I was baffled by the brown bumps on my White Bird of Paradise plant but figured they were a part of the plant since they looked like wood bumps. After reading this book I found out they were bugs called Scale which suck the life from the plant and, when hatched, can jump from plant to plant. I also found out that what I had thought was just a problem with dust was in fact mildew, another potentially devistating disease. My plants are now all very happy.

I have hard water in my area and found out about the need to use vinegar and water to "rinse" the salt from the soil in hard water situations. I've also always suspected that the tags that come with plants are bogus and this book explains exactly why. I was so surprised about this book to tell you the truth. I got it from the library to see if I could figure out the above problems then had to buy the book.

I have other books that have all the "pretty pictures" but they are typically useless. I'd rather have a book that was informative and accurate. If you ant to keep your plant healthy and happy for the length of it's natural life, this book is among the ones to add to your shelf. If you want a book for plant identification then either get a Peterson Guide (all very good) or do a google image search with "tropical plants" or "flowering indoor plants", etc. I do that when looking up new varieties of herbs, medicinal weeds and other plants. Find the name then use a book, not all websites are good information.


Clear and Sound Information   May 27, 2002
 21 out of 21 found this review helpful

This book is well written and provides sound information and guidance. I bought the book because I know little about houseplants. After a few minutes of reading I went to the nursery as an informed consumer. The salesman in the store where I bought my plants confirmed that the book is excellent. You can look up a topic in the index and find out what you need to know in a few minutes. There is a description of the care required for many, many plants and the advantages and disadvantages of each. This book gives the uninitiated the inside scoop.


Informative   February 28, 2002
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This book is informative and very easy to understand! I love all the information about each type of houseplant. Plus, now I know how to propagate and make my houseplants look the best they can.


Good content, so-so organization   March 2, 1999
 33 out of 35 found this review helpful

The content of this book is very good - from the time you walk out the door to the garden store, to the time you finish enclosing your own greenhouse (yikes), this book will have you covered. Pictures & "insider tips" are particularly useful & clear. The book's overall organization, on the other hand, wasn't so hot. Chapter 3 (Buying a plant) and Chapter 14 (preparing plants for domestic life) are separated by the photo index, pruning tips, and instructions for hydroponic growing. Are we supposed to do all that on the car ride home? My guess is Hodgson's expertise had to be "reordered" to fit the Dummies format. All the same, if you can navigate the format, you'll find some great information