I just finished researching and writing an article for our local rose society on The Meilland Family. I enjoyed the research so much and since one of my hobbies is genealogy that just added to the interest. I already have several Meilland roses but I’m thinking I may add another one. I’ve narrowed it down to Centennial Star, Dark Night and Mercury Rising. I know Mercury rising is a seedling of Gemini which is from Zary. Any input from those who have grown any of these roses?
Don’t grow Dark Night if black spot is a problem in your garden (although I find the color very intriguing). What about Francis Meilland? It’s very fragrant and has beautiful shiny foliage. In Georgia it’s not as BS resistant as I’d like. Sunshine Daydream is another I highly recommend - foliage is gorgeous and very clean.
With its breeding, I would expect Centennial Star’s petals to be rather soft. I also wonder how beneficial going so far backwards as this line would be? Neither Peace nor King’s Ransom are known for being very healthy where black spot is an issue. I find the breeding of Francis Meilland to also be rather uninspired as far as health is concerned. You might be better off looking at their newest offerings which resulted from newer bred roses instead of more of the “old same”?
Sunshine Daydream might be a good selection since I am working with yellows. I have to say I would really like to play around with Dark Night just to see what it passes. I may have to buy more than one!