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A review by jsilber42
The Savage Garden: Cultivating Carnivorous Plants by Peter D'Amato
5.0
This is basically the Bible of carnivorous plants. The beginning section talks in general about how to grow and care for them. The bulk of the volume is a reference tome on the main genuses of carnivorous plants (sundews, venus flytraps, American pitcher plants, Asian pitcher plants, and a few others). Each type of plant is discussed in a general sense, followed by amazingly detailed listings of subtypes with descriptions and photos (and noting if anything about caring for that particular subspecies stands out from the norm), and finishing with a detailed care guide for the genus, including propagation methods.
The book isn't perfect. I'd have liked more detail on plant care and troubleshooting both in a general sense and for some of the more particular plants. Some of the species descriptions lack pictures to go with them (although the book has an absurd wealth of photos, honestly).
Some of this information is available online (most nurseries that sell online have at least some basic care information), and if you are just interested in, say, growing a single Venus flytrap, you don't necessarily need this book. But if you are interested in collecting and growing a variety of carnivorous plants, or just want to learn about the wide variety of species, this is a book you should own.
The book isn't perfect. I'd have liked more detail on plant care and troubleshooting both in a general sense and for some of the more particular plants. Some of the species descriptions lack pictures to go with them (although the book has an absurd wealth of photos, honestly).
Some of this information is available online (most nurseries that sell online have at least some basic care information), and if you are just interested in, say, growing a single Venus flytrap, you don't necessarily need this book. But if you are interested in collecting and growing a variety of carnivorous plants, or just want to learn about the wide variety of species, this is a book you should own.