Saving Container Plants

June 1, 2014

This is part of the "Storey Basics" series, in which nuts-and-bolts advice on sundry topics is packaged compactly (5" 7"), briefly (around 100 pages), and inexpensively ($10). Contributors are touted to be experts, as are the McGowans: he is currently assistant director of horticulture at Wave Hill (in the Bronx, NY); the couple formerly owned and ran specialty nursery Blue Meadow Farm in Montague Center, MA. Their book should make it easier for gardeners who struggle with the autumn dilemma of what to do with their favorite "tenders." After explaining why one should bother with overwintering, the authors discuss the principal indoor environments: sunny and warm, cool and bright, dark and damp, and dark and dry. Other subjects include the storing of bulbs, corms, and tubers; and propagation techniques; the authors also provide lots of tips about common pests and problems. The book concludes with a plant-by-plant guide (103 kinds); here, one surmises, will be the spot many readers will start. VERDICT DIYers will appreciate the book's focused approach. There's not much to look at here--this is as far from garden porn as one is likely to get--but that's the point. As someone else has said about Storey's lineup: many of its books are a call to action. In other words, don't read--do!--Robert Eagan, Windsor P.L., Ont.

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