Book Contents
Chapters one through four deal with the basics. The history of bromeliads is presented in the first chapter. The next chapter defines "commercial" versus "collectors" versus "hybrid" plants. Commercial plants are those generally produced for the garden centers and florist shops. They are generally mass-produced via tissue culture or division. Collector plants are those grown by bromeliad aficionados; their cost is higher than the commercially grown plants. Hybrid plants are produced by cross-pollination between plant species or cultivars.
Chapter 3 talks about the growing and care of bromeliads. I find it interesting that Parkhurst doesn't grow these plants in the traditional bark mix that I've been told to use. He uses a regular potting mix with some amendments. The next chapter, four, covers diseases and pests, a topic that always needs to be discussed for any plant, including those in the bromeliad family.
Aechmeas, Billbergias, Cryptanthus, Guzmanias, Neoregelias, Vrieseas, and Tillandsias each have a chapter dedicated to them. Each chapter presents a single page of information about the plant genus followed by several pages of colorful photographs of the various plants in the genus. The appropriate name, whether it is a species or a hybrid, who generally grows the plants, size, foliage or flower length and the size pot the plant is grown in is presented as a caption for each photograph. Where appropriate, the name of the hybridizer is also identified. I already collect Cryptanthus and Tillandsias. After reading these chapters, I'm on the lookout for some Guzmanias to add to my plant collection since they are tolerant of lower light conditions.
Chapter 12 provides a complete listing of all genera in the Bromeliaceae family. This is helpful to those who decide to collect this plant family. The chapter also includes an assortment of photographs representing the various genera.
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