Rosa x polyantha Friendly 'Pink Meissalu' - Polyantha Rose

The Rose Friendly 'Pink Meissalu' is a recent creation by Meilland, dating back to 2021. It produces simple wild rose flowers with five petals in a bright pink colour, marked with white at the centre, with a bunch of yellow stamens in the heart. Rich in pollen and nectar, before transforming into bright red hips, they bring joy to pollinators and birds. Very easy to grow and highly disease-resistant, this well-branched bush rose, with a balanced appearance, is a friend of natural, ecological gardens or gardens with a rustic or slightly wild look.

The Rose Friendly 'Pink Meissalu' bears flowers grouped in terminal clusters, ranging from 3 to 25 units, which come from the polyantha rose, an old hybrid derived from Rosa multiflora and R. chinensis. It belongs to the Meillandecor series of landscape roses, featuring varieties with exceptional natural resistance to diseases and parasites, with an almost permanent decorative effect. Their foliage is dense; these roses offer abundant, long, uninterrupted flowering until the first frost. The roses in the Friendly range have a very bushy habit, as wide as they are tall, reaching about 80 cm (32in) to 1m (3ft) in all directions when fully grown. They develop deciduous, matte green foliage, absent in winter. The single flowers, measuring 5 to 6 cm (2in) in diameter, with five petals, resemble ancestral wild roses. They bloom in large numbers in wide pyramidal clusters from May to October-November, as long as there is no frost. The colour of 'Pink Meissalu' is a medium, vibrant pink marked with white.

This Rose Friendly 'Pink Meissalu' fits into an ecological approach in the garden, where phytosanitary treatments are unnecessary, wildlife is welcome, and flowering is abundant. Maintenance is reduced to a few waterings during marked drought periods and an annual plant pruning. Hardy and highly versatile, this rose can be grown in any climate and any soil that is not too dry or poor. It can be integrated into flower beds, low hedges or planted in groups of 3. Choose diverse shrubs to accompany it, such as evergreen Ceanothus, small Vitex, or buddleias for pots. Add perennial and annual plants that follow the same philosophy, are melliferous, and require limited maintenance, such as naturalising bulbs and grasses.