Houseplant Handbook

Book excerpt: "Grow a garden inside! Houseplants bring life and color to any room, and with the right care you can successfully cultivate everything from succulents and bonsai to foliage, flowers, and fruit. Here is everything you always wanted to know about houseplants packed into one easy-to-use volume. Horticulturist David Squire provides simple, step-by-step instructions on choosing the right plants and helping them thrive, with tips on propagation, repotting, grooming, and pest control. The heart of the book is a well-illustrated plant directory that offers a fresh perspective on more than 300 popular varieties, arranged by houseplant families. Each entry features a color photograph for identification; the plant’s botanical and common names; its height, spread, optimum climate and light; and propagation tips. Other essential information on feeding, watering, and grooming is covered in a handy quick reference icon panel. Inside The Houseplant Handbook: Complete guide to caring for houseplants, written by an expert horticulturist. User-friendly reference, rich in practical advice on every stage of indoor gardening. Explains how to achieve lasting success with flowering and fruiting plants, cacti, succulents, palms, cycads, bulbs, bromeliads, and ferns. Step-by-step instructions on selection, watering, feeding, presentation, repotting, grooming, propagation, and pest control. Comprehensive Plant Directory covers more than 300 species with color identification photos, botanical and common names, and essential advice. Quick reference panels provide each species' required summer and winter temperature and light conditions, its watering and fertilizing needs, and propagation tips. "