Award-Winner in the “Home & Garden category of the 2015USA Best Book Awards

Understanding Rootsuncovers one of the greatest mysteries undergroundthe secret lives and magical workings of the roots that move and grow invisibly beneath our feet.

Roots, it seems, do more than just keep a plant from falling over: they gather water and nutrients, exude wondrous elixirs to create good soil, make friends with microbes and fungi, communicate with other roots, and adapt themselves to all manner of soils, winds, and climates, nourishing and sustaining our gardens, lawns, and woodlands.

Understanding Rootscontains over 115 enchanting and revealing root drawings that most people have never seen, from prairies, grasslands, and deserts, as well as drawings based on excavations of vegetable, fruit, nut, and ornamental tree roots. Every root system presented in this book was drawn by people literally working in the trenches, sketching the roots where they grew.

The text provides a verydetailed review of all aspects of transplanting; describes how roots work their magic to improve soil nutrients; investigates the hidden life of soil microbes and their mysterious relationship to roots; explores the question of whether deep roots really gather more unique nutrients than shallow roots; shares the latest research about the mysteries of mycorrhizal (good fungal) association; shows you exactly where to put your fertilizer, compost, water, and mulch to help plants flourish; tells you why gray water increases crop yields more than fresh water; and, most importantly, reveals the science behind all the above (with citations for each scientific paper).

This book contains at least eighty percent morenewinformation, more results of the latest in-depth and up-to-date explorations, and even more helpful guidelines on roots than the authors previous book (Roots Demystified: Change Your Garden Habits to Help Roots Thrive).This is not a revised editionits a whole new stand-alone book.