My Recommended Books for the Beginner
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GROWING ORCHIDS
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by The American Orchid Society 1993
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This is a great little starter book which covers the most common grown
orchids. In this book, you will find chapters on cultivation, pests,
diseases, and growing techniques. It has 136 pages and 120 color photos.
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AOS Book # 100 Price $8.95
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ORCHIDS AS HOUSE PLANTS
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by Rebecca Northern 1976
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In the beginning, I used this book more than any other book I owned when I
started growing orchids in my home. This handy book covers nearly everything
you need to know. Although there are no color photos, there are black and
white pictures and drawings. It is a soft cover book with 148 pages.
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AOS Book # 208 Price $3.95
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ORCHIDS SIMPLIFIED
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by Henry Jaworski 1992
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This is a fantastic book. The author has really simplified the methods used
to grow orchids. I call this book my "grade school primer." It is very easy
to understand and is full of very beautiful color photographs. The author
writes about everything from growing areas, supplies, potting, indoor and
outdoor growing methods and propagation techniques.
The book is hardbound, 143 pages and quite big.
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AOS Book #238 Price $24.95
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YOU CAN GROW ORCHIDS
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by Mary Noble 1987
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This is a nice, very basic all-around book. This is a good one
for beginners to start with, very easy to understand. The book contains
mostly black and white photos, but it does have a few in color. It is
soft-cover with 128 pages.
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AOS Book #203 Price $12.95
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YOU CAN GROW CATTLEYA ORCHIDS
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by Mary Noble 1991
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This is a companion to Mary's other books in this series. This book is
primarily limited to growing the genera Cattleya. If this is the type of
orchid you want to grow, this is the book for you. It is soft-cover and
has 100 pages, some black and white photos, and a sprinkle of color pictures.
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AOS Book #204 Price $12.95
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YOU CAN GROW PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS
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by Mary Nobel 1991
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This is another book in Mary's series. This one focuses on growing the genera
Phalaenopsis. This is a very good beginners book. As in all her books, she
gives advise on watering, temperatures, potting, light, fertilizing, and
propagation. This is also a soft-cover book a few color photos but mostly
black and white with 102 pages.
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AOS Book #205 Price $12.95
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ORCHIDS
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by Sunset Books 1977
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A nice book for the price. It covers 250 varieties of orchids and how to grow
them in the garden or greenhouse. A lot of good tips and lots of color
photographs. This is a soft-cover book with 64 pages. You should be able to
buy this book anywhere they sell Sunset books.
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AOS Book #223 Price $10.00
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ALL ABOUT GROWING ORCHIDS
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by Ortho Books 1988
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A complete guide to growing orchids as a house plant. The book includes
descriptions of over 120 popular orchids and has lots of color photos.
This book also lists source information for buying orchids and equipment.
Soft-cover with 96 pages. You should be able to buy this book anywhere
they sell Ortho Books.
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AOS Book #215 Price $9.95
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My Recommended Books for the Intermediate Grower
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HOME ORCHID GROWING
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by Rebecca Northern 1976
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I call this the "Orchid Bible." If there is anything you want to know about
growing orchids in the home, this book will tell you. It has been praised by
orchid growers for many years. This book you may say, is the "Mother" to
Rebecca's little book `Orchids as House Plants.' This is a hard cover book
of good size with 114 color photos and numerous black and white photos. It is
384 pages and a must for any orchid grower.
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AOS Book #206 Price $50.00
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ORCHID PESTS AND DISEASES
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by the A.O.S. 1995
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Those dreaded words that all orchid growers hate to hear. But when the time
comes and you find those little crawly things on your plants this is the
book to have around! Insects, pests, bacterial and fungal diseases, and
viruses are all discussed in this little handbook. It is a 118 page soft-
cover book that includes over 100 color and black and white photos.
