Dirr's Tree and Shrub Finder App Reviews

There is a lot to be said for this app, dont get me wrong. I dont disagree with those that really like the information, in fact I put the Dirrs on my Dock so I will have it on hand. I just have a couple of requests, which I will whine about quickly. Perhaps, these could be incorporated into later versions I think the program is front loaded. For instance, if you go to a nursery, you will be given a name on a tag for every plant. You can then type in the name of something you like and there will be lots of infomation. I, on the other hand, wanted a bit more help in terms of identification of both the species and the varieties that I might find in gardens and landscapes. The best information is on habit of the plants so that if you know what you want to do with a space, the photographs will help you decide on what to plant. The app is not very helpful in working your way backwards, however. The search engine is simply too broad to help narrow things down quickly enough. For instance, under foliage type, deciduous can mean lots of leaf forms. It would be helpful to have some of the characteristics with more features. Leaf form, number, that sort of thing it would be nice to have a family key. Im an entomologist and if I know these, I assume that most lanscapers would be familiar with the families of the plants they are working with. A family button would allow one to quickly access lots of plants, even when one is not familiar with the common or scientific name. It would be nice to emphasize characteristics of the varieties that make them stand out over others of the same taxa. There are lots of ornamentals that are missing. The most obvious is Passiflora but there are others. Perhaps, a subtropical-tropical version would be handy since I live in deep south Texas. Otherwise, I am glad I purchased this product.

As a faithful user of Dirrs guides I was super excited when this app was released. When I opened it up I was appalled that there was not iPad support. Yes this app runs on the iPad but not at full screen, I would like my pictures and descriptions to not be pixilated, especially when trying to compare buds. Buy this app if you are going to run it on an iPod or iPhone, but dont waste your money if u have an iPad.

Assumes quite a bit of botanical and horticultural knowledge. Seems to be good in a nursery. Not so good if you want to identify a tree or shrub in nature.

...need I say more? The manual is a must for anyone who loves and/or works with shrubs and trees. Of course, the manual weighs a ton. Having the best, up-to-date information at your fingertips and out in the field, is truly a dream come true. Cheap at the price!

Great to have a something better than the Dirr books of various vintages. Ipad format would be great, as well as export plant to PDF, creating a cut sheet of a plant that we could pull together for projects.

This app is filled to the brim with information. If youre a true horticulturalist youll appreciate everything this app has, from photos, detailed descriptions, and even cultivar listings. My only complaint is that not every plant has a photo. But other than that its excellent. Also keep in mind this app is mostly geared to the Southeast, and does not contain every plant out there. But still extremely solid.

Having a horticulture background, for me this app is a blessing. A lot cheaper and not as heavy as the hardback manual. This would have made life a lot easier going through all those woody identification classes. Also happy to see it has a lot of cultivars to. But being that Dirr has collaborated with horticulture professors from Ohio most of the plants do range from zone 4 to 7.

Studying for my plant materials class is way more convenient with this app! My only wish is to be able to organize my favorites into different folders.

Seriously the best $15 Ive spent. A searchable Dirr that fits in your pocket and has beautiful photos. Im so happy this app exists. This app focuses on landscape plants and is meant for reference. If you dont know much about plants already, this app will not be very useful for identifying the tree in your backyard, though it will most certainly have it. For example, it has 38 species of maple. Most species have several great photos (habit, fall color, fruit/flower close ups, bark, etc.). The app lists many cultivars, and the most popular ones have photos as well. You can read Dirrs descriptions word for word from the book. Thanks for a beautiful app!

This is an incredibly valuable resource. Dirr in your pocket. Ive never seen so much information packed into an app. Its a must have for any serious horticulturist.

Not enough pictures & not enough common names. We need a leaf snap for the west!!!

I am so excited to have this app on my phone- Now I can just show my clients the info- off my phone instead of carrying the book, getting it dirty on the jobsite... If you are a true horticulturist, or if you arent, you will adore this app, as it is like a treasure in your phone/pocket. It is definitely worth the money. Dr. Dirr is an amazing Authority/Library of Knowledge, as well as an amazing person! ~GardenMagik

Great application for those really interested in plants, especially trees and shrubs. However, there are numerous errors between the species selected and what is actually described. The hawthorns are the worse that I have checked to date. I rate it 3 but still recommend it.

Great app but terrible on the iPad as it is very pixilated. Not worth it until they update.

It would be nice to have more info and some leaf id. Thank you.

Im in the hort industry and have been for 14+ years and have a few degrees in the industry I was actually disappointed in this app it is missing a lot of common trees to search for a tree on this app you already have to know a lot about the plant if you know about plants you could probably fill the questions out to narrow it down I wish it had more info about the trees and had more trees in general i wouldnt spend the money for it as of what I know now if it was cheaper Id probably get it but I dont think its worth $15 one other thing is I wish it was like the app leaf snap where you can take a picture of the leaf and it will give you a few plants that it could be

Not as good as I was hoping. Lots of pics missing as well as lots of trees are not there that should be. I have been looking for a good app for trees and was hopping that with Mr. Dirrs name attached to it, it would have been better. $15 is a lot to ask for when you are missing a lot of pics that are in the book we all own.

I had high expectations because of the other reviews. Im not an expert gardener but I know some things here and there. I looked for astilbes and geraniums, no results. These are common plants. Wasted money.

I would recommend not buying this app. I have been landscaping long enough to see everything thats out there and unfortunately this app looks better than what you really get. It doesnt have the most basic plants that we use commonly in the landscape in Ohio.

Huge fan of Dirrs work. Im a professional in the landscape trade and reference his books frequently. Bought this mainly to show clients pictures of woody plants when going over designs with them. While the information is all there, the pictures are disappointingly grainy on my iPads retina display. This app desperately needs a makeover. If it were optimized for new iPad/iPhone it would get a five star review. For $15 it should be much sharper with a cleaner user interface.