[From
The Book on Roses, by Dr. G. Griffin Lewis, p. 134:] John Cook of Baltimore, Md., for years known as the father of American rosarians, died on Oct. 9, 1929, in his 96th year. He was born in Freiburg, Germany, in 1833, and since the age of fourteen has spent his life in horticultural pursuits. He came to America when seventeen and worked for David Clark, then one of the most prominent florists in New York City. Later he went to Baltimore and took charge of a private estate.
[From
The Rose: An Encyclopedia of North American Roses, Rosarians, and Rose Lore, by Sean McCann, pp. 48-9:] More than two dozen rose varieties are credited to this German-born hybridizer... Cook came to America from Germany as Johann Koch in 1853 and found a job with a florist... Cook took an interest in hybridizing roses -- and eventually twenty-eight varieties were listed to his name... A rose garden was planted in Baltimore in Cook's honor in 1941 but fell into disrepair. In 1989, family members moved the garden to Druid Hill, Baltimore, where it includes plantings of some of the roses for which he was responsible... [
Please see source for more information and a photograph.]
[From The Old Rose Adventurer, by Brent Dickerson, p. 398:] John Cook of Baltimore [obtained the first American Hybrid Tea]... His first successful hybrid, 'Souvenir of Wootton', was sent out in 1888... 'My Maryland' (HT), 'Radiance' (HT), 'Panama' (HT), 'Francis Scott Key' (HT)... died October 9, 1929.
[From Roll Call: The Old Rose Breeder, p. 92:]
[John] Cook & Son
Baltimore, Maryland
