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Title: Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses by Michael A. Dirr ISBN: 0-87563-795-7 Publisher: Stipes Publishing Co. Pub. Date: August, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $50.80 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Nurseryman's Bible
Comment: This is absolutely the best text available for the referencing of woody trees and shrubs grown in North America. This book is not meant as a guide for tree identification, so much as it's a way to look up all the significant horticultural information on almost any given species or cultivar. It's simply too lengthy a tome to incorporate many illustrations, and those present are usually small sketches of leaf characteristics. (For excellent photographs of a number of species see "Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia")
This text is very easy to use and alphabetized according to botanical name, with a glossary/index in the back to provide the scientific name when only the common name of a species is known. Dirr himself also provides entertaining blurbs on what he perceives to be the plants best (or . . . less than best) assets for landscape usage, and it's always interesting to see another's opinion regarding plants that you know and love. He also gives a list of stunning specimens and their locales that he's come across in his travels, as well as the "champion" (largest known) specimens for a given species.
I have used this (or previous . . . the text is updated somewhat frequently to keep pace with newer cultivars) edition of Dirr's manual for the last ten years as I worked at a major nursery (Waterloo Gardens, Inc.), and I frequently reccomended it to individuals interested in furthering their own knowledge. This text is an excellent reference for the professional nurseryman as well as the horticultural enthusiast, and the time and effort that Dirr puts into this text is equally evident and impressive.
Rating: 4
Summary: A must have resource for the Horticultural Professional
Comment: Don't confuse this text with a light weight treatise on the author's favorite plants. Dr. Dirr's work give insightful knowledge on those he dislikes to those he favors with equal depth of detail. I have been referring to this work for over ten years and have not found a serious error in that time. The Manual of Woody Landscape Plants has become the Bible at my place of work. From botanical classification to the plant's landscape value, I have not found a book that is its equal. My sole reservation is the quality of the binding. I've owned both the hard and soft covered books and both bindings have been inferior. They deteriorate not from abuse but from constant use far too quickly for a reference source of this level.
Rating: 3
Summary: Directory of woody cultivars
Comment: In spite of all the accolades heaped upon this directory of woody cultivars it is not without a downside. The sturdy size and thick paper which make it stand up to horticulturally engaged hands make for a clumsy book at home or in the library. Not much thought was given to lay-out and typography, with the wrong font chosen for this lay-out. The style of writing is rather dry and a little wordy. The nurseryman's indifference to spelling shines through often enough to make me ache for a corrector's pencil.
The cover claims "Identification" as a primary function of the book, but all the 'Manual' has to offer here is looking up a supposed identity and making a comparison. Pictorial support is quite limited (usually one line-drawing per species, mostly of a single leaf).
What this book does offer is the chance to quickly look up an unfamiliar cultivar, and this is why reviewers call it a "Bible". Any use beyond that will be a bonus.
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Title: Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Michael A. Dirr ISBN: 0881924040 Publisher: Timber Pr Pub. Date: October, 1997 List Price(USD): $69.95 |
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Title: Photographic Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Form and Function in the Landscape by Michael A. Dirr, Michale Dirr ISBN: 0875631533 Publisher: Stipes Publishing Co. Pub. Date: June, 1978 List Price(USD): $22.80 |
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Title: Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Michael A. Dirr ISBN: 088192525X Publisher: Timber Pr Pub. Date: June, 2002 List Price(USD): $69.95 |
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Title: Herbaceous Perennial Plants: A Treatise on Their Identification, Culture, and Garden Attributes by Allan M. Armitage ISBN: 087563723X Publisher: Stipes Publishing Co. Pub. Date: April, 1997 List Price(USD): $56.80 |
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Title: Manual of Herbaceous Ornamental Plants by Steven Still ISBN: 0875634338 Publisher: Stipes Publishing Co. Pub. Date: December, 1993 List Price(USD): $41.80 |
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