Rosa 'Monica Bellucci' - Hybrid Tea Rose

The 'Monica Bellucci' Rose is a truly glamorous modern hybrid tea rose dedicated to the Italian actress of the same name. A rose had to be exceptional in both colour and the shape and fragrance of its flowers. They are large, fully double and perfectly formed, with a rare colour, a deep pink with silver-white reverse. An intense fragrance with peppery, spicy and anise notes accompanies their captivating beauty. The roses bloom from May to October on matte foliage and are resistant to diseases—a prestigious rose, magnificent in a vase.

The 'Monica Bellucci' or 'Meimonkeur' is a modern bush rose with large flowers bred by Meilland in 2010. This dense, bushy, and upright shrub, well-balanced, reaches about 90 cm (35in) in height and 70 cm (28in) in width at maturity, with rapid growth. It produces robust, thorny and well-branched branches, which bear elegant foliage, bronze at the beginning and then medium green with a matte finish, resistant to diseases. Throughout the summer, if faded flowers are removed, the plant continuously produces large bicoloured flowers measuring 13 cm (5in) in diameter, with the typical turbinated shape of hybrid tea roses. They comprise 50 petals edged with deep and vivid pink on the front and white on the reverse, opening to a tightly packed centre. They are borne at the end of long shoots from the current year or emerging from 2-year-old stems. A pronounced and complex fragrance distinguishes the repeat-flowering.

This modern rose 'Monica Bellucci' is seductive and easy to grow in well-prepared ordinary soil. Although it may not be the easiest to match in the garden due to its bicoloured colour and the somewhat artificial appearance of its roses, it captivates with its exceptional fragrance and brilliant flowering. In a bouquet, it will perfume the house, opening the doors to a world of oriental scents. It will find its place in the garden in a large bed of delicate flowering shrubs (Abelia, pink spireas, wild rose roses) that will not overshadow its beauty, under a window, near a pathway or as a standalone plant in a well-maintained small garden. It adapts to all soils that are not too chalky and to all climates, which allows it to be welcomed without reservation from the north to the south of our country, even at medium altitudes. It pairs perfectly with pretty and easy-to-grow plants such as perennial geraniums, bellflowers, or foxgloves.