The Complete Houseplant Survival Manual: Essential Gardening Know-how for Keeping (Not Killing!) More Than 160 Indoor Plants

This has been such a useful book on my houseplant journey. I have never been someone who could keep plants alive but suddenly at age 32 a switch went off and I am now a plant person. I am sure all of this information is available in some form online but it is so nice to have everything easily accessible in the same format for each plant and in bullet points. This book is pretty much a basic care encyclopedia. It has a lot of general plant care information including how to propagate all different kinds of plants to help you start your plant army. It also breaks down information by plant species to give more specifics on care. The information makes it super simple to make sure you are giving your new plat friend enough water, light, fertilizer, and humidity. It has what soil is best for each plant and tips for how to troubleshoot what is wrong with your plant. I reach for this book whenever I bring a new plant home and it has made me much more confident in my crazy plant lady adventure.

Excellent book, highly recommend - contains a lot of specific info as well as a great glossary and reference section with useful diagrams and high quality information

Overall, this is a worthwhile book with plenty of good information on plant care, propagation, repotting, soil types and most everything else a houseplant enthusiast would want to know. The photos give a good representation of each plant featured. One criticism is that typically only one representative plant of each genus covered is shown and specifically detailed in the text, so if the reader does not appreciate that particular representative, he or she would not know to look at other plants in that genus, which could be more pleasing to the reader's taste. A second point is that after I bought this book I purchased The House Plant Expert by D.G. Hessayon. This is an older book that nevertheless covers more plants and also fixes my previous criticism; there are lots more plants pictured. I would note that generally speaking I do not believe in hard and fast rules for taking care of specific plants. For anyone new to houseplants, there are bound to be failures and Pleasant's book will tell the reader what things to look for to solve plant problems, but trial and error is the best teacher. I also suggest The New Plant Parent by Darryl Cheng for explanation of the relationship between light, temperature and watering.

The title of this book is definitely telling the truth. I couldn't come up with any question for which I failed to find an answer. None of the information is too technical for the average house plant lover, and it is all easily accessible. The author begins her book with a brief introduction telling us how house plants benefit us, both physically and emotionally, followed by a useful plant identification guide. The greater part of the book is made up of three chapters covering blooming houseplants, foliage houseplants, and houseplant care. In the first two chapters the selected plants are illustrated with beautiful, large color photographs, and each one gets a description and a summary of it's needs in your home. Many also have troubleshooting guides. The final chapter gives readers a wealth of information and advice for keeping their house plants happy and healthy, with more photographs and helpful drawings. There are lots of cross-references in this section, so you are won't miss anything you might need to know about, such as all aspects of watering and drainage. The author ends with a glossary of houseplant terms, lists of plant suppliers and plant societies, a very useful cross reference between common and botanical names of plants, and an index to the book. This very complete guide to house plant care will be helpful to anyone who loves a house plant or a house full of plants, and I definitely recommend it.

I liked this "survival manual" because it is practical and useful. It is NOT a picture book about how to create attractive interiors with plants. It is a growing guide to 160 specific house plants or plant types with specific information about each plant's needs, soil, longevity, and propagation as well as troubleshooting for common problems. Each plant gets a 2-page spread with a great photo and consistent format. At the end are basic growing tips relevant to all house plants. The book helped me pick out plants that would thrive at my house and also helped me address some problems I was having with existing plants.

I love houseplants. I have not always been good at keeping them. If you have no intuition for plants in general, then this book is a great guide to walk you through every aspect of caring for a plant. Not just a generic one-size-fits-most example of a plant- but the exact plant species you are working with. Not sure what a certain discoloration means? Look it up for your specific plant so there is no confusion. Curious if a pest-control method is safe? Depends on the plant, and this book will tell you. If you have no plant experience this book will explain everything from how and when to water, to the best ways to repot and what a cachepot is. If you are pretty comfortable with plants, I still think the plant-specific troubleshooting is a godsend.

One of the best books for all common houseplants. This is must have for any person having house plant. Very good quick reference for common problems you typically see and their remedies. Very good size and good pictures for every page. Added advantage is the section on Orchids :)

After reading the other reviews about this book, I decided to purchase it myself. I am very grateful for the honest reviews that others have left. It makes it a great deal easier choosing the best book you pay for. With that being said. This book is absolutely one to have in your library, I have plants in my house that I thought I knew what they were however, after seeing certain pictures in this book I have realized what I thought I had plants wise is not the case.. But now I know!!! The only thing I wish is that this book was bigger only because it is so informative and I love learning new things about plants that I may not have but now might want to buy. I would highly recommend this book 100x over.

Lots of pictures to identify your plants

This book offered many useful tips. I thought I knew a lot already as I always research my plants on line. Loved the trouble shooting section. Well worth the money.

I purchased a few houseplant books before I settled on this. The photography, the info on diagnosing problems with your plants and getting rid of the problems is most helpful. An excellent book!