical to take along to a nursery but it would not be out of the question.

Content wise, the book features over 5,000 plant profiles and most of them are accompanied by excellent color photographs. Plants are arranged by type - Trees & Shrubs, Annuals & Perennials, Bulbs, Corms & Tubers, Grasses, Sedges & Bamboos, Fruit Trees, Nut Trees & Other Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs, Climbers & Creepers, Cacti & Succulents, Orchids, and Ferns, Palms & Cycads. Each section begins with a chart showing the botanical name, size and spread, plant type, climate, flowering season, etc. The chart is followed by encyclopedic entries which features a brief description and some of the most popular cultivars. A full index refers to both botanical and common plant names.

This is a book for identifying plants and there is little in the way of horticultural advice. Good for professionals and serious gardeners.

An essential for every gardener
This book is massive but dont let the size scare you. It contains nearly every plant that exists, by latin and common names, and gives detailed information concerning growth habit and growing needs. Even though it is winter, I have read this book to discover why I have had problems with some of my previous plant selections and I am developing a list of plants I want to purchase this spring. The book is divided into subgroups like perennials, shrubs, trees, annuals, etc, and is an easy guide for the novice or expert gardener. I recommend this book to everyone.

Great Resource
The Plant Finder is a great resource for finding plants for your garden. It lists plants by color which is a great way to make your garden colorful. Compact, yet very thorough in plant coverage.