by Robert Gardner Wilson & Catherine Wilson
"Bromeliads in Cultivation" is a 126 page hard bound book that is full of useful information that is as pertinent today as it was when it was first published. There are sixteen pages of color plates and many line drawings throughout the book. It is interesting that the dust jacket notes state that this is the first book written in English about bromeliads "that changes technical and generally unavailable information into something highly valuable and interesting." I'm not certain if that is true, never the less, this is one of the early books in the bromeliad literature. The aim of the authors is to give clear and concise information on the cultivation of bromeliads for home, patios and gardens. Lyman B. Smith acted as consultant to the authors, verifying the accuracy of the plant names and identification.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I deals with the culture of growing bromeliads. It briefly covers such topics as potting, watering, light, pests, etc. There is good information here, however some of it is dated. For example they give as a rule of thumb the separation of pups should be done when the pup is about 4 inches in size except for larger species. I think it is accepted practice now to simply wait until the pup is about 1/2 the size of the mother plant. In several sections they make mention of the importance of using rainwater for watering bromeliads.
Part II is the 'Descriptive List of Genera and Species'. This section starts with an explanation of the plants listed not being all the plants common to horticulturists and states that an addendum will be published in Volume 2. To my knowledge there never was a volume 2. The plant descriptions are clear, giving measurement, color and other distinguishing features. There is also information about the conditions each plant likes to grow in. This is followed by a description of the flower. There are species names that are no longer used and they make reference to names that have changed at the time the book was published. This might be of historical interest to some, and is still a source of confusion to others. It is nice to know that even 36 years ago there was confusion in the bromeliad world as to nomenclature. This section ends with a brief mention of the hybrids but again states that more detailed listings will be in Volume 2. Over all this is a very well done section. The plant descriptions are short but seem to be very accurate. If you want a key for identification then you might want to look elsewhere, but for general descriptions, these are very good.
The last section, Part III, I found to be the most interesting and informative. Titled 'Quick Reference Lists', it has lists: of light requirements, bromeliad profiles, plant sizes from midgets to giants, plants grown for special features, and flowers, including lists of attractive fruits and unusual shapes. All these lists are very informative, but somewhat limited in scope. This is due to the age of the book. There simply weren't as many plants available 37 years ago!
Despite being an old publication, there is some very good information here. It is too bad that the authors never published the second volume as I'm sure it would have been a fine complement to the first volume. This book has long been out of print but I know there are copies floating around in used book stores and can sometimes be found at auctions such as eBay.
Review by Rusty Luthe
