Ornamental Palm Horticulture
Overview
"The best palm book on the market."—Henry Donselman, former State Palm Specialist, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida
Comprehensive in scope and based on research from worldwide sources, Ornamental Palm Horticulture presents virtually everything ever published about the subject in a concise, readable format, illustrated with 110 color plates and 81 black-and-white photographs.
The first complete treatment of palms, the book covers palm biology, palm propagation, environmental influences, mineral nutrition and fertilization, insect and disease pests, container and field production, transplanting, and landscape and interiorscape management.
With more than 200 of the world’s 2,700-plus palm species under cultivation, commercial palm production has become a major horticultural industry in Florida. Large numbers of palms are also produced in Hawaii, California, Texas, and other warm regions of the world. They have become an integral part of the tropical and subtropical landscape, valued for their unique designs and complex forms of stems and leaves. With varieties from 100 feet high to dwarf-sized, they are also popular indoor plants.
While much of the research cited was done in Florida, the authors supplement it with information from other palm-growing regions of the world, making Ornamental Palm Horticulture a useful reference wherever palms are grown. Indispensable for commercial producers and landscapers, this colorful book also will be welcomed by the thousands of palm enthusiasts who maintain collections of palms in landscapes, greenhouses, and interior spaces and by the millions of homeowners whose yards are blessed with palms.
Timothy K. Broschat is professor of environmental horticulture at the University of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. He is coauthor of Diseases and Disorders of Ornamental Palms and Betrock’s Reference Guide to Florida Landscape Plants.
Alan W. Meerow, formerly professor of environmental horticulture and cooperative extension palm specialist at the University of Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, is now a research geneticist for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. He is the author of Betrock’s Guide to Landscape Palms and coauthor of Betrock’s Guide to Florida Landscape Plants.
