American Rose Society Encyclopedia of Roses

by Charles Quest-Ritson and Brigid Quest-Ritson

Book Overview

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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789496755
• ISBN13: 9780789496751
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 4.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 9.4" x 11.7"

Customer Reviews

1st Edition of The American Rose Society Encyclopedia

It would be difficult to over praise this excellent encyclopedia. The photography is outstanding; the descriptions of roses intense yet easily understood, and the added features on various rose breeders and their histories are so helpful. The introduction directs the reader on how to use the book to best advantage. Yes, a marvelous book, this first edition of The American Rose Society.

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.

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 was pleased

I bought three books on roses and rose growing and this is my favorite of the three. It's a bit too big to carry to the nursery but it has loads of pictures and details on specific roses. Wish it had an index at the back by name but other than that, a good resource book that I end up reading at night before falling off to sleep to dream of my rose garden < :

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.