The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation -- Book Review

 

The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation by Michael A. Dirr & Charles W. Heuser, Jr is a reference book for any student of Horticulture, Ecosystem Restoration or any avid home gardener.  As usual any reference book by or with Michael A. Dirr is a source of information that needs to be considered an accurate and to the point book on that aspect of horticulture. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation is no exception to that rule.
If your plant is to be propagated from seed, cuttings, grafting, budding, it is explained in The Reference of Woody Plant Propagation.  It also covers tissue culture.  This is not common practice except by professional laboratories.  This section  is good but if you are using the tissue culture method you will have and use many other sources for your references.  That being said The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation covers 1100 species, varieties and cultivars.
The section on Magnolia is a good indicator of the detail tho which this book is written.  It is just incredible.  A book worth it's cost even if you only use it twice!