Rosa 'Peace'

The cultivar was hybridized in 1935, receiving the number 3-35-40 (the third hybridization in 1935, and the 40th cultivar selected for test proliferation). As those first tests produced beautiful flowers in autumn of 1936, the first no. 3-35-40 were grown in Meilland's rose fields in June 1939. That summer, cuttings were sent to partners in other countries. According to Meilland's records, 'Madame A. Meilland' was hybridized from the hybrid tea 'Margaret McGredy' and an unnamed seedling.{{cite book |title=Die BLV Rosen Enzyklopädie |publisher= BLV |author= Robert Markley |page=27 |ISBN= 978-3835402720 |language= de |trans-title=The BLV Encyclopedia of Roses|date=2007}}

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|1 = Rosa 'Madame A. Meilland'

|2 = Unnamed seedling

|3 = 'Margaret McGredy'
Samuel McGredy III 1927

|4 = Unnamed seedling

|5 = Unnamed seedling

|6 =

|7 =

|8 = 'George Dickson'
Alexander Dickson II 1912

|9 = 'Souvenir de Claudius Pernet'
J. Pernet-Ducher 1920

|10= 'Joanna Hill
Joseph H. Hill 1928

|11= 'Charles P. Kilham'
Samuel McGredy III 1926

}}

File:Rosa Peace 1945.jpg

Because Meilland had sent out his cuttings just before the war, communication between the cultivators was not possible, which is why the rose received different names. In France, Francis and Alain Meilland decided to call the cultivar 'Madame A. Meilland', in honor of Francis' deceased mother, Antoine Meilland's wife, Claudia. This is the formal cultivar name. Other names are considered by the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants as trade or selling names. In Italy it was called {{tdes|Gioia}} (Italian for "joy"), in Germany {{tdes|Gloria Dei}} (Latin for "glory of God") and in the US, Sweden, and Norway {{tdes|Peace}}.

The rose eventually became known as {{tdes|Peace}}. In early 1945 rose grower Meilland wrote to Field Marshal Alan Brooke (later Viscount Alanbrooke) to thank him for his key part in the liberation of France and to ask if Brooke would give his name to the rose. Brooke declined saying that, though he was honored to be asked, his name would soon be forgotten and a much better and more enduring name would be "Peace".

The adoption of the trade name "Peace" was publicly announced in the United States on 29 April 1945 by the introducers, Conard Pyle Co. This was the very day that Berlin fell, a day considered a turning point in the Second World War in Europe. Later that year Peace roses were given to each of the delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco, each with a note that read:

:"We hope the 'Peace' rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace".

Peter Beales, English rose grower and expert, said in his book Roses:

:"'Peace', without doubt, is the finest Hybrid Tea ever raised and it will remain a standard variety forever".

File:Gloria Dei bud.JPG

'Mme A. Meilland' forms elegant buds that open to large, cupped flowers with a high-centered form and an average diameter of {{convert|15|cm|abbr=on}}. Their color is a combination of pale yellow and crimson edges that depends on the location, the weather and changes as the flower fades. The durable flowers are very full, with 40 to 43 petals, survive rainy periods, and have a sweet and fruity fragrance that varies in its strength from mild to strong.{{cite book |title=Rosen – die große Enzyklopädie |publisher= Dorling Kindersley |author= Charles and Brigid Quest-Ritson |page=263 |ISBN=978-3831017348 |language=de |trans-title=RHS Encyclopedia of Roses |date=2010}} The cultivar flowers continuously throughout the season up to the first frost.

The vigorous shrub grows {{convert|120|to|200|cm|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} high and {{convert|90|to|125|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} wide, is winter hardy down to {{convert|−23|C|abbr=on|disp=or}} (USDA zone 6), half-shade tolerant, and disease resistant. The large, glossy leaves are very dark and leathery. 'Mme A. Meilland' is very versatile—it is used as cut rose and as garden rose, solitarily or in groups, as standard rose to {{convert|90|cm|ft|abbr=on}} high, or in containers.{{cite book |title=Alles über Rosen |publisher= Eugen Ulmer KG |author= Klaus-Jürgen Strobel |page=208 |ISBN=3800144719 |language= de |trans-title=Everything about Roses|date=2006}}

'Mme A. Meilland' has been granted numerous awards, starting with the selection as Most Beautiful French Rose in Lyon in 1942, gold medals in Lyon (1942), Portland (1944), The Hague (1965) and from the Royal National Rose Society in 1947. In 1944, it was included in the All-America Rose Selection.{{cite web |url=http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=2203&tab=18 |title='Peace' rose Awards |publisher=HelpMeFind |access-date=2014-09-03}}

In 1976, it was the first cultivar to be granted the highest award a rose can be granted when it was selected as World's Favorite Rose and included into the Rose Hall of Fame.{{cite web |url=http://www.worldrose.org/awards/hof/hof.asp |title=Rose Hall of Fame |publisher=World Federation of Rose Societies |date=2012-09-25 |access-date=2014-09-03}}

In 2018, the U.S. Postal Service issued a new Forever stamp celebrating the Peace Rose. The dedication ceremony was held at The Gardens of the American Rose Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksla.com/story/38005479/us-postal-service-issues-new-forever-stamp-for-peace-rose|title=U.S. Postal Service issues new forever stamp for Peace Rose|website=KSLA|date=April 20, 2018}}

As an often cultivated plant, several sports of 'Mme A. Meilland' are known. 'Climbing Peace' (Kordes 1951) has slightly bigger flowers but flowers less well, 'Chicago Peace' (Johnston 1962) differs mainly in its richer colors with a mixture of crimson and apricot, while 'Kronenbourg' (syn. 'Flaming Peace', McGredy 1966) has red petals with yellow backs, creating an interesting contrast.

It is also used in the hybridization of new cultivars, and played a role in the development of well known cultivars such as 'Garden Party' (Swim, 1959), 'Super Star' (Tantau, 1960), and 'Love and Peace' (Lim & Twomey, 1991).

File:Hybrid Tea - Lucky Piece 17 (crop).JPG|'Lucky Piece' (Gordon 1958)

File:Rosa Garden Party.jpg|'Garden Party' (Swim 1959)

File:Rose Super Star.jpg|'Super Star'
(Tantau 1960)

File:Rosa 'Chicago Peace'.jpg|'Chicago Peace'
(Johnston 1962)

File:Rosa Flaming Peace 2.jpg|'Kronenbourg'
(McGredy 1966)

File:Princess de Monaco (4547540551).jpg|'Princesse de Monaco'
(Meilland 1981)

File:Rosa 'Pullman Orient Express' 02.JPG|'Love and Peace'
(Lim & Twomey 1991)

{{Reflist}}

{{commons|Rosa 'Mme A. Meilland'}}

• Ridge, Antonia. 1965. For Love of a Rose. Faber {{ISBN|0571101186}}
• [http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=2203 HelpMeFind Roses: Peace]
• Beales, P. 1992. Roses. Henry Holt & Co {{ISBN|978-0805020533}}

{{Rose|state=collapsed}}

Peace

Category:Peace in culture

Category:History of the United Nations