Product Description

Featuring a fascinating history of the rose, origins of individual names, and a showcase of the world's best-loved roses, the ARS Encyclopedia of Roses is a complete guide to the care and cultivation of more than 2,000 roses. Cataloged in an easy-to-follow A-Z format and lusciously illustrated, this indispensable reference is destined to become every gardener's rose bible.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #261964 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

From Booklist
This encyclopedia, a beautiful tribute to America's favorite flower, contains information on nearly 2,000 roses from the earliest species to the most modern cultivars. Each A-Z entry, accompanied by a short description and a true-to-color photograph, lists both cultivar name and registered or trademark name, synonym and code names, the classification group to which the rose belongs, its origin and parentage, size and scent, flowering information, mature height and spread, hardiness zone, and awards. Since entries are listed by the name the rose was given when introduced, there are numerous cross-references to point users to the correct entry. For example, the Peace rose is found under its breeder name of Mme. A. Meilland.

Eighty-nine roses are highlighted in special entry boxes where the parent plant and its sports (mutations) are shown together. More than 40 feature panels profile nurseries, rose growers, and famous rose gardens from around the world. There are sections on cultivating roses, a glossary, a species index, a directory of rose societies throughout the world, a list of Web sites, and a very short general index.

The book is lacking in only a few types of information that would have assisted users. Since most gardeners choose roses by color, a color index would be helpful. Similarly, multiple indexes would aid patrons looking for a particular type of rose, such as a climbing rose or a rose with certain properties, such as fragrance or resistance to disease. Some additional cross-references would help with American names of foreign roses such as New Zealand's Land of the Long White Cloud (known as Full Sail in the U.S.).

These lapses aside, this is an excellent resource about roses. It will delight gardeners whether they wish to find information or merely browse and is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Charles Quest-Ritson has traveled the world in pursuit of the rose and has 20 years experience as a grower, lecturer, judge, and author. His books include DK's Garden Finder and A Social History of Gardening.

Founded in 1892, the American Rose Society is among the world's largest specialized plant societies, with approximately 25,000 members. It serves as the international registrar for all classes of roses. Based in Shreveport, Louisiana, the Gardens of the American Rose Center is the nation's largest park dedicated to roses.

Customer Reviews

Valuable rose reference
I have quite a large library of books on roses and I think that this is one of the best I've ever seen and one that I will refer to again and again. 2,000 roses are listed here in an A-Z format and it includes all classes of roses, including the recent David Austin and Romantica introductions. Unlike many rose reference books, this one seems to include roses familiar to us here in the U.S. (although I must note that the authors are British). Each entry includes basic info, like parentage, flower size, flowering habits, height/spread and hardiness. This is followed by a description of the rose and the type of climate it excels in. And, I'm happy to see that the authors have indentified individuals who have roses named after them and explains who they were! This information has always been rather difficult to locate. A photo of the rose is included and, for the most part, they are very good (there are a few that are so-so).

Other notable features are articles and sidebars that deal with the history of the rose, notable hybridizers in the profession and famous nurseries and rose gardens. A brief concluding section covers planting and caring for roses with good demonstration photos.

This is a big book, 448 pages, and one that will be very helpful to refer to when considering a rose.

Ultimate Compendium
I consider myself an avid rosarian with a large library of rose books. This is the one I refer to again and again. One thing I particularly like about this book is that they will tell you if a rose has a known weakness, not all books will.

I live out of this book
This is a very comprehensive and detailed listings for every type or variety. It eliminated my having to cross reference several books to decide whether a particular rose will work in my garden. This is definitely not for the novice but the experienced rosarian. Not for the generalist either.