Meilland: A Life in Roses

 “Because we rose breeders are always looking into the future, always hoping that this year’s cross-pollination will yield exciting results for rose lovers to enjoy eight to ten years from now, we must be optimists. Like Papa Meilland and like my rose-growing-and-breeding ancestors before them, I still get a tre­mendous burst of enthusiasm each spring when I see our new crop of seed­lings peeking through the soil in our re­search greenhouses.”—from the Preface

 

Meilland tells the story of five genera­tions of his family as they cultivate, experiment with, market, and develop new breeds of the aristocrat of flowers. As he shares the history of this French hor­ticultural elite, he provides an informal treatise on roses, their place in history, and their development under floricul­ture from a simple wild plant to the extravagantly beautiful and complex blooms of today.

 

Meilland takes us into the greenhouses that serve as laboratories and demonstrates how new roses are created, how from a bed of 2,500 seedlings, the result of cross-breeding, there may be only one or two roses selected for propagation and sale. He also permits us a view inside the management and organization of the worldwide rose establishment. Even while dealing with commerce on such a large scale, he doesn’t lose sight of the human element: he presents an engaging picture of his grandparents and parents as they became France’s premier rose grow­ers through their persistent hard work.

 

The Pilgrims who settled America brought rose bushes with them aboard the Mayflower, and Meilland concludes his book with a chapter of practical advice for those who are following in their floricultural footsteps. In addition, the translators have updated, expanded, and adapted for American rose growers the original section on diseases and pesticides.