SUCCULENTS IN CULTIVATION: Cacti Included

Succulents are plants that store water in the stems or leaves and cacti are only one family among many included. Cultivation, soil, potting, watering, propagation, pests and diseases, forming a collection -- these topics are covered in the opening chapters. The author then goes on to the main body of her text:- succulent plants in cultivation, and here the grouping is by environmental demands rather than plant families. In this book, she deals largely with conditions in and near London. In the United States, temperature zones, climate, soil, atmospheric conditions, etc. provide a much wider opportunity for outdoor cultivation. Even New England includes many succulents in rock gardens, so the application of advice is not always comparable. However, the charting and descriptive data are excellent, and the index to plant names with the family breakdown, allows for good cross reference.