CLARITA™ – orange-red hybrid tea rose – MEIbyster
Clarita offers a reliably bushy hybrid-tea structure with solitary exhibition-quality blooms, ideal for a premium 5–7 L container route targeting exclusive finished product and cut-flower oriented ranges. The vivid orange-red, double chalice-shaped flowers are remontant with an abundant second flush, supporting season-long retail presence and show-garden display. On own roots, the cultivar forms a stable, renewable framework with 3–5 strong canes, giving predictable performance in nursery propagation beds and container production for thematic rose gardens and collections, even in colder UK sites where good winter and wind tolerance is valued. With low maintenance needs, strong disease resistant foliage, and a mild, harmonious fragrance, it provides a credible, long-term stock plant for nursery networks planning Year 1 root establishment, Year 2 structural build, and Year 3 full ornamental value.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- Premium 5–7 L exhibition hybrid tea – bush-trained own-root plants with 3–5 strong canes in 5–7 L pots, focused on flower form and colour quality for exclusive finished-product benches – target: upmarket retail / reseller channels.
- Collector’s orange-red hybrid tea selection – curated SKU within a thematic hybrid-tea range, using its Geneva gold medal and exhibition profile, produced from rooted cuttings for consistent identity – target: specialist-rose mail order and collection nurseries.
- Show-garden focal container – pre-formed bushy plants in a minimum 40–50 litre final container, capitalising on remontant, solitary blooms and colour stability for display beds – target: show-garden builders and public-realm suppliers.
- Cut-and-enjoy garden rose – premium container product emphasising solitary, long-stem hybrid-tea flowers and mild fragrance, grown from own-root material for long-term garden performance – target: garden centres with lifestyle-led rose assortments.
- Low-intervention border specimen – disease-resistant, low-maintenance plants in 5–7 L pots as ready border accents, built on own-root predictability and bushy habit – target: landscape-focused wholesalers and contractor supply chains.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as MEIbyster, marketed as Clarita™ hybrid tea rose MEIbyster; ARS exhibition name Clarita, within the commercial hybrid tea rose group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Alain Meilland, Meilland International, France, from ‘Tropicana’ × (‘Zambra’ × ‘Romantica’); introduced and registered in 1971, bred in France in the same year. |
| Awards and recognition |
Geneva International Rose Competition gold medal in 1971; also listed and commended in several catalogues under the name Atoll, indicating enduring exhibition and catalogue presence. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy habit, 70–100 cm high with 50–70 cm spread; moderately dense, glossy, dark green foliage and moderate prickliness, forming a compact, structurally balanced garden and container shrub. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double flowers with 26–39 petals, chalice-shaped and mainly solitary on stems; remontant habit with abundant second flowering, though spent blooms require deadheading due to weak self-cleaning. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vivid orange-red with slight vermilion tone; ARS orange-red, RHS 34A outer and 33B inner; buds open deep orange-red, then soften through uniform orange-red to pale coral as the blooms age. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Mild, subtly scented rose fragrance with a soft, harmonious character; primarily ornamental rather than strongly perfumed, offering a refined scent without dominating mixed plantings or display areas. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose hips form only occasionally due to double flowers; when present they are ovoid, 12–18 mm in diameter, orange-red in colour, with limited overall hip set contributing little to ornamental effect. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Rated resistant to powdery mildew, black spot and rust; hardy to approximately -15–-12 °C (RHS H6, Swedish Zone 2, USDA 7b), supporting reliable outdoor cultivation in many temperate regions. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Suited for borders, cut-flower use and specimen planting; best as a premium container product, bush-trained with 3–5 framework canes, combining low maintenance needs with strong disease resistance. |
CLARITA™ Hybrid tea rose MEIbyster combines strong disease resistance, exhibition-quality orange-red blooms and long-lived own-root stability, making it a dependable choice for planned premium container capacity; please contact us to discuss timing and volumes.
