As we roll into spring, thoughts here in North Texas turn to
planting as well as worries over baseball sized hail, tornadoes, and all matter
of insect and bug many of which sting. Though the rains have been plentiful
these last several months, drought is always a fear lurking just over the
horizon. Cacti are always an answer to drought. Like cacti, though not thorny
at all in many cases, are succulents. A solidly good resource on them is the new
book from Tuttle Publishing, A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A
Step-by Step Guide to Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents
by Taku Furuya.
The 100
page book is designed for the novice succulent gardener. It features twenty-one
popular varieties with tons of information by way of color graphics of various
types. Then there are the numerous pictures throughout the book showcasing
various succulents and their possibilities.
After a little bit of general information including how to use the
book, the book really gets going with opens with a section on “Spring/Fall
Types” starting on page eight. In addition to the picture of the plants, there are
several pages of information on how to pick a healthy one at the nursery, best
soil, how to transplant from the store bought container, how to propagate (how
to make more off that first plant), and various tips on growing them including
a simple month by month chart. Along with pictures of the various versions of
the particular type of succulent, there is clear and concise color coded information
on when they flower, level of difficulty to grow, the origin of the plant, and
more. Each section is setup the same way with a lot of information and plenty
of pictures for the particular variety.
You may or may not know that cacti are a form of succulents. While
you may think that Cacti always meant something with spikes or thorns, it does
not always. In this case, most of the varieties depicted in these pages do not have
spikes or thorns making them safe from children and pets. Obviously, you don’t
want either one eating succulents, but you don’t have the thorn issue that you
do with many cacti.
Though some do and if you have pets or children this is something
to pay attention to so that one avoids injuries. The first selection in the Spring/Summer/Fall
Types starting on Page 64 makes that very clear. “Moon Cactus” starts the
section off and it should be a familiar one to anyone who spends time shopping
towards Christmas as such items are always in the grocery stores. There is a
lot of info including the fact that the native region for those is Japan. I now
know my high school biology teacher was wrong about them and a certain test
grade should be adjusted immediately. While many of the chosen varieties in the
previous section did not have thorns or spikes, many in this section do and
that may or may not be of concern depending on your personal environment.
Fall/Winter/Spring Types is the final section and starts on page
80. The very few listed here the more difficult ones to grow in the book.
Nothing in this section is easy and all of them require significant amounts of
care.
A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide To
Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents by Taku Furuya closes
with a couple of pages devoted to the growing fundamentals for all succulents,
a glossary, and a short section how to combat diseases and pests.
This is a comprehensive book aimed at beginners that will also
prove very helpful to experimental Gardner. Whether you want to grow just a
couple inside the house or multiples ones outside in the yard, there are
suggestions here for you. Something and quite possibly more than one will
strike your fancy in the very good book, A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A
Step-by Step Guide To Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents
by Taku Furuya.
A Beginner’s Guide to Succulent Gardening: A Step-by Step Guide to
Growing Beautiful & Long-Lasting Succulents
Taku Furuya
Tuttle Publishing
ISBN#978-0804851190
March 2019
Paperback
96 Pages
$14.99
Material
supplied by Twyla Marr, Publicist, Tuttle Publishing with no expectation of a
review.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2019
NOW you help me--where were you when I planted my succulent garden? I planted this lovely group of succulents in a large bowl for our little garden table on the patio. Unfortunately, one of the plants is like "Day of the Triffids" and has taken over. I'm sure if the bowl were on the ground, the entire back yard would be covered with this one plant. LOL
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