Rosa Best Friend - Hybrid Tea Rose

The Caprice de Meilland® ‘Meisionver’ Rose, which combines elegance, brilliance and abundance, is a diva in the garden and a star as cut flowers. Its large, highly fragrant, turbinate roses display an intense and luminous pink, a strong and dynamic colour that stands out in the garden. They bloom successively from spring until the first frosts on foliage that remains impeccable. With a balanced and vigorous habit, the bush will make a striking impact in a flowerbed or even in a large pot on the patio.

The Caprice de Meilland® ‘Meisionver’ Rose is a creation by the Meilland house introduced on the market in 1997, sometimes sold under the name Best Friend Rose. This variety has been widely awarded for its exceptional fragrance, notably winning the Fragrance Prize at the International New Roses Competition in Bagatelle, Paris, in 1997. It belongs to the horticultural group of large-flowered bush roses also known as hybrid teas, renowned for their large, single flowers borne on long stems and for their upright habit.​

The Caprice de Meilland® rose has a well-balanced, bushy habit, reaching a height of 80 cm to 1.10 m and a spread of 50 cm within a few years. Its turbinate flowers of approximately 12 cm in diameter and formed of 35 petals showcase an intense Bengal pink hue - a bright and vivid shade of pink often associated with a lively tone slightly leaning towards fuchsia red. Its name comes from the Bengali region in Asia where this colour is traditionally used in textiles. The powerful fragrance of these roses combines hints of May rose and passion fruit. The dense, medium-green, semi-matt foliage offers excellent disease resistance. Flowering extends from May-June until October-November, ceasing with the frosts or during summer droughts. The thorny stems bear compound leaves with ovate, dentate, medium green leaflets. The foliage is deciduous, falling in autumn and regrowing the following spring.

Since its introduction in 1997, the Caprice de Meilland® rose bush has won over rose enthusiasts with its beauty and exquisite fragrance. Perhaps its name references the unpredictable emotions and desires of love, much like a fleeting passion or changing affection. In any case, it perfectly describes this extremely alluring rose.

The Caprice de Meilland® Rose will unfold its charm in a garden where it takes centre stage, surrounded by plants chosen to enhance its brilliance. You can plant it in groups of 3 to 5 specimens in a large flowerbed or a small flowering hedge. Consider pairing it for example with some Tulbaghia, with their delicate umbels of mauve, pink, or white flowers. Pink or white daylilies will highlight the perfect opulence and brilliance of its flowers. Opt for the silvery foliage of some Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ to surround your rose with a soft glow throughout the seasons. Pick its roses to create elegant, fragrant cut flower displays.