I think before criticizing, you really should take a look at that AOS book. Over the years, I have not been a fan of any of the AOS culture sheets or most of the advice in Orchids. So often, when advice is given, the "why" is not discussed - and that's critical for understanding how to apply the advice to one's own situation. That's especially true when one is growing under very different conditions. (I have done a fair amount of re-writing culture sheets for the "Orchids 101" talks that I give at shows, that address local conditions because there was nothing useful in existence) That is the huge difference with this particular book - it is loaded with that "why" information, the conditions that are being considered and how that information might be applied. It goes considerably beyond the "beginner" level, and in many cases goes down to the species, or groups of species within a genus because for most genera, genus-level advice is pretty useless. Just for the record, the authors are in California, and well aware of the different conditions that people grow under.
In my "orchid career" I also found very little information in books or culture sheets that was of any use. Actually, there was a lot that I learned to ignore from society members even in my own area, too. Much of my learning curve when I started out was pure trial and error... the internet was fairly young too so there wasn't a lot of chance to learn from other growers that way. (And it took some time to figure out, of the people I met, who actually knew what they were talking about and who was blowing hot air no matter how authoritative they thought they were) So it's really rare (like nearly never) that I find a publication to get enthusiastic about... even at this late date, this particular one has plenty to teach me. That is refreshing!
Last edited by Roberta; 06-03-2021 at 12:30 AM..
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