50 Years Meilland and BKN Strobel

Company Meilland breeds in France.

For over five generations, the company Meilland has been cultivating roses in France. In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, the foundation was laid for this internationally renowned rose-growing family when Francis Meilland, together with his father, Antoine Meilland, started to cultivate the famous Gloria Dei rose. This "Peace Rose" was then planted innumerable times after 1945 in the USA by many rose enthusiasts. The companies, Strobel & Co. and Meilland International in France, have been associated with each other for 50 years; this allows them to offer their customers more beautiful, healthier and more robust roses. Our task distribution makes sense and it has proved itself - Breeding takes place in Southern France under favorable climatic conditions and the selection of the rose types is carried out in the harsher climate of Northern Germany, where Strobel & Co. is located.

After the early death of Francis Meilland, his wife, Louisette, and his son, Alain, further improved his life's work by developing an internationally accepted breeding center.

Today's breeding center is near the city of Le Luc en Provence in France. This experiment station, called Saint André, is comprised of approximately 55 hectares (135 acres) of cultivated land. Each year, between 100,000 and 120,000 seedlings are grown and tested for their ability to be used as garden roses, cut roses or container roses. Both the experimentation and propagation processes require great effort. Altogether, more than 300,000 roses will flower annually at Saint André. These roses are used exclusively for tests and pre-propagation research; they will not be sold.

The new group of Meidiland ^® roses, which are propagated by cuttings, have been on display in their own garden for the past few years. This provides the consumer, who would like to cultivate low-growing roses, with valuable information. The name Meilland is inseparably connected with the rose. Meilland roses grow in Spain, in Japan and South Africa, and even in Scandinavia or in North America.

The Meilland organization has representatives in 42 countries who concern themselves with the interests of Meilland.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, Strobel & Co. has been involved for 50 years.