Rose Breeder  

Listing last updated on Wed Aug 2024

Baltimore, Maryland
United States

From The American Florist, March 29, 1902, p. 366:
Obituary. James Pentland.
James Pentland, the dean of Baltimore florists, passed away very suddenly in the small hours of the morning of March 19, at the venerable age of 81 years. He was without doubt one of the oldest active florists in the United States and had been in business at his original location for more than half a century. He was born at Grey Abbey, County Down, in the north of Ireland, on October 28, 1821. His family came to America when the boy was eleven years of age, locating at Philadelphia, but removing to Baltimore in 1837. The lad had served an apprenticeship at gardening, and quickly found employment at Greenmount Cemetery, where he remained for several years. In 1849 he bought the property opposite the cemetery entrance, where he conducted his business until the day of his death. His principal stock in trade was bedding material and so forth, but he gave particular attention in the early days to garden roses, and prior to the Civil War he was given credit for having the largest collection and probably the largest output of plants of any florist in the country. Through long years of hybridization he evolved many good varieties, some of which he introduced to the trade, some of the best known being Dr. Kane, introduced in 1856; George Peabody, introduced in 1857, and Woodland Marguerite, introduced in 1859. Mr. Pentland also grew the camellia extensively and some of his seedlings are still in the trade. He was a man widely esteemed for his personal qualities, and his conversation was rich in reminiscences of the notable events of his long career. He was a Mason and for thirty-three years a member of the Maryland Institute. He also served as a director of the House of Refuge and was a member of the House of Delegates in 1868. He also served one year as president of the Baltimore Gardeners' and Florists' Club. Mr. Pentland was thrice married and is survived  by a widow and three children.  

[From Rose Letter, May 2013, p. 2:] James Pentland (1820-1902) of Baltimore, an immigrant from Ireland, worked first as a gardener at Green Mount Cemetery, then. after several years, opened a nursery across the road, selling grapes, bedding plants, cut flowers, and roses