Reddit reviews How Not to Kill Your Houseplant: Survival Tips for the Horticulturally Challenged

I just started getting into houseplants too! I borrowed houseplant books from my local library, below is the list based on what I like the most:

1. How Not to Kill Your Houseplant: Survival Tips for the Horticulturally Challenged https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465463305/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_D158AbDJT2C9R
   
   
2. What's Wrong With My Houseplant?: Save Your Indoor Plants With 100% Organic Solutions (What’s Wrong Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1604695900/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_i358AbYWR88X7
   
   
3. The Indestructible Houseplant: 200 Beautiful Plants that Everyone Can Grow https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z8CQ9WI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0358AbSV1EE8A
   
   To fit more plants into my budget, I buy mostly starter plants. Less heartbreak if I fail taking care of them and more satisfaction when I see new growth.
   
   Check out Walmart and Home Depot in addition to local nurseries, some places have a great selection with lower price (compared to nurseries).

How Not to Kill Your Houseplant: Survival Tips for the Horticulturally Challenged https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465463305/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_DdPhDb764KBEM

I just had this book recommended to me, which I'll probably be ordering this week: https://smile.amazon.com/How-Kill-Your-Houseplant-Horticulturally/dp/1465463305/

Everyone has different preferences but I bought a houseplant care book (specifically How Not To Kill Your Houseplant ) and maybe I just didn’t buy the right one but I didn’t really care for it. It was cute, I flipped through it once or twice, and then I literally never touched it again. There’s so much information available on plants online, specifically with regards to care instructions, that I find the book unnecessary. You can easily post to r/whatisthisplant or use a plant ID app (much less reliable but works somewhat) to identify plants. If you’re just trying to familiarize yourself with different species of plants, browsing plant subreddits is a good way to go.


If you want to be better at caring for plants in general, I’d highly recommend Botany for Gardeners. I haven’t finished it yet, but it really breaks down how plants work in a way that’s easy to understand but still highly scientific and in-depth. From plant anatomy, to how they grow and reproduce, this book will help you better understand your plants. It doesn’t give specific care tips, but I feel like I’ve gotten much better at caring for my plants since reading it. Far too often we’re told what to do or how to do it, rather than why we should be doing it. If you learn the way plants work, you’ll have a much better idea of how to help them when they start struggling!