CLARITA™ – orange-red hybrid tea rose – Meilland
Step outside to a world of cheerful colour with CLARITA™, a classic hybrid tea rose that brings a sense of contentment to Irish cottage and city front gardens. Large, XL orange-red blooms with a soft coral fade appear repeatedly through the season, creating a gentle rhythm of flowering even when summers feel short and skies stay grey with frequent coastal showers and rainfall. Its bushy, moderately compact growth suits small beds, narrow terraces and paths, while glossy dark foliage sets off the vivid petals in soft light. Bred for robust resistance to the main rose diseases, this own-root rose settles in gradually, building roots in year one, strong shoots in year two and full ornamental value by year three, so you can enjoy long-lived, low-fuss garden pleasure.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Feature rose near the front door |
Used as a specimen by the entrance, CLARITA™ offers large, vividly coloured blooms that greet you on everyday comings and goings, with a soft, harmonious scent that never overwhelms. Its easy-care habit suits busy households and time-poor beginners. |
| Irish cottage-style mixed border |
In a cottage border, its bushy habit and repeat flowering give steady colour between perennials, while own-root growth ensures the plant recovers well from wind, rain and occasional pruning slips, rewarding patient hobby-gardeners. |
| Dublin terraced-house front garden |
Where space is tight, CLARITA™ sits neatly at 70–100 cm, providing upright, tidy structure and a reliable flush of XL blooms from a small footprint, ideal for compact plots tended by urban homeowners. |
| Low-maintenance family garden bed |
Good resistance to powdery mildew, black spot and rust keeps foliage healthy with minimal spraying, letting you focus on simple tasks like deadheading and mulching, a relief for busy-parents. |
| Cut-flower corner for the house |
Long-stemmed, solitary flowers with classic hybrid tea form are excellent for cutting, bringing the garden indoors in vases and small arrangements, especially appreciated by fragrance- and colour-loving city-dwellers. |
| Small hedge or row along a path |
Planted at about 50–60 cm, CLARITA™ forms a low, colourful line that marks paths or drive edges without dominating the view, offering structure and repeat colour useful to practical-minded garden planners. |
| Large container on patio or balcony |
In a 40–50 litre or larger pot with good drainage, this rose performs well in sunny, sheltered spots, giving an easy-care feature for renters or balcony gardeners who still want a “proper” rose, appealing to space-conscious urbanites. |
| Weather-tolerant coastal garden planting |
In exposed, damp locations, its disease resistance and sturdy, bushy growth help it cope with moist air and frequent showers typical of Atlantic-influenced gardens, giving reassurance to coastal-region gardeners. |
Styling ideas
- Cottage-Romantic Row – Plant CLARITA™ in a short line by a picket fence with lavender and catmint to soften edges and perfume the air – ideal for relaxed cottage-garden lovers.
- Warm-Glow Trio – Group three plants in a sunny front bed with Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ and tawny daylilies for fiery, sunset tones – perfect for colour-driven home stylers.
- Elegant Entrance Pot – One rose in a 50 litre clay pot, underplanted with trailing thyme, frames a doorway beautifully – suited to neat, design-conscious urban residents.
- Grasses-and-Roses Mix – Combine CLARITA™ with Panicum virgatum ‘Sangria’ and soft ornamental grasses for movement and contrast – appealing to contemporary, nature-oriented gardeners.
- Kitchen-Cut Patch – Dedicate a small square near the back door to CLARITA™ and herbs like rosemary for handy cutting and scent – ideal for practical, flower- and food-loving families.
Technical cultivar profile
| Characteristic |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as MEIbyster, marketed as CLARITA™ hybrid tea rose MEIbyster; ARS exhibition name Clarita, belonging to the Rós taehibride commercial group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Alain Meilland, Meilland International, France, from ‘Tropicana’ × (‘Zambra’ × ‘Romantica’); introduced and registered in 1971 and distributed internationally since then. |
| Awards and recognition |
Gold medal at the Geneva International Rose Competition in 1971 and featured as an award-winning variety under the name Atoll in several specialist rose catalogues. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy hybrid tea rose reaching about 70–100 cm in height and 50–70 cm spread; moderately dense, glossy, dark green foliage and moderate prickliness, forming a neat, upright bush. |
| Flower morphology |
Very large, double, cup-shaped hybrid tea blooms, usually solitary on stems, with 26–39 petals; remontant with an abundant second flush, though spent flowers generally need manual deadheading. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vivid orange-red with vermilion undertone; deep orange-red buds, intense at opening, then softening through uniform orange-red to pale coral as flowers age; RHS 34A outer, 33B inner petals. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Mild, subtly scented rose fragrance with a soft, harmonious character; pleasant at close range without being overpowering, making it suitable for entrances, seating areas and cut-flower use. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rose hips form only occasionally due to the double flowers; when present they are ovoid, about 12–18 mm across, orange-red in colour and usually of minor ornamental significance. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Good resistance to powdery mildew, black spot and rust; reliably hardy to about –15 to –12 °C (RHS H6, Swedish zone 2, USDA 7b), suitable for most mild, damp Irish garden conditions. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in sunny sites with well-drained soil; spacing 50–60 cm in rows or 90 cm as specimen, with 2.8–3.2 plants/m² in mass plantings; ideal for borders, hedging, features and cut flowers. |
CLARITA™ offers vivid XL blooms, reliable repeat flowering and low-maintenance, disease-resistant own-root growth, making it a thoughtful choice for long-lasting colour in everyday Irish gardens.
