The Bulb Book. A South African Gardener's Guide

This comprehensive gardener's guide and reference volume shows you how to create a spectacular flowering garden anywhere in South Africa with bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes.
the-bulb-book-south-african-gardeners-guide
978-1-920289-76-8
No longer available
new
€34.80 *

Title: The Bulb Book
Subtitle: A South African Gardener's Guide
Author: Charles Barnhoorn
Publisher: Jonathan Ball Publishers
Johannesburg & Cape Town, South Africa 2013
ISBN 9781920289768 / ISBN 978-1-920289-76-8
Hardcover, 24x29 cm, 207 pages, throughout colour photos

Description:

Researched and written by South Africa’s foremost producer of bulbs, this comprehensive, clear and easy-to-use growing guide and reference volume shows you how to create a spectacular flowering garden anywhere in South Africa with bulbs, corms, tubers and rhizomes. The Bulb Book: A South African Gardener’s Guide covers everything you need to know about selecting and planting bulbs, bulb and soil care, watering and feeding tips, design in the garden, forcing and holding bulbs to extend flowering periods, protecting the plants against pests and diseases, and how to display cut flowers. An extensive A to Z listing, focusing especially on indigenous bulbs, gives specific details on bulbs suited to South African conditions, with more detailed attention given to the most successful and rewarding species and varieties. The Bulb Book: A South African Gardener's Guide includes information on history and origin, size, planting requirements and techniques, further care and propagation methods, close-up illustrations and beautiful photographs of the bulbs and their flowers and advice on growing bulbs in containers, indoors and in smaller gardens. Further information on genera and species that are little known but deserve consideration and bulbs that can be grown at home as food and flavouring is provided. The beauty of these pages can be brought to life in your home and garden as each new season unfolds with your creations of colour.

Contents: The Bulb Book. A South African Gardener's Guide

Thank you
Why we love bulbs
Humankind's fascination with bulbs
Bulbs and South Africa
Bulbs
What is a bulb?
Types of bulbs
True bulbs
Corms
Tubers
Rhizomes
Tuberous roots
Species, hybrids and selections
Naming of bulbs
Common names
Bulbs and the seasons
Rainfall in South Africa
Seasonal changes
Dormancy
Forcing and holding bulbs
Forcing bulbs at home
Timing at home
Position and soil
Planning
Soil
Compost
Worm farming
Where and how to use bulbs
In the mixed border
Bulbs as container plants
Hydroponics
Under trees
In the lawn
Rockeries
Next to driveways, paths or walls
How to plant bulbs
Buying bulbs
Planting
Mulching
Watering
Water-wise bulb gardening
Layering, overplanting and
interplanting
Cutting for the vase
Staking
Frost protection
Genus listing
Introduction
Bulb cross-references
Bulbs not recommended for
South Africa
Further care
Feeding and nurturing
To lift or leave?
Propagation - growing your own bulbs
Seed production
Stem cutting
Division
Offsets (bulblets)
Basal cutting
Bulbils
Scaling
Twin scaling
Meristem and tissue culture
Health
Healthy bulbs
Ants
Aphids
Beetles
Birds
Boring worms
'Blind' bulbs or failure to flower
Dogs
Fungal diseases
Indoor ailments
Locusts and grasshoppers
Mealybugs
Mites
Moles
Molerats
Nematodes
Porcupines
Rabbits and hares
Scale insects
Slugs and snails
Thrips
Virus
White fly
Cut flowers
Buy quality flowers
When you arrive home
Displaying your vase
of flowers
Colouring of flowers
Common fallacies
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Photograph credits