I hate seeing \u201cultimate\u201d in any book title.\u00a0 There are many good books on almost every gardening topic.\u00a0 How can one deserve this designation above all the rest?<\/p>\n
I had the privilege this winter of sitting on the committee deciding the American Horticultural Society\u2019s 2025 Book Awards.\u00a0 As the review copies of nominated books arrived, my bias caused me to immediately downgrade \u201cThe Ultimate Guide to Houseplant Propagation\u201d by Lindsay Sisti.<\/p>\n
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Fortunately, the rigor of the committee required me to spend much more time with this new book \u2013 and I discovered it\u2019s a treasure!\u00a0 I recommend it for anyone who has a pandemic induced houseplant collection, and even those with a long-standing indoor forest of green.<\/p>\n
If your propagation skills are like mine, they aren\u2019t much beyond sticking a leafy stem, broken by accident, into a glass of water and hoping.\u00a0 While this can work, the author provides many more ways to increase your plants with greater success.\u00a0 I also appreciated her insights into different soil mixes, and the tools that can make your work easier.\u00a0 For example, I hadn\u2019t realized the value of a magnifying lens as a gardening tool.<\/p>\n
Most of the examples use asexual propagation, but there is a chapter on creating your own hybrids from the seeds of flowering plants, using anthuriums (Anthurium<\/em> sp.) as the model.\u00a0 Another chapter works through the details of increasing succulents; a process distinct from most typical houseplants.<\/p>\n This is not a selection guide, but it does feature several of the more popular choices as examples.\u00a0 It also has hints for dealing with a plant that is not thriving, including freeing a pot bound underperformer, or even saving a diseased favorite.<\/p>\n While I haven\u2019t changed my opinion about the use of the word ultimate, I think that author Sisti has come close to that ideal.\u00a0\u00a0 The AHS committee agrees, giving her book one of the 2025 Book Awards.\u00a0 Throughout, she uses a sometimes quirky sense of humor to engage the reader, but with an overall clear intent: \u201cDo whatever brings you\u2014and helps you spread\u2014joy . . . and plants!\u201d<\/p>\n Reviewed by: Brian Thompson on February 10, 2025<\/p>\n Published in Garden Notes: Northwest Horticultural Society<\/em>, Spring 2025<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I hate seeing \u201cultimate\u201d in any book title.\u00a0 There are many good books on almost every gardening topic.\u00a0 How can one deserve this designation above all the rest? I had the privilege this winter of sitting on the committee deciding the American Horticultural Society\u2019s 2025 Book Awards.\u00a0 As the review copies of nominated books arrived, my bias caused me to immediately downgrade \u201cThe Ultimate Guide to Houseplant Propagation\u201d by Lindsay Sisti. Fortunately, the rigor of the committee required me to…<\/p>\n