Hardy Roses: The Essential Guide for High Latitudes and Altitudes

The classic guide fully updated and expanded with the addition of over 25 hardy rose cultivars. In Hardy Roses, author Bob Osborne shares his decades of experience raising roses without any chemicals in some of the coldest winters. Roses need not be intimidating and doomed to inevitable failure, regardless of the climate. With this indispensable guide, northern gardeners can enjoy that early snowstorm confident that their carefully tended roses will survive. For this new edition of his classic guide, Osborne has fully revised and updated his text. In the first part of the book, he carefully guides readers through the process of selecting, planting and caring for roses, touching on topics such as overwintering, pests and diseases, and propagation as he goes along. The second section profiles over 100 hardy rose cultivars divided into four main categories: climbers, tall shrubs, semi-vigorous shrubs and low shrubs. The guide also features a North American zone map and a detailed chart of hardy cultivars — ideal to use while shopping — describing color, form, hardiness, zone, vigor, fragrance, season, disease susceptibility and much more. More than 125 exquisite photographs convey the roses’ subtle coloration and beauty, and detailed line drawings illustrate the best planting, maintaining and propagating techniques for hardy roses. As the only authoritative book on growing roses in colder climates, Hardy Roses is essential reading for gardeners who want to experience the joy of cultivating these beautiful plants.