Mona Lisa® Romantica® MEIlyxir – pharmaROSA® NEONATAL rooted cutting
With its compact growth, scarlet colour impact and proven hardiness, Mona Lisa® Romantica® MEIlyxir offers nursery producers a predictable, own-root propagation base for standard container programmes and bed or border assortments, while remaining flexible for 2–3 L containers and collection-led projects in public or thematic rose gardens. This floribunda’s bushy habit and dense mid-green foliage support homogeneous stands for bed and specimen use, suited to UK conditions that frequently demand reliable winter and wind tolerance across sites. As tray-rooted, 3–6-month-old pharmaROSA® NEONATAL material, it slots efficiently into nursery networks and integrator workflows where continuous, uniform quality and renewable own-root stock underpin long-term supply and reduce replacement risk over the typical year‑one roots, year‑two shoots, year‑three full-value development arc.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- Scarlet Bed Rose 2L – compact, bush-trained plants in 2 L pots highlighting the saturated scarlet-red clusters and uniform 55–80 cm habit, positioned as reliable garden performance bedding lines for colour-driven retail/reseller benches.
- Premium Awarded Floribunda 3L – 3 L standard container SKU using the ADR-certified, medal-winning background to support a slightly higher price point while retaining moderate maintenance expectations for quality-focused retail/reseller partners.
- Romantica® Collection Feature – curated Romantica® range block with Mona Lisa® as the scarlet component, grown from NEONATAL own-root cuttings into 2–3 L pots for thematic rose collections in specialist retail/reseller channels.
- Compact Specimen Accent – individually labelled, bush-trained specimens emphasising dense foliage and large, very double rosette blooms, offered in 3 L containers as patio or small-garden accents for mainstream retail/reseller distribution.
- Municipal Bed Contract Line – production-run trays for onward potting to 2–3 L or direct planting in beds, exploiting the hardy, compact structure and predictable colour for public-realm and municipal schemes supplied via contract-oriented retail/reseller partners.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Floribunda bedding rose, registered as MEIlyxir, marketed as Mona Lisa® Romantica® MEIlyxir, with exhibition use as shrub rose and exhibition floribunda; authenticity verified and catalogued under item [612] 20-920. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred in France by Michèle Meilland Richardier, Meilland International SA, with 2003 breeding, registration and introduction; parentage is unknown but aligned with the Romantica® collection selection criteria. |
| Awards and recognition |
Bronze medal at Monza International Rose Competition 2003, ADR certification in Germany 2004, plus Grand Prix de la Rose first prize from SNHF in 2011, supporting its use in higher-profile assortments. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, compact plants 55–80 cm high and 40–55 cm spread, with dense, mid-green, slightly glossy foliage and moderate prickliness; weak self-cleaning means spent blooms can persist due to very double flowers. |
| Flower morphology |
Large L-sized rosette blooms, 2.75–3.95 inches, very double with 40+ petals, remontant with an abundant second flush, borne in clusters providing strong visual effect in beds and container displays. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vivid, saturated scarlet-red flowers with RHS 46A outer and 45A inner tones, glossy petal surface, good colour retention, slight deepening in cooler weather and only minor lightening under hot conditions. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Classic rose fragrance character but very weak and barely noticeable, making the cultivar primarily an ornamental choice where colour and form dominate over scent in garden and project specifications. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose-hip formation is limited by the very double flowers; occasional small, 6–9 mm red spherical hips may appear, but fruiting is generally not a significant ornamental or production feature. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to around -26 to -23 °C, RHS H7, Swedish Zone 4 and USDA 5b, with medium resistance to powdery mildew, black spot and rust; moderate heat and drought tolerance requires regular watering in hot periods. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Recommended for beds, borders, containers and specimen use on a bush-trained, compact framework; best routed through standard container production in 2–3 L pots, with moderate maintenance and occasional plant protection. |
Mona Lisa® Romantica® MEIlyxir combines compact bedding performance, award-backed scarlet colour and hardy, own-root reliability to support predictable, regenerative long-term stands; we would welcome a discussion to align volumes and scheduling to your programmes.
