Cover Image: The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids

The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids

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Member Reviews

I have killed so many orchids from Trader Joe's, the cashiers just throw them away for me instead of putting them in a bag. (Kidding.) But seriously, they always lose their petals and then become petrified sticks.

This guide covers the many different varieties of orchids, as well as the different ways they can be planted and cared for. The Kew Gardens are renowned for their wonderful collection, and this guide reflects their expertise. I'm still not convinced my thumb will ever be green, but I definitely feel more knowledgeable about orchids now.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.

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The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids is jam packed with useful information. It is best as a referral guide since it would be impossible for anyone to take it all in with one reading. I loved the varying topics discovered and have hopes I will now be better at growing my own orchids!

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It’s embarrassing to say that this book made me fall asleep more than once. I know that some nonfiction readers enjoys the straight to the point and heavily scientific writing but I do not. I like it when the writing in nonfiction is more enjoyable and engaging. The pictures were very nice though.

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This is a beautiful, informative and well presented book. If you grow orchids it is a must, if you think you want to grow orchids, it will explain it all in simple terms, which will make you wonder why you haven't tried them before.
Well explained growth requirement, various pot suggestion, temperature/housing, feeding and even how to grow some in the wild. There is and encyclopaedia of varieties all include botanical information and most have both photograph and beautiful illustrations of the flower. Mingled amongst all this are "how to" explanations.
A very good book, but would you expect anything less from the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens

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This book would not download . I was looking forward to reading it because I Have a specific interest in orchids. I have a kindle and also a kindle app on my i pad. always seem to have this problem with pdf files which although they probably wont download onto Kindle , should download as pdf to kindle.

Always have this problem with Cookery books etc that are in pdf.

Help resolving this would be appreciated

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This is a beautiful book and I have learned so much from it. I have 5 orchids that I try to keep “alive”, one that I have had for four years now. I learned so many tips and techniques from this beautifully illustrated book.
Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group-White Lion Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Having enjoyed a previous Kew Gardener’s Guide, I was excited to open their latest release focusing on growing orchids. I’ve tried a couple of times to be a healthy home for orchids to no avail, I hoped the book would guide me on where I went wrong.

The book begins with a short but interesting history of orchids before outlining each kind of orchid describing where to grow each and how to do it as well as beautiful illustrations and photos. I had no idea how broad the range of orchids is and how many stunning variants there are.

Between orchid descriptions are projects and creative ways to display orchids with easy to follow instructions and photos.

The book concludes with tips and a schedule of what to do when, this for me was the most helpful part of the book! It explains a lot of what I should have and shouldn’t have done! Upon finishing the book, a thoroughly enjoyable journey, I feel I’m more able to try again with orchids though I’ll probably target those who can live in the garden rather than needing to be in a pot inside!

If you are looking for more knowledge on orchids, this one is for you! It’s a five out of five on the enJOYment scale and highly recommended!

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This is a really beautifully-presented guide to growing orchids. The layout of each page looks great with several pale colour text boxes to break up the information alongside stunning photographs. The first section explains about the different types of orchids you can grow at home and how to care for them. The next section is a sort of dictionary of some of the most common types of orchids you can grow, with some basic details and a picture. Some types have both a drawing and a photograph, while some types have only a drawing. While the drawings are very detailed and realistic, I would have liked to see a few more photographs of the different types. The book is interspersed with interesting projects to try, with photographs showing the main steps.

This book is full of very useful information. I have quite a few orchids at home bought from supermarkets and while I’ve managed to keep them looking mostly healthy for a while, this guide has been really useful in understanding what I can do to care for them properly to get them looking even better. I didn’t realise just how many wonderful types of orchid there are and this book has given me the incentive to be try to grow some different types of orchids.

Thank you to Frances Lincoln and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

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Concise and clear book. Quick and easy to read with good reference points. Not as expansive as it could be, but worth the read.

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I would buy this book just for the beautiful illustrations alone! But, it is also filled with very useful information about growing orchids, organized in a way that makes the process seem very easy, even for a beginner. The book begins with an introduction to orchids: types, floral anatomy, history, and basic cultivation in a variety of locations. The main portion of the book is filled with page-long descriptions of common orchids. Each page contains a beautiful drawing of the orchid, along with one or more photographs, a brief description, and information on where and how to grow. A little "price tag" box gives a quick look at height/spread, growing temperature & location, and bloom time. Finally, the last segment of the book includes information about troubleshooting problems and various diseases/pests. This would be a great handbook for the beginning orchid grower!

