''Rosa'' 'Louis de Funès' (aka MEIrestif) is an orange

hybrid tea rose Hybrid tea is an informal horticultural classification for a group of garden roses. The first hybrid tea roses were created in France in the mid-1800s, by cross-breeding the large, floriferous Hybrid Perpetuals with the tall, elegant Tea roses. T ...

, bred by

Marie-Louise Meilland Marie-Louise ("Louisette") Paolino Meilland (1920–1987) was a French rose breeder and co-owner of Meilland International SA, Meilland International in France. She was married to renowned rose breeder, Francis Meilland, who bred the world famous ...

before 1987. Meilland International introduced the rose in France in 1987. It was named after the famous

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

comedian Louis de Funès(1914 - 1983).

Description

'Louis de Funès' is a medium, upright hybrid tea rose, in height, with a spread. The plant has a large, high-centered, double bloom form and flowers are carried singly carried on long stems. Bloom color is orange-nasturtium with a darker orange at the edges and a yellow-orange base. The backs of petals are yellow. The rose has a light, fruity scent. It has medium green leaves and many prickles It is very disease resistant.

History

Meilland International

The Meilland Family is a multi-generational family of

rose breeders. The family's first rosarian was gardener,

Joseph Rambaux Joseph Rambaux (1820–1878) was a gardener and rose breeder from Lyon, France. He is considered the patriarch of the legenday Meilland family, award-winning rose breeders for six generations. The rose variety he is best remembered for is the P ...

, who first started breeding roses in 1850 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. He is best known for developing the

Polyantha Garden roses are predominantly hybrid roses that are grown as ornamental plants in private or public gardens. They are one of the most popular and widely cultivated groups of flowering plants, especially in temperate climates. An enormous number ...

'Perle d'Or'. His wife, Claudine and son-in-law, Francois Dubreuil, took over the nursery after Rambaux died in 1878. Dubreuil became a successful rose breeder and grower. In 1900, Dubreuil hired sixteen year old, Antoine Meilland, as a gardening assistant, where he met Dubreul's daughter, Claudia. Antoine and Claudia married in 1909 and their son,

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

was born in 1912. The couple took over Dubareuil's nursery after his death in 1916. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Antoine and Claudia bought property in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, near Lyon and started a new nursery. Their son, Francis, married Marie-Louise (Louisette) Paolino, daughter of an Italian rose breeder in 1939. Francis expanded the family business over time into a large, international company, and became the most famous and prolific rose breeder in the family. His legendary 'Peace' rose, brought the family international attention and great commercial success when it was introduced after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Meilland family merged their business with Francisque Richardier in 1946, so that Francis Meilland could focus solely on breeding roses. After Francis's early death in 1958, Louisette continued to breed roses, introducing many awarding winning new varieties. The new company, Meilland-Richardier grew into Meilland International (AKA House of Meilland), and is located in

Le Luc en Provence Le Luc (; Provençal: ''Lo Luc''), also known as Le Luc-en-Provence (''Lo Luc de Provença''), is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 11,094. Le Luc is ...

, France. Francis and Louisette's children, Alain and Michele, are both successful rose breeders and continue to manage the company.

'Louis de Funès'

'Louis de Funès' was bred in France by Marie-Louise "Louisette" Meilland before 1987. It was introduced in France by Meilland International in 1987. Meilland developed the cultivar by crossing hybrid teas, ('Ambassador' x 'Whiskey Mac') x ( 'Arthur Bell' x 'Kabuki'). 'Louis de Funès' The rose is named after the comedian Louis de Funès (July 31, 1914 - Jan. 27, 1983). It has four child plants: 'Abbaye de Cluny', 'Betty White', 'Duftjuwel', and 'Line Renaud'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosa 'Louis de Louis de Funès'

Rose cultivars A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

1987 introductions