"Schneider's book speaks with authority the advice a rose lover needs for extending uses of one of the world's favorite flowers. . . . This work deserves a place on the shelves of public libraries and of rose lovers." — The Philadelphia Inquirer
Roses have almost unlimited potential in your yard or garden. They will thrive in tidy deck containers, lend months of show-stopping color to perennial borders, shower cascades of blooms down trellises, and cluster together in sturdy property-line hedges. Gardening with roses is as simple as choosing the right cultivar for your conditions, location, and needs.
Rose expert Peter Schneider understands what roses like and do not like, what they can be coaxed to do and what will make them wither and fail. Everyone, Schneider insists, can enjoy success with roses when given good growing information. A delicate rose that thrives in California will probably not fare as well in a Michigan garden, but he suggests plenty of other varieties that will reward your efforts with long-lasting beauty.
Writing from his experience as a rose gardener in Ohio, Schneider describes the characteristics of hundreds of roses and how best to use them in the garden. He includes thorough coverage of hardy shrub and heritage roses, the varieties that form the backbone of his own garden and are often perfect choices for cold-winter climates. Here are roses that satisfy every desire—from blooming into spectacular cutting roses to climbing around structures or along the ground.
An extensive section on planting, pruning, and general maintenance reassures budding rosarians that, with only a few hours of attention spent during each week of the growing season, roses will provide satisfaction, beauty, fragrance, and pleasure unequaled by any other flowering plant.
"This is the rose encyclopedia I've sought. It speaks to the city gardener and has plenty for the landed gentry as well. To all, I'd say this is the perfect book to spend a day with before the season starts or as it unfolds." — Library Journal
Peter Schneider has edited the Combined Rose List, the annual directory of roses in commerce, since 1992. He is the author of Peter Schneider on Roses and editor of Taylor's Guide to Roses. His articles and essays about roses have appeared in Horticulture, The Gardener, Garden Style, and other publications. With his wife, Susan, he grows 1,200 varieties of roses in rural Ohio.