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AOS Book #103 Price $12.00
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A GOLDEN GUIDE TO ORCHIDS
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by Shuttleworth, Zim, Dillon 1989
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I am sure you have all seen the little guide books that you carry in your
pocket during field trips to identify birds or wild flowers. Now there is
one for orchids too! This is a nice reference book to carry with you.
Every orchid listed includes a color picture and a general description.
Soft-cover with 160 pages.
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AOS Book #418 Price $6.00
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ORCHID GROWING ILLUSTRATED
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by B.&W.; Rittershausen 1985
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When the author said "illustrated," he wasn't kidding. The book has a lot
of wonderful photos and great close up shots. This book shows in detail how
to pot and how to propagate orchids. It is quite a large book with 101 color
photographs and 150 black and white photos. It is hardbound and has 160
pages. A very nice book to own.
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AOS Book #212 Price $29.95
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ORCHIDS IN COLOR
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by Brian & Wilma Rittshausen 1984
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What a wonderful little book to have around. In this book you will find 105
commonly grown orchid species and hybrids with a color photo and
description of each one. It is soft cover and easy to carry with you. It is a
full 192 pages of information.
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AOS Book # 425 Price $16.95
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Books for the Advanced Orchid Grower
By this stage of the orchid addiction, you should already have quite a
library of your own and have a good idea of which books are the most
useful to you. If you don't already own the following books, I recommend
you give them a look.
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THE ORCHID GENUS BOOK
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by Patsy Webster 1992
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Are you looking for a study guide for the orchid family? This is the book
for you. This book contains the bibliography for 860 orchid genera. This
is the only book I have been able to find long-lost genera listed. Don't
expect a fancy book with lots of pictures. No pictures but plenty of
information. This is a spiral bound soft cover book with 206 pages.
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AOS Book #519 Price $30.00
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WILD ORCHIDS OF THE MIDDLE ATLANTIC STATES
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by Oscar W. Gupton & Fred C. Swope 1987
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A small but informative book about the wild orchids that grow in the Atlantic
States. Nice full color pictures and good descriptions of 52 orchids. A
Hardbound book with 112 pages.
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AOS Book #606 Price $16.95
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THE ORCHID
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by Francis Hunt & Takashi Kijima 1978
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If you are looking for information this is not the book for you. BUT, if
you want to see very large photographs of orchids then this is the book.
The photos are most useful for identification. There are 170 photographs
and I am not kidding when I say this book is big. 10" x 13". It contains 207
pages.
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AOS Book #427 Price $24.50
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THE MANUAL OF CULTIVATED ORCHID SPECIES
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by Bechtel, Helmut, Phillip Cribb and Edmund Launert 1992
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Fantastic is the word for this book. A must for the serious orchid grower.
It has 864 color photographs, and 62 line illustrations. The book also
includes detailed analysis of 217 genera and 1200 species suitable for
cultivation. It is hard cover with 528 pages. A big hefty book, so don't
plan on packing it around in your back pocket. ;-)
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AOS Book #400 Price $85.00
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ORCHID PHOTOGRAPHY
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by Fitch, Charles Marden 1995
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So now you have orchids growing and blooming and you want to take that
very special picture. This book will tell you how to get the best results.
It includes lots of tips on how to capture your favorite beauty on film.
The author also includes a section on video taping and of course, close up
photography. A handy little soft-cover book with 96 pages.
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AOS Book #102 Price $16.00
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THE ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ORCHIDS
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Edited by Alec Pridgeon 1992
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The book you have been waiting for. Yes, this is the grand daddy of the
orchid books. This wonderful encyclopedia includes information on 1100
species; each one illustrated and identified. Lots of beautiful color
photos, 1000 in all! It also includes information on hybridization,
cultivation, pests, diseases, and conservation. Hardbound with 300 pages.
Excellent book for all orchid growers. This book is an excellent value
at the asking price.
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AOS Book #438 Price $39.95
Order from Timber Press
Be sure to check out their other orchid books!
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