LOVELY GREEN™ – greenish-white bedding floribunda rose – Meilland
Planted once and enjoyed for years, LOVELY GREEN™ suits today’s compact front gardens where rainwater needs managing intelligently and paving is common. Its unusual green-tinted blooms bring a soft, contemporary accent that works as well in a terraced-house frontage as in a neat, low-maintenance border. This own-root rose is grown for steady balance between structure and flower, rewarding simple care with reliable summer display. In the first season it focuses on rooting, the second on branching, and by the third it settles into full ornamental value without fuss. Medium-height, bushy growth keeps planting schemes visually cohesive, while the rounded, pompon flowers provide texture for cutting and arrangements. Their greenish-white tones blend effortlessly with grasses and herbs, creating harmony with gravel, brick and slate. Moderate disease tolerance supports everyday ease of care, particularly where you water by hand using stored rainwater. The long-lasting flowers hold their colour well in sun, maintaining freshness on hot days. Over time the own-root habit underpins garden longevity, offering the reassuring resilience and regrowth that busy gardeners quietly appreciate.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Front-garden bed in a London terrace |
A compact, bushy habit and medium height make this rose ideal for narrow front borders along paths or railings. It copes well with typical urban exposure where wind and passing traffic are factors, yet still maintains a calm, ordered appearance for the busy urban gardener. |
| Rainwater-friendly gravel or slate planting |
The root-focused first year and strong second-year framework help the plant settle into free-draining, gravel-topped beds that direct rainfall into the soil rather than onto paving, supporting sustainable water use and clean lines for the environmentally minded homeowner. |
| Low maintenance family border |
Moderate disease resistance and a reliable, bushy structure mean routine care is limited mainly to basic feeding, occasional deadheading and seasonal pruning, suiting households that want dependable flowering without complex regimes for the time-poor family gardener. |
| Cutting patch for informal arrangements |
The medium-sized, fully double pompon blooms last well when cut, and their greenish-white tones mix effortlessly with other flowers in vases, giving you distinctive stems without needing a dedicated cutting garden for the creative home arranger. |
| Evergreen-style structure with seasonal interest |
Its moderately dense, mid-green foliage and erect, bushy habit provide a tidy outline from spring to autumn, so even between flushes the plant still contributes shape and definition to small gardens for the design-conscious beginner. |
| Mixed bed with herbs and perennials |
The calm, greenish-white flowers pair beautifully with lavender, nepeta, rosemary or calamint, allowing you to blend roses into pollinator-friendly herb and perennial schemes while keeping a soft, modern palette for the sustainability-focused planter. |
| Own-root rose for long-term planting schemes |
Grown on its own roots, this cultivar can regenerate from the base if stems are damaged by weather or pruning errors, helping preserve its character and ornamental value over many years for the forward-thinking garden planner. |
| Large container on balcony or patio (40–50 L+) |
In a 40–50 litre or larger pot with good drainage, its relatively compact height and upright habit stay in proportion to the container, offering a durable focal point for balconies and patios with straightforward seasonal upkeep for the container-focused city dweller. |
Styling ideas
- Frontage Calm – Line a small terraced-house front bed with LOVELY GREEN™ and low lavender, using gravel mulch to tie in with paving and downpipes – ideal for the neat, time-pressed homeowner.
- Green Bouquet – Grow a short row in a side return to cut subtle greenish-white stems that mix easily with seasonal perennials – perfect for those who love arranging flowers at home.
- Urban Pot – Plant one specimen in a 50-litre clay pot with rosemary and thyme at the base for scent and texture – suited to balcony and patio gardeners short on planting space.
- Soft Structure – Repeat three shrubs along a path, underplant with low nepeta and spring bulbs to create a simple, all-season framework – appealing to beginners seeking effortless order.
- Gravel Ribbon – Combine with calamint, grasses and pale stone chippings in a strip along a drive, letting rain soak into the soil while keeping the look crisp – for sustainability-focused front-garden renovators.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Floribunda bedding rose; registered as MEItiver, marketed as LOVELY GREEN™ Bedding rose MEItiver; ARS exhibition name Lovely Green; florists’ rose and bed rose type. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Alain Meilland, Meilland International, France; introduced and registered in 2005; parentage not disclosed; developed for bedding and florist use with distinctive greenish tones. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, erect shrub 70–90 cm high, 60–80 cm spread; moderately thorny stems; mid-green, slightly glossy foliage of medium density; tips may arch slightly under flower clusters. |
| Flower morphology |
Very full, globular pompon blooms with over 40 petals; medium flower size in dense clusters; remontant with a notably abundant second flush, offering repeated display through the season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Greenish-white flowers; RHS 155D, 138D; pale green buds with white margin, soft green centres that fade gradually to white with slight cream outer petals; colour holds well even in strong sun. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
No noticeable perfume; considered an unscented rose selected mainly for visual impact and cutting quality rather than scent; suitable where neutral fragrance is preferred near seating or windows. |
| Hip characteristics |
Due to very double flowers, hip set is low; occasional rounded hips 10–15 mm may appear, but decorative fruiting is not a key feature of this cultivar. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Moderate tolerance to heat and drought with watering in dry spells; disease resistance moderate to black spot, mildew and rust; hardy approximately to −21 to −18 °C, RHS H7, USDA zone 6b. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in sunny positions; spacing 40–75 cm depending on use; 4.2–4.8 plants/m² for mass planting; suited to borders, edging, containers and cutting; occasional pest and disease checks advised. |
LOVELY GREEN™ offers unusual greenish-white blooms, a compact, balanced habit and long-term resilience from its own-root form; a considered choice if you are planning a calm, durable planting scheme.
