Classic Roses: An Illustrated Encyclopedia and Grower's Manual of Old Roses, Shrub Roses and Climbers

by Peter Beales

Updated, expanded and illustrated with more than 600 new full-colour photographs, "Classic Roses" is the authoritative history and essential manual for all serious gardeners and rose lovers. It identifies and describes all the species, cultivars and varieties that have stood the test of time, including the ancient Chinese teas, the York and Lancaster roses, the Provence and Bourbons and the humble and hardy rugosas. This definitive work is a grower's guide to the buying, propagation, feeding and pruning of old roses and important hybrids, shrub roses and climbers. There are new and improved height and colour charts (which make the selection of roses for specific locations easier), as well as up-to-date information on breeding new cultivars, classification and nomenclature, sources of supply, rose societies and outstanding gardens, country by country. Special contributions from United States rose experts include: William Grant on the phenomenon of rose-rustling (finding and conserving old roses) in California, Texas and elsewhere, Malcolm M. Manners on mosaic virus, and Malcolm Lowe on North American pests and diseases.

Genres: Gardening, Horticulture, Plants

512 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, every old/antique rose anyone could imagine. Wonderful reading if you, like me, are obsessed with roses that are old and have wonderful names.

[Juli Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic reference book for a reason. This could use an update for the 21st century to account for some of the modern English roses that have become so popular, but even without that, this book is a solid reference for rose lovers.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thick encyclopedia of nearly all types of roses, accompanied by gorgeous photographs of most and a brief blurb about the biology of all, along with a section at the beginning about the gardening of roses.