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Books on Cactus and Succulents

© Diana Pederson

Where the Hardy Cactus Grow: A Hardy Succulents Handbook by David Sierer and The (Not) Too Cold for Cactus Group published by The Amateur's Digest, 1999.

Over the past few years an email group was developed that brought together people who grew cacti in cold climates around the world. This book is a compilation of articles written by various group members.

The book is divided into 3 topic areas: Outdoor Hardy Succulent Gardens, Unheated Greenhouses and General Interest topics. In the first section, outdoor gardens, articles are given by hardy cacti growers from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, and the United States. The second section provides articles from Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark and the Netherlands growers who use unheated greenhouses to protect their cacti and other succulents from winter weather. In each of these articles, the author normally describes their growing conditions as far as climate, snowfall or winter rain, describes the growing area used, the soil mix, fertilizer and a list of cold hardy cactus grown. This is followed with a personal profile of the author. The general interest articles include Agaves, Yuccas, Hardy Sedums and Semperivums, Lewisia cotyledon. Other items of interest such as metric conversions, hardiness zones, and a list of resources are also included. These items are interspersed among the articles from the first two topic areas. Most articles are illustrated with black and white photographs of the garden discussed. In addition several colored photographs of individual plants are found in the center of the book.

If you want the garden that none of your neighbors have (or may even want), then I strongly recommend this handbook. You'll be able to successfully grow these plants through the winter by following the directions written by people from your climate regions. Watch out. You just might find yourself addicted to hardy cactus and succulents.

Readers: If collecting cactus and succulents is beginning to attract you, may I suggest you join the cacti_etc and hardycacti_etc email groups by sending an email to mailto:listserv@opus.hpl.hp.com with the message subscribe cacti_etc [your name] and subscribe hardycacti_etc [your name]

May I also recommend you subscribe to "The Amateur's Digest", a journal written by amateur and professional collectors of cacti and other succulents .