Welcome to the Jungle
Rare Tropical Houseplants to Collect, Grow, and Love
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Graduate from ordinary houseplants to extraordinary ones with these 50 desirable, dramatic plants and expert tips on how to obtain, grow, and propagate them.
“A visually stunning book with great information for rare plant collectors.”—Morgan Doane and Erin Harding, authors of How to Raise a Plant and Make It Love You Back
If you’re bored with the same old entry-level houseplants and long for something new, up your game with Enid Offolter. Called “the Houseplant Queen” by the New York Times, Offolter and her company, NSE Tropicals, are celebrities within the rare plant community, with legions of obsessed Instagram followers and plants that sell in heated auctions for thousands of dollars. In Welcome to the Jungle, Offolter shows you how to grow and propagate some of these exceptional botanicals on your own.
From the king anthurium with its deeply pleated leaves to velvety Colombian beauties known to make collectors drop to their knees, to plants with hot-pink leaves, bizarre corkscrew-shaped flower spikes, lacy fenestration, and dramatic variegation, these amazing aroids (a family of plants known for its extravagant foliage) bring a lush, tropical aesthetic to your home that will make you the envy of all your plant-loving friends. If you’re ready to rise up to the next level, Welcome to the Jungle is full of tips, professional advice, behind-the-scenes stories from fellow plant collectors, and the inspiration you need to grow plants that make a statement.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Offolter, owner of a tropical plant nursery, shares her love for collecting and looking after houseplants in this smart guide. "Almost everything I have learned about plant care came from the mistakes I made," Offolter writes, offering quick lessons on avoiding such pitfalls as loving a plant "to death" and overwatering. She touts the perks of the aroid family of plants specifically: the huge variety of Philodendron makes it easy to find one "to match each person's style," while Anthurium are "the best plants for indoor air purifying." There are tricks for finding a reputable supplier ("To help avoid buying poached plants, ask the seller where the plants originated"); bringing a new plant home (resist repotting or fertilizing until it has some time to adjust); and watering (rainwater is the "gold standard," so try gathering it). Readers looking for something exotic will appreciate the author's inclusion of her 50 favorite rarities, among them the Anthurium wendlingeri and its "crushed velvet" leaves, the "skeletonized" Monstera, and the "iridescent" Philodendron luxurians. Her excitement is infectious, whether it's her joy in discovering new leaves, the sense of wonder she finds in plants in general, or the vibrant community she's found through her passion. Offolter's buoyant approach will inspire casual and serious collectors alike.
