Ortho's All about Trees

by John C. Fech and Jan Johnsen

Book Overview

Shows how to easily select, plant, and care for trees -- the largest landscaping investment. Detailed instructions for more than 125 varieties. How to create showy effects with trees. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0897214226
• ISBN13: 9780897214223
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Ortho Books
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.1" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

Basic Information that is Well Presented

I can't imagine a book of this type where the buyer could get more bang for the buck. Just the beautiful color pictures of each species listed are enough to justify the cost but add in the charts and the quick and easy to reference material and this book is a tool that I would highly recommend to any homeowner. This is no encyclopedia mind you but more of a reference manual and is basically limited to shade trees. Each page of the "Tree Selection and Growing Guide" section generally contains three types of trees so as you can imagine the information is superficial to say the least. The rest of the book gives hints on what trees grow best in certain situations such as which trees are the best street trees and which tolerate salt spray from the ocean and also gives pruning tips but I would look elsewhere for that information if I were you. One would also do well to look elsewhere for detailed information on each tree for the information provided here will only give you the basics. Also know that the producers of this book are a little conservative on what will grow in which zone so you can probably push the envelope a little. For example they say that Southern Magnolias and Crape Myrtles only grow in zone 7 or above but there are numerous specimens of both growing all around my zone 6 hometown. The basics of course are what everyone planning to add trees to their landscape need to start with and this is an excellent book for that purpose. The information is clearly laid out in what amounts to a chart form for each tree, which will allow the reader to know in a glance if a certain species of tree is even a candidate for their landscape. By looking at the picture and the information provided one can easily decide if they are at all interested in that particular tree and can then check elsewhere for more in depth information. I have found this book to be an extremely helpful addition to my library and I have referenced it over and again until it has become dog eared and ragged. I had never even thought of placing a Bald Cypress in my yard since I assumed that they needed swampy ground but with the aid of this book I have a nice healthy specimen growing only a little more than a hundred feet from my house. From my experience you will not likely find a handier guide to shade trees, especially for this price.

Solid Book

Overall a solid book. Great information and pictures for how to select, plant, and care for trees. However, if you are looking for a book that will give you several trees that thrive in zones 9 and 10 (southern California), you'll need another book.

A Treerific guide for choosing, planting, & caring for trees

This book has everything you need to know about tees.