Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs

The botanical information, landscape use, growth rates, and pest vulnerabilities are comprehensive. This is a comprehensive reference source.

Excellent book cataloguing common trees and shrubs that an American gardener would encounter. Organized by genus, it is useful to know the scientific/Latin name for a plant, but the index will help you find it by common name as well. Each plant has excellent pictures and useful commentary, including common cultivars and Dirr's own take on them. In the back are lists of plants by interest: fall color, flower color, soil tolerances, etc. These are very useful to select and research potential new inhabitants in your own garden. I highly recommend this book for anyone with a significant garden, or just an interest in trees and shrubs. I've spent hours pouring over it and learned a great deal about what is growing in my yard and in my neighborhood.

I ordered this book as a gift for a friend who is a Master Gardener. The book arrived quickly and was well-packed and in shrink-wrapped new condition. The book appears to be quite inclusive on it's subject matter and was chosen because of it's scope to be a part of good reference library. I often purchase books on gardening as gifts from Amazon because of the selection, pricing, and quick shipping. I rely on the "Look Inside" feature, as well as user reviews and the book review excerpts from the "Editorial Reviews" section of the product description to help make my purchase. Based on pre-purchase research, Dirr seems to have an excellent reputation and I have confidence that my friend will enjoy and appreciate this book.

As an owner of Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs, which covers zones 5 and below, I wondered if I would find this book useful. I did, in fact. Not only do I own some zone 6 plants that get extra protection, but I found that many of the plant categories in this 951 page book (up from 493) have been expanded to include cultivars introduced in recent years. If you own his books on viburnums or hydrangeas, this will not add to your knowledge. But as someone who gardens outside of my zone, and whose own zone is warming, I found this book excellent, with the usual blunt descriptions, useful comparisons and insights that make Dirr books indispensible. I have begun collecting abelias, for example, and bringing them into a protected area, and this plant was not covered in my first book. And of course the photography, as with all Dirr's books, is superb.

Want to know about any tree? this book is for you. very helpful to me as a new homer.

Michael Dirr is THE recognized expert on trees and shrubs for residential landscaping, and this encyclopedic compendium of his research and observations is one of the best resources you'll find for choosing trees and shrubs for your home! Having razed our front and side yards to replace our aging driveway and front walk with beautiful brick pavers, I bought this to help me choose shrubs and a few trees for the resulting blank palette. We had hired a landscape architect to design the entire project both the hardscape and the plantings, and we used professionals to do the installation. Working with our hardscape professional, the original design was transformed in many seemingly small ways resulting in a stunning end result. When we began looking at the trees and shrubs suggested, I could see that some "seemingly small" changes and substitutions could once again have a powerful impact on the final project. Dirr's gave me the information I needed to evaluate the plants that had been suggested and also find other plants we might like more or that fit my mental image of our garden better. PROS: 1) Each entry includes information on size, shape, color, cultivation requirements, and appropriate zones, as well as Dirr's anecdotal information on his personal experiences with and sightings of the plants. The impact of pests and diseases is also noted. 2) Each entry is lavishly illustrated with photos of the mature plant, and close-ups of leaves, fruit, and flowers. Where appropriate entries also include photos of massed plantings and seasonal variations of significance. 3) Information on varieties and cultivars of each species extends the information on choices. 4) The appendices include lists of plants for various specific purposes, e.g., color, winter interest, bloom time, shade tolerance, etc. CONS: The book is organized based on taxonomic names, some easier to "translate" than others. Magnolia = Magnolia (that's easy!) Pinus = Pine (not so hard!), but Picea = Spruce and Thuja = Arborvitae (well, that's a very different kettle of fish!) I used the photos to navigate, stopping to read more about plants whose photos appealed, and am very satisfied with the results so far. Filling out the palette will take several years, and I expect to find Dirr's useful right through to the end.

This book gives a really good and thorough idea of which trees and shrubs are used in American gardens and landscape plantings. Almost all listed species are shown in high quality colour photos and in text the uses of a given species are discussed shortly but still in enough detail. For a professional gardener the information in the text is perhaps a little too general in nature, but I believe that also professionals can use this book as a good hand book in choosing more exotic plants or choosing between different varieties of single species. For me as a european non-professional tree-lover there is, of course, lots of european and asian species which are not included in the encyclopedia. On the other hand, there are many such trees (and especially shrubs) which I have never heard of, and which gave me many exciting moments of thinking if this and this species could survive in our climate. To conclude my review...money well spent.

Dirr is truly a Giant of his industry. All of his books have been invaluable go-to references. This book is a little less information rich than his "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants" but it does provide many of the critical details along with large beautiful photos. As with his other books Dirr shares his opinions openly and often with great humor. This book would be a good introduction for someone discovering Dirr for the first time. This man truly lives for what he writes about. Almost every plant in his encyclopedia is accompanied by some personal experience or observation by the Author. I am humbled by his knowledge and grateful that he has taken the time to share it with us.

I work at a garden Center and use this book daily to show customers what the plants look like full grown in bloom. Really handy for reference but I use it with the manual of woody plants by Dirr because it lacks as much information as that book. More simplified version.

Très bel ouvrage, très complet, très documenté et très bien illustré, à réserver toutefois aux lecteurs maîtrisant suffisamment l'anglais. Un seul bémol : les commentaires sur le climat sont rédigés pour les USA, l'ouvrage étant destiné à des lecteurs américains. Il faut donc transposer à l'Europe.

Excelente. Entre los mejores libros de jardinería en cuestion de arbustos y árboles. Fotografias magníficas Hace referencia a todas las zonas en las que viven y se desarrollan mejor las diferentes plantas del mundo, pero su experiencia es fundamentalmente americana.

In Latin alphabetical order. Great read for those who want to have more detailed description of plants, if you already know their latin names. Professional, more like botanical book. Lots of detailed pictures of leaves, flowers and compositions. No cons, I just love the book.

This is very comprehensive book with beautiful photos.