Description

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How to choose the best from over 1,500 trees and shrubs.

Trees and Shrubs contains all the information needed to find the right plants for any type of garden. With its compact and easy-to-use format, this book is perfect to take along to the nursery.

Using the comprehensive plant-selection tables, gardeners can see at a glance the most important characteristics of more than 1,500 trees and shrubs, helping them make the best choice for their garden's appearance and cultivation requirements.

The first part of Trees and Shrubs is the plant tables, which are organized by species name and list the plant's characteristics. These are:

• Height and spread
• Tree, shrub or conifer
• Cool, warm-temperate, subtropical or tropical climate
• Full sun, half-sun, heavy shade
• Flowering season
• Deciduous or evergreen
• Showy foliage, showy flowers
• Flowering season
• Suitability to container planting
• Indoor use
• Frost tolerance

Having chosen a plant from the table, the gardener then turns to the book's second part, which describes the more than 1,500 species, cultivars and hybrids in greater detail. This includes growing zones and common names, as well as the plants' origins, color variations, growth habit (whether, for example, the shrub is slow growing), propagation techniques, recommended uses, problem parasites or diseases, and extra cultivation notes. Color photographs illustrate a select number of plants.

Trees and shrubs are costly, and it's despairing to plant a new one only to see it fail. Trees and Shrubs helps gardeners choose the right plant for the right place--and that is the key to a beautiful and successful garden.

About the Author

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Tony Rodd is a former Horticultural Botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia. He has worked as a freelance consultant for the last 25 years, specializing in plant identification, as well as writing about plants, photographing them, and acting as editorial consultant for reference books. 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 widely sold plant propagation handbooks, as well as numerous magazine articles illustrated with his own photographs.