Francis Meilland™ Rose Wins 2013 AARS Honors

West Grove, PA—All-America Rose Selections® (AARS) has named the Francis Meilland™ rose its 2013 winner. It is the second consecutive year that a Conard-Pyle Company rose has had the honor of being named the sole winner. This is the second consecutive AARS winner from Conard-Pyle; Sunshine Daydream was the 2012 AARS winner.

“We are honored that the Francis Meilland rose has received this recognition,” said Steve Hutton, Conard-Pyle president. “This rose is special to us not just because its exceptional beauty, fragrance and performance, but because it symbolizes of our long relationship with Meilland International.”

The Francis Meilland™ rose is named to commemorate the centenary of Francis Meilland’s birth, and to honor the Conard-Pyle Company’s historic relationship with Meilland International, the breeder behind the historic Peace rose and, most recently, the Drift® series of groundcover roses. It is the first hybrid tea rose to win under no-spray conditions. AARS members recently voted to stop all fungicidal spraying of test roses, ensuring that the winners can perform without any added chemicals.

Francis Meilland™ is a tall hybrid tea rose with a very large bloom, good exhibition form and strong fragrance. It is also a multiple-award-winner in Europe, where it excelled in disease resistance and aesthetics.

AARS winners are chosen after an extensive two-year testing cycle in a series of 10 gardens across the United States. Roses are judged on characteristics including disease resistance, flower production, color and fragrance.

The Francis Meilland™ rose will be available to consumers in spring 2013. For more information, click here.

About The Conard-Pyle Company/Star® Roses:
From the Peace rose to the revolutionary Knock Out® and Drift® roses, The Conard-Pyle Company/Star® Roses has been a pioneer in the field of plant development and introduction for more than 100 years. Founded in 1897 as a retail mail order firm specializing in roses, the company has evolved from a wholesale container nursery to a leading genetics company involved directly in breeding roses, perennials and woody plants, and introducing plants from other breeders around the world. To learn more about Conard-Pyle/Star® Roses, please visit http://www.conard-pyle.com.

About All-America Rose Selections®:
AARS is a nonprofit association of rose growers and introducers dedicated to bringing exceptional, easy-to-grow roses to gardeners across the county. AARS operates the world’s most rigorous plant trial program via its national test garden network, which represents all climate zones. This sophisticated evaluation process results in a new crop of AARS winning roses each year, guaranteeing that only the best make it into your garden. AARS strives to identify roses that are easy to grow, and evaluates plants on more than 15 qualities, including disease resistance, vigor and fragrance. Look for the AARS red rose logo as a seal of approval identifying the best roses on the market.

Download: High resolution photo of Francis Meilland rose.

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