Book Recommendations

Passiflora: Passionflowers of the World by Torsten Ulmer & John M. MacDougal

If you are interested in passionvines, you must have this book. This is the definitive reference work on passionflowers to date. It has hundreds of photographs, hundreds of line drawings, detailed information on cultivation, propagation, pests and diseases, medicinal benefits, and growing Passiflora for fruit. It contains numerous articles by respected authorities in the field on systematics & morphology, hybridization, passionflower butterflies (Heliconius) and the passionflowers of Belize and the Andes.
There are detailed descriptions of over 200 species and hybrids. This book is easy to use; it has an excellent index, glossary, bibliography and a metric to imperial conversion table. It’s over 400 pages long and I refer to it constantly.

Passion Flowers by John Vanderplank

For years this was the only book on passionflowers in English and it still deserves a prominent place on any enthusiast’s shelf. It’s full of beautiful photographs and line drawings. The detailed descriptions are very accessible to all levels of collectors. There’s information on cultivation, propagation, and even the legend of the passionflower.
Highly recommended. I’ve worn my copy out; I think I know every word by heart.

Protea Book: A Guide to Cultivated Proteaceae by Lewis Matthews

An excellent beginners guide. It contains lots of photographs and numerous species & hybrid descriptions with frost hardiness. It covers Protea, Leucospermum, Leucadendron, Grevillea, Banksia and Telopea as well as some of the more obscure members of the South African & Australian Protea family. I found this book to be most helpful in growing this difficult group of plants.

Clivias by Harold Koopowitz

Although out of print, this wonderful book is still available used. I definitely recommend it as a guide for anyone interested in growing Clivia. Professor Koopowitz has written a charming, easy read on the Clivia species with information about cultivation, hybridizing and understanding Clivia colors. A substantial portion of the book describes many hybrids in great detail. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Clivia obsessions which explores the lengths people have undergone in order to satisfy their need for new Clivias.
The book is almost 400 pages long with beautiful photographs by James Comstock, who is also an accomplished Clivia breeder.