PRINCESS MEIKO – hybrid tea rose rooted cutting for professional production
Premium own-root PRINCESS MEIKO forms a bush-trained, bushy hybrid tea with dense, dark green foliage and compact 70–95 cm height, delivering uniform propagation lots for UK nursery and wholesale systems where stability of colour and form is key in thematic rose gardens and show collections. Its vivid, pink, very double rosette blooms (40+ petals, ARS DP, RHS 57B/57C) were recognised with a Moscow Russian Gold Medal in 2019 and offer reliable exhibition-grade quality for exclusive finished product routes. Onward production from 3–6‑month, tray-rooted cuttings supports predictable year‑1 root establishment, year‑2 shoot framework, and year‑3 full ornamental value, while own-root longevity and regeneration help maintain homogeneous stands with low replacement in integrated nursery networks. With hardiness to RHS H7 and zoned to USDA 6b, PRINCESS MEIKO fits UK climates, including cooler Scottish and northern sites where winter and wind tolerance underpin reliable stock fields. Low maintenance demand and strong disease resistance simplify large-scale management, while the recommended 5–7 L premium container route supports an exclusive retail profile and reseller partnerships, and can be extended into 40–50 L and larger show-garden specimens as collection anchors.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- Premium 5–7 L hybrid tea feature rose – Bush-trained, compact own-root plants in 5–7 L containers showcasing vivid, uniform pink rosette blooms and low disease intervention, positioned as an exclusive hybrid tea highlight on premium retail benches – retail / reseller.
- Collection-grade 40–50 L show specimen – Larger 40–50 L containers built from NEONATAL stock to create dense, dark green bushes with award-recognised flower form, ideal as anchor plants in thematic rose gardens and curated hybrid tea displays – show-garden and project buyers.
- Boutique cut-flower mother block – Bush-trained, own-root nursery beds providing stable, regenerating plants with uniform solitary blooms for small-batch cutting, aligning with premium flower-quality propositions in branded hybrid tea cut-stem programmes – specialist floriculture partners.
- Cold-hardy exhibition range for northern outlets – H7-hardy 5–7 L units grown from NEONATAL material to supply northern retailers with reliable, exclusive hybrid tea colour and form, reducing winter-loss risk and underpinning long-term stock planning – garden-centre chains and regional wholesalers.
- Named hybrid tea collection line – Uniform own-root plants developed into mid-size containers to form clear, labelled hybrid tea collections, with dense foliage and stable pink colour supporting identity-focused, exclusive assortment concepts – nurseries building branded rose collections.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Princess Meiko hybrid tea rose Kunieda; trade name PRINCESS MEIKO – pink tea-hybrid rose - Kunieda; hybrid tea commercial group; exhibition use as cut flower and show garden rose; registered name not provided. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Keiji Kunieda in Japan (breeding year 2018) within the Rose Farm Keiji / Wabara programme at Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture; introduced commercially in 2019, with initial distribution by Alexandra Farms (further data not provided). |
| Awards and recognition |
Recognised with a Russian Gold Medal in Moscow in 2019, underlining its exhibition potential and confirming the high standard of its flower quality and form; no additional global or collectors’ awards are currently documented. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy hybrid tea shrub reaching approximately 70–95 cm in height with a 45–60 cm spread; dense, dark green glossy foliage (RHS 137A) on moderately thorny stems; bush-trained forms typically built on 3–5 strong framework canes. |
| Flower morphology |
Very double rosette blooms with more than 40 petals, primarily solitary on the stems and classed as small-flowered (around 0.5–1.5 inches in diameter); remontant habit with an abundant second flowering period; self-cleaning behaviour not provided. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Uniform vivid pink bloom colour, coded ARS DP and RHS 57B outer, 57C inner; deep hot-pink buds open to rich, radiant rosettes with generally good colour retention, only slight fading, and no specific issues recorded under strong sunlight. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
No noticeable fragrance reported; fragrance strength rated as unscented, making it primarily an ornamental, visually focused cultivar rather than one selected for scent; highly double form also limits its value for pollinator-attraction purposes. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose hips are expected to form only to a limited degree due to the highly double blooms; when present they are small, spherical, around 7–10 mm diameter, and red in colour (RHS 40A); hips are not a primary ornamental or production feature. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Good disease profile with documented resistance to powdery mildew, black spot, and rust; winter hardy to approximately -21 to -18 °C, corresponding to RHS H7, Swedish hardiness zone 3, and USDA zone 6b; no specific heat or drought data provided. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Primarily recommended for cut flowers and exclusive finished products; maintenance requirement is reported as low, with generally good disease resistance; advised release as bush-trained plants with 3–5 canes in premium 5–7 L containers from own-root cuttings. |
PRINCESS MEIKO combines compact bushy habit, vivid award-recognised pink blooms, strong disease resistance, and long-lived own-root predictability, providing nurseries with a stable, exclusive hybrid tea line it is worth aligning capacity and scheduling around in discussion.
