EDITH PIAF® GPT – dark red climbing rose – Meilland
Create a romantic garden corner with this vigorously climbing EDITH PIAF® GPT, whose very double, high-centred blooms bring an opulent, cut-rose look to your pergola or arch while the strong, fruity fragrance drifts through the air like an evening perfume. Its deep, velvety ruby-red flowers retain their colour beautifully, even in unsettled weather and breezier, coastal situations, so your arbour or wall keeps its storybook richness for months on end. Grown on its own roots for long-term stability and regeneration, this premium 2-litre plant establishes reliably in typical British garden soils on a simple care regime. Over time you can enjoy a graceful climber that responds well to gentle training, needs only moderate maintenance and light pruning, and repays you with repeating flushes of sumptuous blooms, transforming everyday afternoons into quietly luxurious garden moments.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Small to medium family gardens – pergolas and arches |
Ideal where space is limited but height is available; its vigorous climbing habit and repeat flowering quickly dress a pergola or arch with dark red, fragrant blooms, creating a cosy tunnel effect for shared family corners – perfect for the romantic cottage gardener. |
| Walls and house fronts near seating areas |
The strong, fruity fragrance and large, exhibition-style flowers are best appreciated close up, making a sunny wall by a patio or garden bench an excellent choice for afternoon tea or evening relaxation – suited to the homeowner seeking sensory luxury. |
| Cottage-style mixed borders with vertical accents |
Trained on discreet supports, this rose brings upright structure and rich colour to beds of perennials and herbs, echoing traditional English cottage gardens while remaining manageable in scale – ideal for the lover of classic border planting. |
| Family gardens on heavier or challenging soils |
Own-root vigour and a forgiving nature make establishment straightforward in typical British conditions when planted into improved soil or raised beds, even where drainage is less than perfect – reassuring for the busy, practical garden owner. |
| Long-term garden features for low-fuss gardeners |
As an own-root climber, the plant matures into a stable framework that can be refreshed by simple pruning, supporting a long lifespan and dependable flowering with only moderate care – attractive for the time-poor but quality-focused buyer. |
| Containers and large planters on terraces (50–60 litres) |
In a generously sized container with a sturdy obelisk or trellis, this variety becomes a focal point for balconies and terraces, bringing height, colour and perfume where ground planting is not possible – perfect for the urban balcony or terrace gardener. |
| Season-long colour around outdoor dining spaces |
The remontant habit provides a generous second flush, keeping arches and walls colourful from early summer into autumn, so your outdoor table is framed by flowers over many weekends – appealing to the family that entertains outdoors. |
| Exposed or breezier suburban plots |
Its dark, velvety blooms hold their colour and form well even when the weather turns changeable, coping reliably with wind and showers that are common in many British gardens and coastal fringes – well suited to the gardener in variable climates. |
Styling ideas
- Arbour Elegance – Train EDITH PIAF® GPT over a timber arbour, underplanting with lavender and catmint for soft blues that set off the dark red blooms – for the traditional romantic.
- Kitchen-Garden Charm – Let it climb a rustic arch leading to a vegetable patch, edged with dwarf box and herbs, to bridge ornamental and productive areas – for the cottage-plot enthusiast.
- Curtain of Colour – Cover a sunny house wall beside a seating nook, combining with white clematis for contrast and longer flowering interest – for the homeowner creating a reading corner.
- Terrace Feature – Grow in a 50–60 litre container with an obelisk, surrounded by potted rosemary and thyme, to bring perfume and height to a small paved space – for the style-conscious urban gardener.
- Evening Retreat – Frame a garden bench with two matching plants on posts, adding pale foxgloves and echinacea nearby so their lighter tones highlight the velvety blooms at dusk – for the after-work unwinder.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
Edith Piaf® Gpt PERFUMELLA® (MEIramboysar), a large-flowered climbing sport of the hybrid tea ‘Edith Piaf®’; classified as a climbing rose for garden and exhibition use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Natural sport of ‘Edith Piaf®’ discovered by Alain Meilland; bred by Meilland International, introduced by Meilland Richardier in 2016, with the original line dating from 1999 in the United States. |
| Awards and recognition |
Fragrance lineage linked to ‘Edith Piaf®’, which achieved 1st prize at the World Rose Fragrance Competition in Nantes in 2005, underscoring the notable scent potential of this climbing sport. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Vigorous climber reaching about 200–320 cm in height and 150–250 cm spread, with dense, glossy dark green foliage, moderately thorny stems, and a habit that benefits from tying to supports. |
| Flower morphology |
Very double, high-centred blooms with over 40 petals; XL flower size on mainly solitary stems, giving a refined cut-rose look on the plant; remontant habit with a generous second flush in season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Deep dark-red to velvety ruby-red colouring (RHS 187A/186B), buds nearly black-red; colour holds well with only slight fading, shifting through rich cherry-red tones as flowers age on the plant. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Strong, complex perfume detectable from a distance, with full fruity character featuring grapefruit and red berry notes; primarily an ornamental fragrance rose rather than a culinary or cosmetic variety. |
| Hip characteristics |
Hip set is usually sparse due to the very double blooms; where formed, hips are small, spherical, bright red (RHS 44A), about 10–14 mm in diameter, adding discreet late-season interest. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Rated RHS H7, hardy to around -21 to -18 °C (USDA 6b, Swedish Zone 3); shows moderate tolerance to black spot, powdery mildew and rust, with best performance in a sunny, airy position. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best on walls, fences, arches or pergolas in sun; plant about 190–200 cm apart or 350 cm as a specimen; provide regular watering in hot spells and annual pruning to maintain framework and flowering. |
EDITH PIAF® GPT offers velvety dark red, strongly fragrant blooms on a manageable climber that establishes reliably and endures as a long-lived own-root feature; a thoughtful choice if you wish to enrich your garden over many seasons.