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I have never grown orchids personally, I found their difficult reputation daunting and the leaves without flowers to be boring. However, this book gives me hope that maybe I could succeed at growing some of the basic ones if I tried. It goes into great detail about how each type of orchid is different, and which are beginner friendly. The pictures are helpful and I could follow the information without feeling talked down to, or lost. There is a guide to several common type of orchids which lists them by scientific name and care instructions which is incredibly helpful. I was able to look up the jewel orchid I see everyone talking about and see if it matched my skill level or interest. There are also little projects included on how to arrange or store orchids. If you need information on orchids, this is an approachable, easy to follow guide.

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A great guide for orchid lovers: the book gives an overview of orchid types and plenty of tips on looking after your plants, including equipment, watering, feeding, propagation and others. Good for beginners and later as a reference book.

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As an orchids’ lover, I am a bit biased about this book.It is wonderful!
Full of practical advices and concise tips,the author presents 60 varieties of orchids.

I now know that I should clean the leaves of my plants and the microclimate I should recreate in order for them to grow healthy.

A very interesting book yet not overwhelming with information. Loved it!

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I've always wanted to grow orchids, but have been intimidated by most books on the subject. This guide drew me right into believing that I can be surrounded by magical fairy plants I've grown myself. The introduction sections are thorough without being overwhelming, and filled with lovely photos. The species pages are interspersed with tutorials and projects, inviting an exploratory reading, digging in here and there. I will be recommending this book to my local library and look forward to having it on my shelves.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the advance read.

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Lovely book outlining the wide variety of orchids and how to care for them. The pests/diseases section at the end is especially helpful, as is the seasonal maintenance information.

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The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Orchids is a new tutorial guide to growing and enjoying orchids by Philip Seaton. Due out 21st Jan 2020 by Quarto on their White Lion imprint, it's 144 pages and available in paperback format.

Whenever gardeners think about inspiration and knowledge on a worldwide scale, the Kew gardens are at the very top of a very short list. They've been going strong for almost 260 years at this point. This book includes an herbal compendium for the culture and care info of more than 70 individual orchids along with several attractive plantings arranged as projects. This is also one of a series of books from Kew with culture advice and troubleshooting tips for different types of plants (herbs, houseplants, bulbs, fruits, and vegetables).

The introduction includes general info for growing orchids of different types followed by a good collection of specific species and their culture requirements. Each of the entries includes a beautiful hand-drawn botanical illustration, taxonomic names, type of plant (terrestrial, sympodial, epiphytic, monopodial, etc) as well as size, temperature and other requirements. The projects in the tutorial chapters include things like repotting, binding orchids to a bark substrate, making a corsage and others.

Much of the photography is from stock photos, but all of the project photos are purpose made for this edition. The culture information is straightforward and peppered with good tips and tricks for encouraging the best performance from all of your plants.

Four stars. Well written and full of attractive photography and gorgeous botanical illustrations.

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What a treat. The first time I visited Kew was for its Orchids After Dark event, a night in the middle of winter where all their orchids were arranged in fabulous displays, while birds sang, fish swam and there were cocktail stalls around each corner. Heaven! Hard to recreate in a rented one bed flat though - but this book will get me so much closer.
This book is lovely to read, well written, interesting and mixes the practical with historical tidbits about the origin and lineage of various different species. It hadn't occured to me before to clean the leaves of my orchids, and now I know which windows will and won't suit my small collection. I have always been nervy of repotting them, feeling they were too different from ordinary plants for me to do it right - but I was worrying too much.
A fab read to keep my moth orchids happy, and set my sights on their even more glamorous brethren...

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This book is wonderful book with beautiful pictures of orchids. This book has easy to understand instructions and guidance on how to care for orchids but is incredibly in-depth. The layout is fantastic and this book is a must have for reference for those wanting to grow orchids. I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC for an honest review.

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This is a beautiful book dedicated to orchids with a brief history and gorgeous photos. I made it a mission to grow orchids in my apartment and office and while I was successful for a time, I unfortunately had to move and donated my orchids to a greenhouse. Years later, I still miss them but am trying my hand at growing again. This book has organized information that's not too difficult to remember for a beginner and great illustrations; I love the lay out. It's a resource I'm going to use time and again for the orchids I've just purchased -- I hope that it'll help me be a bit more successful and maybe grow from seeds for the first time ever.

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The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Orchids by Philip Seaton has beautifully photographed orchids!
The book has a delightful assortment of photos, botanical illustrations, and instructional guides. The information is very concise and expansive regarding the care of current plants and germination for new plants. The author provides very helpful instructions for repotting and also for planting from seeds and transplanting flask seedlings.
I enjoyed the book and appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book through NetGalley.

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