Francis Meilland

[1] The family's rosarian origins began in 1850 with Francis's great-grandfather, Joseph Rambaux, a gardener at Parc de la Tête d'Or in Lyon.

[2] Rambaux left his nursery to his wife Claudine, his daughter, Marie, and her husband, Francis Dubreuil.

The Meilland family later moved to Tassin-la-Demi-Lune and bought a larger property to expand their rose growing business.

[5] On one of their business trips in 1932, Francis and Antoine met with one of his father's clients in Antibes, the rose breeder Francesco Paolino and his wife Marie-Elizabeth.

Years later, Francis honored his mentor by naming a rose after him, the dark red hybrid tea, 'Charles Mallerin'.

At the meeting, Mallerin introduced the Meillands to the American businessman, Robert Pyle, who represented Star Roses Nursery in the U.S. Pyle would later sign an agreement with the Meillands, allowing his company to introduce their roses in the United States.

He later had greenhouses built in Kenya to grow the Meilland's nursery's cut roses during the winter.

In America, Francis also learned valuable information from Robert Pyle about the American rose market, where the patenting of plants began in 1930.

In 1935, he cross-pollinated roses ('George Dickson' x Souvenir de Claudius Pernet') x ('Joanna Hill' x 'Charles P. Kilham').

It had dark green, healthy foliage, and beautiful cream-yellow blooms with edges of pink.

[14] Francis and Louisette bought property near Cap d'Antibes, his wife's birthplace and where the Paolino family still had a nursery.

His work was continued by his wife, Louisette, son Alain and daughter Michelle Meilland Richardier.

[15] The company employs over 800 people worldwide and owns rose trial gardens and test stations in France, the U.S. and Germany.

The company's new roses are grown on 600 hectares (1500 acres) in France, Morocco, Spain, the Netherlands, and in California.