LOLITA LEMPICKA ® GPT. – deep pink climbing rose – Meilland
With its luxurious deep-pink blooms and romantic climbing habit, LOLITA LEMPICKA ® GPT. creates an instant arbour focal point for traditional family gardens, especially where you want that English cottage countryside feeling around a pergola or sunny wall. The very double, high-centred flowers are superb for cutting, while the long, repeat-flowering season keeps arches and fences in colour for months with a richly scented backdrop to afternoon tea. Grown on its own roots for dependable longevity, this 2‑litre plant settles in steadily – roots first, then stronger shoots, before building to full ornamental value by the third year – giving a stable, regenerating framework that responds well to simple, once- or twice-yearly pruning. Over time, its dense dark foliage and arching stems provide natural privacy screening and vertical romance, even in breezier, exposed spots where wind and rain call for a well-anchored, permanent feature.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Small family pergola near a seating area |
This rose’s tall, climbing habit and repeat-flowering performance make it ideal for clothing a compact pergola, bringing shade, fragrance and deep-pink colour over a seating area used for relaxed family gatherings and evening unwinds for the romantic gardener. |
| Sunny house wall by the back door |
Trained flat on wires, the dense, dark foliage and large, full blooms create a welcoming vertical accent by a frequently used entrance, giving a sense of arrival every time you step outside, well suited to the busy homeowner. |
| Arbour framing a garden path |
The strong scent and generously double flowers are particularly effective when grown overhead along an arbour, concentrating their perfume as you pass along a main path, an appealing detail for the afternoon-tea enthusiast. |
| Feature fence in a cottage-style border |
Once established on its own roots, the plant forms a durable, woody framework that can be lightly renewed from the base when needed, supporting long-term flowering with relatively simple annual pruning for the low-maintenance seeker. |
| Raised bed in heavy or clay soil area |
In a raised or improved bed, the strong root system of this own-root climber can anchor a permanent structure, coping better over time with wetter spells and blustery conditions often found in exposed British gardens for the practical planner. |
| Large container on a sunny patio (with support) |
In a 40–50 litre container with a sturdy obelisk or trellis, LOLITA LEMPICKA ® GPT. offers vertical interest and repeat flowering where ground planting is limited, while remaining transportable in rented or urban spaces for the flexible gardener. |
| Romantic focal point in a mixed cottage border |
The rich magenta-pink flowers, fading gently to softer tones, give a layered colour effect that blends easily with pastels and silvers, helping you build a soft, storybook cottage palette that matures gracefully for the colour-conscious buyer. |
| Specimen climber in a long-term family garden |
From the first year of rooting to increasing shoots in year two and a full display by year three, this own-root form is designed as a long-lived garden investment, ideal where you want a settled, enduring feature for the long-term owner. |
Styling ideas
- Pergola Romance – Train LOLITA LEMPICKA ® GPT. over a timber pergola with white or cream cushions and soft lighting to enjoy its fragrance overhead – ideal for families creating a cosy evening retreat.
- Kitchen-Garden Arch – Grow it over an arch leading to a vegetable or herb plot, underplanted with chives and thyme, blending ornamental and productive spaces – perfect for cottage-style kitchen gardeners.
- Cottage Fence Weave – Weave stems along a picket or post-and-rail fence with companion planting of Gypsophila repens ‘Knuddel’ and threadleaf coreopsis – suited to lovers of airy, romantic borders.
- Patio Statement – Plant in a 40–50 litre clay pot with a wrought-iron obelisk, surrounding the base with lavender for scent layering – attractive for urban balcony or courtyard gardeners.
- Storybook Walkway – Pair two matching plants to flank a path, training them onto mirrored arches and edging with low catmint for a soft, hazy effect – appealing to those seeking a fairy-tale garden entrance.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
LOLITA LEMPICKA ® GPT. (MEIzincaro), Romantica® collection; ARS exhibition name ‘Peter Mayle’; large-flowered climbing rose for garden and cut-flower use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Alain Meilland, Meilland International, France; parentage (‘Maria Callas’ × ‘Susan Hampshire’) × ‘Susan Hampshire’; bred before 2000 and introduced 2003 in France and the USA. |
| Awards and recognition |
Recognised on the show circuit with Geneva Golden Rose 1998 and Monza Silver Medal 1998, demonstrating strong exhibition value in both form and overall garden impact. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Vigorous climber reaching around 200–320 cm high and 100–160 cm wide, with dense, dark green, slightly glossy foliage and moderately thorny canes suitable for training on supports. |
| Flower morphology |
Very double, XL-sized, high-centred, pointed-budded blooms with over 40 petals; typically solitary on stems, remontant with a particularly generous second flush under good cultivation. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Rich deep magenta-pink with purple undertone; buds darken to near purple, opening to cyclamen-pink then softly fading to light pink with a gentle mauve tint, with generally good colour retention. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Classed as a very strongly scented, long-lasting rose; precise fragrance notes are undocumented, but intensity is high enough to be noticed at a short distance around seating areas. |
| Hip characteristics |
Due to its very double flower form, hips are sparse; when present they are egg-shaped, approximately 15–22 mm in diameter, coloured red around RHS N45A later in the season. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Rated H7 and hardy roughly to −21 to −18 °C, suitable for many UK regions; disease resistance is weak, needing regular protection against powdery mildew and black spot, with moderate rust tolerance. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun with support on pergolas, arches, walls or fences; prefers improved soil and regular feeding, plus deadheading and plant protection; plant 140–240 cm apart depending on use. |
LOLITA LEMPICKA ® GPT. offers richly scented, repeat-flowering deep-pink blooms on a long-lived, own-root climber, giving your pergola or wall a durable romantic focus that will reward patient, attentive gardeners season after season.
