METROPOLITAN ® – white hybrid tea rose – Meilland
This snow-white hybrid tea brings a sense of timeless elegance to family gardens, combining tall, upright stature with large, exhibition-style blooms that look as refined in a vase as they do beside a cottage arbour. The reliable, remontant habit means it flowers repeatedly from early summer onwards, giving you a steady supply of long-stemmed roses for afternoon tea settings and romantic corners. Bred by Meilland, it offers a pleasantly sweet, fruity fragrance that suits intimate seating areas, while its own-root vitality supports a long-lived plant that can regenerate well after pruning or minor damage. In smaller British plots, it thrives in a sunny, well-prepared bed or a generous 40–50 litre container, where the dense, dark foliage and XL blooms create a classic focal point even in changeable coastal winds and frequent showers.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Feature rose by the front door |
Its upright habit and tall stems form a clear vertical accent near an entrance, while the snow-white, high-centred blooms read crisply against brick or painted render, creating a welcoming, elegant first impression for homeowners. |
| Romantic seating or arbour corner |
The medium-strength, sweet fruity scent is noticeable yet not overpowering at nose height, ideal beside a bench or arbour where you linger, adding a gentle, luxurious perfume for relaxed afternoon tea for cottage-lovers. |
| Cutting bed in a kitchen garden |
Extra-large, high-centred flowers on long, straight stems make excellent cutting material, so a small row in the kitchen garden can provide vases of classic white roses for the house throughout the season for hobby-gardeners. |
| Formal hybrid tea border |
Regular spacing along a border emphasises its upright structure and dense, dark green foliage, giving a neat, traditional look in front of hedging or fencing that suits more formal or period-style family gardens for traditionalists. |
| Container on terrace or patio |
In a 40–50 litre pot with good drainage, its contained footprint and vertical growth fit smaller terraces, allowing urban gardeners to enjoy exhibition-type blooms close-up without needing a large flowerbed for city-dwellers. |
| Mixed cottage-style bed |
The pure white flowers work as a calm accent among pastel perennials and herbs, tying together softer colours while the remontant flowering keeps some structure and brightness through the main summer months for cottage-gardeners. |
| Specimen by a path or lawn edge |
Used alone, its combination of tall growth and bright white blooms draws the eye from a distance, creating a simple but strong focal point that suits family lawns and informal paths with minimal design effort for beginners. |
| Long-term structural rose in a stable bed |
As an own-root plant, it can rebuild from the base after harder pruning, supporting long-term garden structure and stable appearance in beds that are laid out once and then maintained for many years, even with occasional coastal winds and rain for planners. |
Styling ideas
- Tea-table border – Line a small border near a patio with Metropolitan and low lavender for scent, creating a soft, romantic frame for outdoor tea – ideal for couples who enjoy classic elegance.
- Cottage mix – Combine with Coreopsis grandiflora and airy grasses so the white blooms float among yellow and green, adding calm structure – suited to relaxed family cottage gardens.
- Front-door welcome – Plant as a pair in large 50 litre containers flanking the entrance, underplanted with trailing ivy, to deliver year-on-year formality – perfect for homeowners wanting kerb appeal.
- Kitchen-cutting row – Run a narrow row along a vegetable plot path, mixing in herbs like rosemary, for easy harvesting of both flowers and foliage – good for practical, creative gardeners.
- Evening lawn focus – Place a single specimen near the far edge of a lawn with low box edging so the white flowers glow at dusk – appealing to those who entertain outdoors.
Technical cultivar profile
| Characteristic |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as MEIfaissel, marketed as Metropolitan ® – white hybrid tea rose – Meilland; ARS exhibition name Metropolitan for cut and garden display use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Alain A. Meilland, Meilland International SA, France; parentage ‘White Knight’ × (‘Karen Blixen’ × ‘Lady Sylvia’); bred and registered in 2004, introduced after 2004. |
| Awards and recognition |
Awarded Gold Medal, Fragrance Award and Journalists' Prize at Rome trials in 2003, highlighting both ornamental show quality and notable scent performance for exhibition use. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Strong, upright growth reaching about 100–140 cm in height with 55–85 cm spread; dense, dark green, slightly glossy foliage and moderate prickliness; generally poor self-cleaning so spent blooms may persist. |
| Flower morphology |
Very large, high-centred, pointed-budded hybrid tea flowers, borne mostly singly; fully double with around 26–39 petals, strongly reminiscent of classic cut-rose exhibition form, and remontant with abundant second flush. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Petals open bright snow-white with subtle ivory centre; creamy white closed buds with greenish outer tips; colour remains primarily white with silky matte sheen and only slight creamy tones as blooms mature. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Pleasantly sweet, fruity fragrance of medium strength, sufficiently pronounced for seating areas and cut stems; overall effect is refined rather than overpowering, in keeping with classic hybrid tea character. |
| Hip characteristics |
Produces rose hips in moderate quantities, generally very small at about 0–5 mm diameter; hips are not a dominant ornamental feature and are usually secondary to the display of repeat flowers. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (RHS H7, Swedish Zone 3, USDA 6b); very sensitive to powdery mildew and black spot, moderate rust; requires regular protection, especially in humid, disease-prone sites. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in sunny positions with good air movement; recommended spacing 40–75 cm depending on use; needs consistent deadheading and targeted disease management to maintain foliage and floral display quality. |
METROPOLITAN ® offers tall, elegant white blooms, generous cutting stems and a long-lived, regenerating own-root framework, making it a cultured choice for gardeners seeking a dependable, romantic focal rose.
