This rose encyclopaedia provides a comprehensive history and a useful manual for all rose growers and rose lovers. It identifies and describes all the species, cultivars and varieties that have stood the test of time, including the Ancient China teas, the York and Lancaster roses, the Provence and Bourbons, and the humble and hardy rugosas. A major part of this work is the grower's guide to the buying, propagation, feeding and pruning of old roses and important hybrids, shrub roses and climbers. There is also details of where old roses can best be seen around the world. Peter Beales is the author of Twentieth-Century Roses and Roses: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia .