Product Description

“American Beauty,” “Dublin Bay,” “Rocketeer,” “Betty Boop,” “High Noon,” “Pearly Gates”…with a distinctive name for each of hundreds of varieties, the array of roses that could adorn your garden is both dazzling and daunting. So which ones survive hardily on their own for weeks on end, and which ones wither and die without constant attention? How do you tell a climber from a shrub, and how does each thrive? And don’t even start with pruning!

Despite all the (ahem) thorny particulars, gardeners still love to grow these beautiful flowers that would by any other name still smell as sweet. Roses for Dummies does away with the myth that roses have to be high maintenance, instead showing how to choose a type that will blossom in your care. Inside, rosarians of all levels will find useful information on:

• Shopping for roses
• Planting
• Watering and mulching
• Fertilizing
• Pruning
• Protecting roses from weather and pests
• And more

Roses for Dummies contains everything you need to know to get started, or, if you’re more advanced, refine your knowledge of roses. Now in a new Second Edition with more than 100 new varieties described, as well as new information on insect and disease control, this helpful guide also covers:

• Landscaping with roses
• What makes a rose fragrant
• Roses and their partners in the garden
• Growing in containers
• Drying roses and making potpourri
• Rose societies and other places to see roses
• Ten roses to avoid if you’re not an expert

Whether looking for nothing more than a sweet–smelling decoration to brighten your doorstep, or looking to enter a major rose competition, discoveries about this much–loved flower await you. Full of pointers, resources, pitfalls, vocabulary, and an eye–popping full color insert, this book will help you grow the roses of your dreams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176178 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

From the Back Cover
"Rose growers will find advice that is abundant and extremely helpful." —Bill Marken, eHow.com

"Easy solutions ... answers to all my puzzling questions." —Jan Weverka, The Rose Garden Newsletter

Praise for Roses For Dummies
"One of my favorite books on roses." Joan Franson, American Rose

"Thorough, easy–to–read ...well–researched and well–organized." Portland Oregonian

"Packed with modern techniques for cultivating roses in almost any space and climate." Country Decorating Ideas

"Even experienced gardeners will find this book a handy reference." Orange County Register

With new color photos and coverage of 75 additional roses

A rose book by any other name wouldn′t spell things out as sweet! Now updated with coverage of more roses including the new English roses plus new illustrations, new zone maps, and more, this bestselling guide shows you step–by–step how to create the rose garden of your dreams.

Discover how to:

• Understand the different kinds of roses
• Integrate roses into your garden
• Choose plants by color, fragrance, and hardiness
• Water, mulch, fertilize, and prune
• Protect against pests and bad weather
• Locate rose resources and shows

• Register to win cool prizes
• Browse exclusive articles and excerpts
• Get a free Dummies Daily e–mail newsletter
• Chat with authors and preview other books
• Talk to us, ask questions, get answers

About the Author
Lance Walheim is the author of more than 40 gardening books.

The National Gardening Association publishes National Gardening magazine and has co–authored many For Dummies gardening books.

Customer Reviews

This book gave me the courage to be ruthless
You can tell from the other reviews that this book has the strengths and weaknesses of the other Dummies Books.
So I will tell you how this helped me. Twice this book has helped me. First I bought a Lady Banks (Rosa banksiae) rose, I did not realize that they grew VIGOROUSLY and could spread over 20 feet. This was a small area. After reading this in the "Roses for Dummies" book I ran outside ad saw Lady Banks reaching for my cat. Needles to say she (the rose) was moved to a location where she could go wild. My cat has recovered. The more important thing I learned from this book was that you have to be ruthless when it comes to pruning. Before the book I snipped and trimmed my floribundas, as any sane person would do with their favorite hedge. Well it got gnarled and mildewed. So back to the book I went to find in chapter 19 that the proper way to shear this particular type of rose was under the heading of "The shear pleasure of pruning floribundas and polyanthus" After that I did not even need to read the mildew section.
The only dummy is the one that does not buy this book.

Great. Clear, informative and useful.
Obviously written by an expert, this book lets you zero in on exactly the information you want, or read page-by-page for a constantly interesting flow of information. A great section of tables help you narrow down your selection to fit your region and and amount of effort you feel like putting in. Makes you feel that you, too, can grow your own beautiful rose bushes!

i also read computers for dummies and both are informative
This book will answer all your questions especially the ones your afraid to ask... or should be. EX: My brother once asked my mother how she got the daffidils to all face the same direction!!! lol...he never lived it down! Read this book and have a great garden "painlessly".