DIRK'S ROSE BIBLE : Matthias Meilland interview

I'm honored to give you this interview I did with Matthias Meilland from Meilland Richardier and a member of our group:

Dirk: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for our group members Matthias. How does it feel to be part of one of the most famous and respected rose nurseries in the world?

Matthias: Well, being born into it, it as always seams normal.

For me everyone was doing this : breeding, selection, traveling to check the tests, open discussion with other breeders... etc.

It's only when I became active in the company that I found out that we are one of the 'most famous' as you say.

Part of our work is to give to gardeners (expert or not) a thrill, something to experience, something to share and talk about. May you see roses as a collectible, as a character in your garden or simply as something positive (gardening as a workout, feeding the birds and bees, just for your eyes or nose happiness), it always comes back to the people that though the cross, set up the selection process and try to bring it to the market.

Being part of those people (my family and the team at Meilland) brings joy and pride to me. For sure, there is the weight of history, but I see it more as a compas than as a burden.

Dirk: For more than one century the Hybrid Teas have dominated the rose world. Is this still the case today?

Matthias: Well, this is a tricky question which is, I guess directed to the garden world, because in terms of rose cut flower, HT's are still doing 70 to 80% of the production and sales ;)

In the garden rose lines, there is much more diversity than in the cut flower roses, and HT's are one of the types of roses. Since the late 70's, we started to look at roses for garden in terms of disease resistance, low maintenance, easy care and blooming power...etc. And the HT's were not the gene pool that was bringing those qualities to roses. This is when we started to work on the selection of Meidiland roses (Landscape shrubs and ground cover). Late 90's KNOCK OUT was selected in this system. But we didn't stop breeding for HT's, it's just that new HT's have blood of those healthier and more blooming types and it took longer to breed a Prince Jardinier (AARS, ADR, SNHF) or a Line Renaud (AGRS, ADR, SNHF) than a Drift or another Meidiland.

So I would say that 156 years that the HT's have been created by Guillot, its golden age is still here today but have changed from a garden plant for people to enjoy to a cut flower production 'machine' to harvest a maximum of stems per m2.

Dirk: Since David Austin's English roses became popular we see this resurrection of fragrant to very fragrant roses with most breeders. Why did fragrance become less important to breeders in the mid twentieth century and is it more difficult to develop more fragrant roses?

Matthias: Could you tell me when 'David Austin's English roses' have became popular ? 😉

Dirk: In the nineties?

Matthias: Was it before or after 1982 and Eden Rose release 😂 ?

Dirk: Well, after yes

Matthias: The english rose style was already there before Austin 'trademark' it. Eden Rose was released in Germany in 1982, Yves Piaget also. Eden is not fragrance, but it is the most iconic 'English rose' bred by a french-italian woman call Louisette Meilland. Yves piaget has been called the Peony rose, it was also something new for the market.

Even if we had focus like Kordes on health and because we are in the south on blooming power, we always propose out of the 10 to 20 novelties we are releasing worldwide 2 or 3 fragrant varieties.

Meilland international catalog is 400 varieties (protected and trademarked), and selection are done locally (USA/Canada, North Europe, South Europe, Japan, Australia) to be sure to give to the local gardeners a variety that is adapted to their conditions and their desire.

The 2 varieties i cited above (Prince Jardinier (AARS, ADR, SNHF) or a Line Renaud (AGRS, ADR, SNHF)) are examples of breeding done for blooming power, disease resistance and fragrance ;) but we didn't stop there. Elegance Française, Orchid Romance (Raddler), Jean de la Fontaine and many more have this ability to be a no spray rose and a big flower with fragrance.

We also had a check in the catalog of my great great grand father in comparison to our catalog nowadays. The percentage of fragrant rose we propose is the same than before ;)

Fragrances being our strongest memories, we think that people who says that roses are less fragrant than before tent to remember the one variety that was fragrant in their grand parents house, and forgetting the 9 others that wasn't.

For the moment, we have not been able to see any serious publication stating that "breeders have lost the fragrance". ;)

Dirk: How do you see the future in rose breeding? With challenges like climate change and more emphasis on ecology?

Matthias: As we already did 40 years ago the emphasis on ecology (no spray rose, bee friendly rose...).

And we started 20 years ago to test garden roses in subtropical and equatorial climate at sea level. Our roses are tested in most of the climatic conditions but with an extra focus on the south. Why? well, because the climat is getting warmer. Extension of the blooming period, tropical disease, poor soil, lots of rains or lack of rains... all those datas are to be taken into account to breed the next Peace, the next bonica, the next eden rose.

We are now working on urban roses. The Streetcolor rang of roses have just came out this year. This was selected for cities. Zepeti and Lilly Rose was selected for balconies and side windows. Slowly roses could be use as a 'vertical urban naturalization'. This was the theme of my PPT at the WFRS World convention in Adelaide 2022.

Dirk: There are so many roses, which ones are your favorites and why?

Matthias: I'm french ;) so I fell in love too often. Each year out of the hundred of thousands of new seedling, I'm always falling in love for a couple of them.

Today I think the best in our breeding, that resumes the last century and the start of the new one is Line Renaud (Elbflorenz). we are just so close to perfection.

On the technical side, it is a great rose to graft and to do cuttings with. It's handles well at harvest and grows well in pots. It has a fantastic blooming power and in most climats it grows without any care.

The color is also great, it's a big flower and with lots of petals, the plant shape is between an HT and a shrub rose and the fragrance is totally intoxicating.

It's everything everyone wants a rose to be. This is why this variety can be found in all the 62 countries we are working with and even beyond ;)

Dirk: Thank you for this interview and making time for us Matthias!

Matthias: It's been my pleasure!