Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates: an Illustrated Encyclopedia - Hardcover

What sets this book apart from many other botanical encyclopedias is the author's personal writing style, which breathes life into the text... Dirr's encyclopedia is strongly and unhesitatingly recommended. Library Journal 20020215 Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates is a 'must have' book on trees and shrubs. -- Winston Dunwell University of Kentucky HortMemo 20020222 If your winter temperatures don't go below [freezing], you'll find much of interest in this book... The descriptions are always insightful and often witty, spiced by a dry humor and information by Professor Dirr's vast knowledge of ornamental trees and shrubs. HortIdeas 20020222 No other writer on gardening speaks to the subject with Dirr's experience, acumen, and ability to instruct. Simply indispensable. -- Alice Joyce Booklist 20020226 This volume is another Mike Dirr success. You will learn about vines, ground covers, and shrubs through Dirr's knowledge and expertise. Make this book your companion when searching for the best woody species for warm climates. Southern Living 20020422 An extraordinary book with wonderful photographs. Garden Specialist 20020425 Even if you can't grow anything that appears in this book, it's worth looking at for an overview of the growth of Dirr's personal garden, a reminder that time (and the horticultural resources at the University of Georgia) can accomplish almost anything. -- Verlyn Klinkenborg New York Times Book Review 20020602 Cannot be too highly recommended. Avant Gardener 20020605 Dirr is one of the most important voices in North American woody plants ... [Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates] can be considered a major reference investment for the committed gardener. -- Donna Williamson Grandiflora 20020402 Since publication in 1997, Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs has been a preferred resource of many accomplished gardeners ... Now gardeners in warmer zones have their own version of this trusted text. -- Rebecca Sawyer-Fay Country Living Gardener 20020709 [Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates] is sure to become one that the Southern gardener will keep close at hand. -- Cynthia W. Mueller Southern Garden 20020718 A perfect reference source for our area ... The back of the book is a gold mine. -- Patricia A. Taylor Trenton Times 20020519 Probably the finest photographic collection of warm temperate trees and shrubs ever produced. Agroforestry News 20020718 It's been awhile since I confessed how much I adore Michael Dirr. His new book ... provides me with a good excuse to do it all over again. -- Patricia Jonas Plants and Gardens News 20020723 Dirr's lively writing style makes the book enjoyable to read, e.g., oleander is 'tougher than a tick in terms of adaptability.' -- Susan Knorr Fairchild Tropical Garden 20020723 [Dirr's] encyclopedia of more than four hundred plants is artfully arranged to provide close-up and full length views to augment the very complete plant descriptions. -- Marge Howard-Jones California Garden 20020731 Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates is such a sumptuous feast for both eye and mind that if you live in a warm climate and grow woody plants, you must own it! -- Scott Ranger American Gardener 20020820 A fresh look at trees and shrubs, just for us... Should prove of great value to landscapers, plant merchants and serious gardeners. -- Nancy Brachey Charlotte Observer 20020930 A triumph!...Southern gardeners have been known to covet the climate in England or the Pacific Northwest. Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates left me rejoicing that I can actually grow many of these splendid plants. -- Paula Refi Perennial Notes 20021002 An invaluable addition to the library of anyone who gardens in the 'warm temperate' Zones 7-11 ... Drawn from the well-traveled researcher's decades of obsessive observation and liberally seasoned with humor, the richly informative plant profiles provide multiseasonal descriptions and tell how to use and care for hundreds of species and cultivars suitable for Zones 7-9 and warmer. -- Carol Bishop Miller Horticulture 20021016 Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates follows the tradition of excellence in book writing. He has given us yet another gardening encyclopedia loaded with mouth watering photos... You will want to add this volume to your gardening library. -- Linda Cobb Spartanburg Herald-Journal 20020528 The biggest strength of this reference volume is its well-conceived format with brief text in large type. -- Jerry Jump Hardy Plant 20020901 Yet another must-have reference book [by Michael Dirr] ... an indispensable resource for both novice and experienced gardeners. Fine Gardening 20021005 Useful to those with microclimates or adventurous gardeners who want to test the limits of their zone. -- Denise Cowie Philadelphia