If colleges offered "Orchids 101", this would be the text book! Clear, concise, easy to read and understand, this book spells out all we need to know about growing orchids. Interesting sections on sowing seeds, the culture of seedling orchids, and even the dynamics behind orchid names, make this book much more than a simple 'how-to' book. It's a complete source of all you need to know. The one book to buy first, it'll probably be the only book you need.

If I were interested in looking at pictures of orchids I'd buy a book of orchid photographs but in the 20 years I have been growing orchids, my opinion is unwavering in holding this book in the highest esteem. It was my first book on orchid growing and was always invaluable. When I lost it I didn't hesitate to buy it again as it has all the information one needs to grow any orchid and how to provide it with what it needs to bloom.

If you're going to have one book on orchids this should be it. Vast numbers of species descriptions, beautiful color photos, and complete information on general culture as well as exhaustive details of specific cultural requirements for many varieties; AND all you'll need to know about orchid genetics, hybridization, and natural history! This has been a standard reference for me for the 28 years I've been growing orchids.

After doing research on the internet and libraries, my questions were not answered until I read this book. Wanting instant gratification I went directly to the index which gave me the areas to read that I needed. The book explains how to pot, water and fertilize quickly with less anxiety. It gives pictures of many orchids, their colors, sizes and needs. I recommend this book highly and my next purchase is a deep purple Denrrobium phalaenopsis.

There's a large section here on growing orchids under artificial lights including home-made set ups and commercially available light stands and wardian cases. The book needs a resource listing as to where to purchase the light stands and recommendations on how to build your own. Half of the book lists generalizations of the different orchid families and how to care for them, but even that is only touched upon. The author goes into detail on the description of the flowers and leaves, but not much info on the care. An example of this is "bright light, warm temperatures, and plenty of water and humidity" to describe the care of Ascocentrum orchids. This doesn't tell us how much is needed which I think is important since "warm" can be anywhere from 50-90 degrees.

Truly, a fine book, but I doubt it's for beginners. After a brief (30 page) culture and environment description and introduction, there's a list of the miniature orchids you can (possibly) grow...but here is the crux of the problem. The plants are described, but it seems as if the descriptions are simply being quoted from some unknown source; mostly there are no culture descriptions. Most orchids aren't all that cheap, and most growers like to do research on what they're going to buy. Temperature, humidity, resting period, etc are all important...and unless you can do a search on some of these true rarities, the money (and the search time) will be simply wasted. There's simply nothing about them other than the descriptions.