"Orchids Handbook: A Practical Guide to the Care and Cultivation of 40 Popular Orchid Species and Their Hybrids" by Michael Tibbs (who is a distinguished orchid grower and breeder, the author of several important books on orchids, who lectures widely and is an accredited judge in South Africa and a senior judge with the American Orchid Society, and where his orchid nursery is located in Franschhoek, South Africa, specializing in Disa Orchids) provides the beginner with commonsense advice on getting started with orchids, understanding the basics of orchid biology, caring for orchids in variety of settings (for example in the house, under a shade cloth or in the greenhouse) and mastering techniques for repotting, dividing and growing from seed. The "Orchids Handbook" also offers a comprehensive and well-illustrated plant directory of 40 popular varieties, covering all the major orchid families and their characteristics, with advice on choosing the plant that is right for your climate conditions. Additionally this useful handbook covers pests and diseases and everything you need to know to enter your orchids in competition. Covers all of the major orchid families, the "Orchid Handbook" provides comprehensive advice on: The care and cultivation of orchids from getting started to repotting, dividing, growing from seed, to dealing with pests and diseases, how to choose the right orchid for any climate condition and establishing a collection. Growing orchids has never been more popular. In the pages of "Orchids Handbook: A Practical Guide to the Care and Cultivation of 40 Popular Orchid Species and Their Hybrids" is to be found everything needed to know about successfully growing and caring for orchids -- all deftly packed into one fascinating, easy-to-use, beautifully illustrated volume, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Gardening/Horticulture instructional reference book collections. Midwest Book Review.