The article is devoted to the activities of Richard Ivanovich Schroeder, an outstanding Russian scientist, practitioner and teacher in the field of Horticulture. The outstanding role of R.I. Schroeder in the development of scientific horticulture, vegetable growing and ornamental gardening, in the foundation of educational activities in the Petrovsky (now the RSAU-MTAA) Academy is described. Information about the main directions of scientific activity of R.I. Schroeder is presented. Among them are: the introduction and acclimatization of plants, the breeding of new stable forms of perennial garden plants, the creation of an outstanding monument of gardening and landscape art of the Arboretum named after R.I. Schroeder. The classic work of R.I. Schroeder “Russkiy ogorod, pitomnik i plodoviy sad [Russian vegetable garden, nursery and orchard]” was a reference book for many generations of Russian gardeners. It has not lost its relevance in the present. The last edition of this outstanding work was in 2008. The scientific, pedagogical, and practical activity of this outstanding person became the foundation for the subsequent development of scientific and pedagogical schools in the field of horticulture.