Inquirer 20021122 This beautifully illustrated tome is destined to become a classic for southern gardeners ... This is a book to inform and inspire us. -- Lynette Walther Palatka Daily News 20020823 A very approachable guide to both old and new woody plants in zones 6-11. Dirr's commentary is dependably exact and often humorous and self-deprecating, which makes this a very readable guide for professional and novice gardeners alike. -- Lynn Rogers Northwest Arkansas Times 20030109 Tree lovers in any climate will find this an indispensable volume. -- Jim Carlson Country Almanac 20030113 A user-friendly and attractive book... Detailed and beautifully illustrated plant encyclopedia. Plant Science Bulletin 20020114 Authoritative, precise, and entertaining. -- Don Davis Lynchburg News and Advance 20030114 A southern gardener will relish this book that covers over 400 species described in detail, including hundreds of cultivars and varieties. -- Callie Jo Schweitzer Quarterly Review of Biology 20021227 Those who know Michael Dirr's books ... will want to add his latest book of trees, shrubs and vines for the warm temperate zones USDA 7-11. -- Russell Studebaker Tulsa World 20021214 I ordered [this book] sight unseen, and have been satisfied with it, and shown it off, ever since. -- Jeff Stevens Southeastern Palms 20020130 Dirr's Trees and Shrubs for Warm Climates is second to none for its authoritative but easy-to-read text and excellent color photographs. -- Bob Souvestre Baton Rouge Advocate 20030119 Dirr includes far more interesting plants than most such compendiums. -- Ann Lovejoy Seattle Post-Intelligencer 20030130 This book is a very valuable pictorial reference for students and professionals. -- Marietta Loehrlein Western Illinois University 20030225 This is truly an encyclopedia of beauty... Even if you are not into woody plants this book will surely please you. Sida, Contributions to Botany 20020303 Another reference to help guide the southern gardener toward perfection in their garden paths. -- James H. Flynn Jr. American Reference Books Annual 20030327 Michael Dirr has done it again! -- Donna Williamson HortResources Newsletter 20030329 Mr. Dirr has a knack for including precisely the right words about each plant. -- Glenda Alexander Heather Enthusiasts of the Redwood Empire Newsletter 20030821 Mr. Dirr has chosen more than 400 species and nearly 500 additional cultivars and varieties to describe in concise text and illustrate with beautiful photos. All in all, this is an exciting book to read for information or pure pleasure. American Rhododendron Society Journal 20040614 Dirr is a not-very-retired professor of ornamental horticulture who has ... earned his reputation for great expertise. ... In an era of searchable computerized databases, flipping pages in a book might seem downright quaint, but Dirr's authoritative reports make the flipping worthwhile. -- Tom Karwin Monterey County Herald 20060520

Following the phenomenal success of "Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs", written for gardeners in the climates of USDA zones 3-6, this companion volume is a superlative photographic encyclopedia of trees, shrubs, and vines for 'warm temperate' zones. In North America, these areas (zones 7-11) stretch from the Mid-Atlantic states to the South, include most of Texas and the Southwest, and encompass the entire West Coast, up to western Canada. Many parts of the British Isles, Australia, and New Zealand experience similar conditions. In a nutshell, any gardener who lives in an area where average winter temperatures do not fall below 0- Fahrenheit (-18- Celsius) will want this book, and curious gardeners in colder zones may well want to test these select plants in their local microclimates. This remarkable volume shows both the habit and details - flower, fruit, bark, and fall color - of more than 400 species and describes hundreds more cultivars and varieties. Certain genera offer myriad hybrids and selections, and photographs of many of the best of these are included as well - nearly 40 named crapemyrtles, a dozen teaolives, and 11 loropetalums. In all, more than 1400 photographs join with the authoritative text to bring the plants to life. From Abelia to Ziziphus, gardeners will encounter many new and unfamiliar plants that thrive in warmer climates. Dirr gives special attention to hardy palms that can survive outside the subtropics. The book also reflects the author's inimitable personality, which holds nothing back when a plant deserves outright acclaim ('If prescriptions could be written for perfect garden plants, this species would come close to filling the order'), backhanded praise ('Use for accent, for novelty, or to drive visitors loony'), or frank condemnation ('Splays to the point of no redemption with time'). The book concludes with useful lists for selecting plants for a variety of conditions or for ornamental characteristics, such as flower color and fragrance, fruit, and fall color.