American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques - Hardcover

Toogood, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789441160 ISBN 13: 9780789441164

Publisher: DK, 1999

Synopsis

This comprehensive guide contains all the techniques you need with easy-to-follow, step-by-step explanations of how to propagate your plant. Whether you want to increase your plants by the easiest or most reliable methods of propagation, experiment with more unusual or advanced techniques, or use specialized techniques for a favorite plant group, you will find everything you need in this approachable handbook.

Want to know the best way to propagate a particular plant?  Each entry in the A-Z section of this book tells you which method of propagation to use, when to do it, and what degree of skill each method requires.  Curious how you can improve your seed germination?  AHS Plant Propagation instructs you on which seeds need special treatment before sowing, and how to provide the conditions to ensure a good rate of germination.  Confused about how long it takes to obtain a flowering plant?  You’ll find guidelines on the average success rate for each plant, how big a yield you can expect, and how long it should take to get a mature or flowering plant.  Need to make sure your cuttings won't fail?  This guide lets you know how to take appropriate cuttings from each type of plant and make sure they root successfully. 

Expert guidance on the propagation of over 1,500 plants, this book is destined to become the standard work on the subject. AHS Plant Propagation is the practical handbook gardeners have been waiting for. This book is the quintessential, unrivaled, practical guide to the successful propagation of all garden plants—from trees and shrubs to culinary herbs, and everything in between.

About this title

Review:

The American Horticultural Society's Plant Propagation is one of those stuck-on-a-desert-island books. All the information you could ever possibly want in order to propagate virtually any plant or tree or cactus or succulent that might be growing on said desert island is to be found somewhere between the covers of this marvelous, informative book. If you're tired of buying many pots of expensive perennials, tuck a copy of Plant Propagation under your arm and buy one good specimen. From that specimen, following the simple directions, make many plants. It's the kind of skill that all grandmothers of a more distant generation seemed to have.

Still mixed up about hypogeal and epigeal germination? Can't tell a bulbil from a cormel? The very first section covers all the basics of plant biology as well as the history and basic how-to of propagation. The body of the book is divided into "Garden Trees," "Shrubs and Climbing Plants," "Perennials, Annuals and Biennials," "Cacti and Other Succulents," "Bulbous Plants," and "Vegetables." Each section begins with an overview of appropriate propagation techniques: the many styles of grafting, seed saving, taking cuttings, and bulb and root division. Individual plants within each section are addressed alphabetically. With Plant Propagation in hand, you can hybridize your own rose and name it after yourself. The text is written to an intelligent, somewhat experienced gardening reader, and the lush illustrations are accurate and effective. --Schuyler Ingle

About the Author:

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) educates and inspires people of all ages to become successful and environmentally responsible gardeners by advancing the art and science of horticulture.

Alan Toogood has written several books including the American Horticultural Society's Plant Propagation, Growing from Seed, and Low-Maintenance Gardening. His books on propagation are recommended reading for horticultural college courses across the US. He lives in England.

About this edition

• Publisher: DK
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0789441160
• ISBN 13: 9780789441164
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320