Recommendations on books for beginners

[khozmo]

I have purchased the Orth book "Complete guide to orchids". I was wondering what other books people have bought over the years that have given them good insight into the world of orchids. Looking for those books that you always find yourself running for ,for emergencies, sanity checks and good old common sense.

(please no books on how to curb orchid addiction, I like my world they know me here)

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

In my opinion, the general orchid care books are "cute". They feel over simplified for many orchid genera and the brief descriptions provide a lot of feel good comments.

My recommendation is to get some books that are a bit more specialized but still general enough to enjoy.

One is the Phalaenopsis book by Stephen A. Frowine.

My .

[WhiteRabbit]

I use my ortho complete guide to orchids, orchids for dummies, and botanica's orchids

[camille1585]

My favorite book is "Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide To Growing The World's Most Exotic Plants" by William Cullina. I have it and I think it covers all the topics very well and has info suited for everyone from beginners to confirmed growers. The first part of the book is on culture (light, fert, water, pests...) and the second part is is descriptions/culture of hundreds of different orchids. I got it when I was still quite new to orchids, and it helped me then for beginner stuff, and even now that I'm more experienced I still go to it a lot.
IMO, it's a great book!

A more specific book that I like is "Miniature Orchids" by Steven Frownie. That one gives very good information on the cultivation of minis, as well as culture info on many mini orchids. And I also like the Phal book by the same author, mentioned earlier

[ToddsterVonCattMan]

Originally Posted by camille1585

My favorite book is "Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide To Growing The World's Most Exotic Plants" by William Cullina. I have it and I think it covers all the topics very well and has info suited for everyone from beginners to confirmed growers. The first part of the book is on culture (light, fert, water, pests...) and the second part is is descriptions/culture of hundreds of different orchids. I got it when I was still quite new to orchids, and it helped me then for beginner stuff, and even now that I'm more experienced I still go to it a lot.
IMO, it's a great book!

I agree, "Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide To Growing The World's Most Exotic Plants"", is an excellent book for all growers, particularly for beginners.

[lepanthes89]

I must be an old fart for liking Northens' Miniature Orchids,and Hawkes' Encyclopedia of cult.orchids.
Even if not up to the minute,I havent found anything so comprehensive yet.
Worth having.
Spiro

[khozmo]

I must say I got the "Understanding Orchids: An Uncomplicated Guide To Growing The World's Most Exotic Plants" to add to my library. All in all most of the books is different types of orchids. I must say most of the really good information I have needed has come from this forum. I find that when something is going wrong it easier to actually post a picture here on the forum and get multiple ways to solve a problem or multiple people to tell you its too late and to start over.

Also real life things that have worked somehow work better for me. Plus I can find out where to actually buy the items I need (like bug spray or special media). The books are pretty good for a general idea something to read before taking the plunge in to the addictive world of orchids.

Yes I know I am kind of trashing my own thread but some time has passed and some problems have arisen and solutions have been found. the thing is that I lean for my laptop before I lean for my books.

None of these books were expensive so I do not feel like I have lost anything by buying them. The one thing I do really like is looking at all the types of orchids that I want to own and wishing I could grow them to look that great.

Thank you everyone for the information you have given over the months (hopefully years to come) of being a member. Nothing better than knowing that help is just a post away. (how did we do this before we had the internet)