Product Description

Grow a rose once praised by Virgil, known today as 'Autumn Damask.' Or the ancient 'Apothecary's Rose,' which Count Thibaut brought back from the Crusades. Or 'Empress Josephine,' enjoyed by the lady herself. Treasured for their mixture of toughness and charm, versatility in the garden, and glorious scent, Old Roses are a revelation to gardeners accustomed to fussy modern hybrids. Suddenly roses don't come in one shape but in a dozen, and don't require a scientific approach but thrive with the basics of sun, water, and soil. Clair Martin, who has over 2,000 different roses under his care, offers enthusiasts a perfect introduction to growing Old Roses, followed by a focused list of 100 cultivars ideal for gardens across America. From 'Alba Semi-plena' an excellent cold-climate survivor and one of the oldest forms of the white rose, to the popular 'Zephrine Drouhin,' with her deep, rich cerise tones--each rose is photographed in sumptuous color and accompanied by history, parentage, culture, and at-a-glance information on availability, stature and habit, hardiness, and time of bloom.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #443087 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From Amazon.com
While gardeners often start out with hybrid tea roses, they most often end up growing the healthier and supremely fragrant old roses. Who can resist their crumpled petals in soft watercolor shades and their penetrating fragrance of baby powder and cold cream, let alone their lengthy and flamboyant histories? 100 Old Roses for the American Garden has pulled together a selected hundred of the best, with stunning color photographs and cultural information.

And the names--who could resist 'Alister Stella Gray' (a golden rambler), or 'Enfant de France' (a rose-pink hybrid perpetual dating from 1860)? You might want to track down 'Sydonie,' a shell-pink damask described as having deep, pervasive perfume and generous rebloom. This task will be made easier by the appendices at the back of the book listing mail-order sources for old roses, and public gardens that display them.

One reason so many gardeners end up enamored with old roses is that they don't need to be grown in a "rose ghetto" as do hybrid teas, but rather enjoy being mixed into borders with other plants. A chapter on companion plantings suggests perennials that work well as skirting for old roses, enabling the gardener to mix roses seamlessly into the garden picture. --Valerie Easton

San Diego Union Tribune
"Richly illustrated, informative and portable, this handy volume introduces you to the grand dames of the rose world."

From the Publisher
Also in this series: 100 English Roses for the American Garden,100 Orchids for the American Gardener, and 100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden.

Customer Reviews

100 Old Roses For the American Garden
This book is fabulous. I am a beginner and it covers each rose in depth. At the front of the book is fascinating history on roses. Especially how roses were such a commodity in the 1600-1700 & 1800's. They even stopped a ship blockade to let the roses in.

I keep grabbing this book
Although this book isn't all-inclusive (after all, the title is 100 old roses), this is the book I reach for first. It's great when I'm trying to find out more information on a rose in a catalog, or looking for an old rose for a specific spot. First of all, I can't resist the pictures (but they may be slightly misleading as in the case of Blanc Double de Coubert which I've never seen growing with the great cutting stem as shown). Second, the text makes for amusing reading. It's oppinionated, and I like that. Third, there's the handy Index of Old Garden Roses by Color in the back. It's actually a little summary: flower style, plant type, and class e.g. Madame Isaac Pereire: cupped, tall, Bourbon. Very handy. The only thing that would make this better is if it had scratch and sniff (unfortunately not realistic)...since scent is such a subjective thing (I was so hot for Louise Odier until I smelled her and was surprised to find that I didn't like the fragrance).

Excellent resource for gardeners
If you are interested in growing roses and want to try some that are not just your basic Hybrid Teas, this is a wonderful book to get. You will drool over the pictures and the text is excellent. The pictures take one page and are a gorgeous shots of the bloom with a long stem and leaves. On the opposite page is text which goes into great detail about the rose characteristics, growth patterns, habits, vigor, etc. It is an invaluable book when trying to decide what old garden roses to introduce to your garden.

This format is so beautful and so useful, that I have purchased all of the gardening books in this "series" by this publisher. It is rare to get such excellent photos in combination with such useful text.

I started growing roses about five years ago and became frustrated with Hybrid Teas because of blackspot and their generally fussy behavior and stiff, formal flowers. This book and Liz Druitt's book were instrumental in getting me to try old garden roses, and am I glad I did! I would highly recommend this to both beginning gardeners and experienced, alike.