Rosa Auguste Escoffier - Floribunda Rose

The 'Auguste Escoffier' Rose, dedicated to the most famous chef of his time, is a truly exceptional Meilland variety. Combining the charm of old-fashioned roses with the floribundity of modern roses, it offers beautiful roses that evoke the colour and sweet almond scent of the most famous creation of Auguste Escoffier: the peach melba. The bush is very healthy and its vegetation is well balanced, offering an abundance of flowers until late autumn. Its excellent disease resistance and compact habit make it a versatile rose that thrives in all regions, both in the garden and in a large pot. And its flowers are perfect in romantic bouquets.

The 'Auguste Escoffier' Rose is a floribunda bush rose with large clustered flowers, introduced in 2020 by the rose breeder Meilland. This creation won the 1st Prize of Horticultural Students in Lyon in 2018 and the Grand Prix SNHF (National Horticultural Society of France) in 2021. With a bushy and harmonious habit, it reaches an average height of 90 cm (35in) and a spread of 50 cm (20in) at maturity, with rapid growth. It produces strong, thorny branches that bear beautiful foliage divided into large toothed leaflets of a semi-matte medium green. This foliage is slightly tinged with bronze-red on the young shoots. Throughout the summer, and until October if faded flowers are removed, the plant produces waves of 8 cm (3in) flowers, clustered in small bouquets of 2 to 5 units, with a quartered old-fashioned shape. They are composed of about forty petals that evolve from peach-orange to apricot and raspberry-pink, surrounding a golden heart. Together, they create a beautiful gradient throughout the plant. Their fragrance is light. The deciduous foliage persists on the plant until late in the season, but is absent in winter.

The 'Auguste Escoffier' rose is superb in mass plantings, in groups of 5 specimens, in large monochrome borders, or in combination with white or orange roses. It also blends well with light shrubs, perennials, and annuals such as delphiniums, campanulas, paniculate phlox, or tall foxgloves. It can be effectively showcased in front of a boxwood or yew hedge, or alternatively surrounded by a miniature hedge or a carefully designed maze, as in Italian or French gardens. At its base, one can plant a herbaceous clematis with blue flowers, such as Clematis heracleifolia, or a Sollya heterophylla in milder climates. This variety also adapts very well to being grown in a large pot for ornamenting terraces and balconies. Finally, its roses are stunning in bouquets, combined with lilies and hydrangeas in summer or with asters in autumn.