BOTTICELLI ® – pink bedding floribunda rose - Richardier
Bring a touch of Italian Renaissance charm to your front garden with BOTTICELLI®, a compact floribunda that gives you reliable clusters of soft porcelain pink blooms without demanding complicated care. This bushy, medium-height rose settles in steadily, coping well with Ireland’s frequent rain and heavier soils by appreciating sensible drainage and thoughtful watering in a wild climate. Its robust, award-winning breeding means a healthy, long-lived shrub that keeps its neat shape and flowers repeatedly through the season, so your borders stay orderly and attractive with only light deadheading. As an own-root plant in the pharmaROSA® ORIGINAL 2‑litre pot, BOTTICELLI® arrives well rooted and ready to grow, gradually forming a balanced, bushy structure that fits beautifully into family gardens and cottage-style spaces. The porcelain pink flowers open in generous clusters, starting a little deeper and then fading to a powder-pink glow, giving constant visual interest from path edge to patio pot. Its compact habit works perfectly for low hedging, bed edging or small groups of 3–5 plants where you want steady colour rather than high-maintenance drama. Designed for everyday gardens, it suits busy homeowners who prefer simple routines – a bit of watering in dry spells, a seasonal feed, and light trimming – while repaying you with a long decorative lifespan. As the years go by, own-root BOTTICELLI® rebuilds itself from its base if ever cut back by weather or pruning, helping it stay a dependable feature shrub. You can expect it to focus on root strength in the first year, push fuller top growth and flowering in the second, and reach its relaxed, mature ornamental value from the third year. Its very subtle fragrance won’t overwhelm small seating areas, making it ideal for close-up enjoyment where you simply want a calm, elegant rose that just works.
Use cases
| Target area |
Reason |
| Front garden bed along the path |
Compact 60–80 cm height and 50–70 cm spread keep BOTTICELLI® nicely proportioned beside paths and driveways, giving a tidy, welcoming line of porcelain pink blooms without blocking windows or views, ideal for the busy family homeowner gardener |
| Small rose group in a feature border |
Planted in groups of 3–5 at 40–65 cm spacing, the bushy floribunda habit and XL cluster-flowered heads create a generous pink “cushion” effect, perfect if you want impressive flowering from limited space with straightforward, repeat performance beginners |
| Low flowering hedge to divide garden areas |
With its dense dark green foliage and steady 60–80 cm height, BOTTICELLI® forms a soft, low hedge at roughly 35 cm spacing, giving structure and privacy without heavy clipping, ideal for gently separating play areas from ornamental corners families |
| Patio container beside seating |
In a 40–50 litre container with good drainage, this variety’s rounded shape and very weak fragrance make it excellent for close seating areas, offering colour and elegance without overpowering scent, suited to relaxed evening terraces and balconies urbanites |
| Mixed cottage-style border with perennials |
The soft porcelain pink clusters blend beautifully with foxgloves and light perennials, and BOTTICELLI®’s remontant flowering keeps colour going between perennial flushes, giving a romantic cottage look without demanding complex planting schemes romantics |
| Beds in wetter, heavier Irish soils |
Once established in improved, well-drained clay, its medium disease resistance and good heat tolerance provide stable performance, even where summers swing from wet to warm, suiting gardens that regularly face long spells of rain and heavy ground realists |
| Neat formal bedding in front of the house |
The award-winning floribunda breeding gives uniform, bushy plants ideal for regular rows or geometric beds; even colour, very good colour retention and medium self-cleaning keep the display smart with only light deadheading and seasonal pruning planners |
| Lightly shaded borders near walls or fences |
Being suitable for partial shade, BOTTICELLI® still flowers well where it receives only a few hours of direct sun, so you can brighten east- or north-facing edges and awkward side passages that might defeat fussier roses, perfect for compact plots newcomers |
Decorating ideas
- Cottage-Pink Drift – Plant a ribbon of BOTTICELLI® along a path, interplanted with foxgloves and airy grasses for a soft, cottage look – ideal for lovers of relaxed, romantic front gardens.
- Porcelain Patio Trio – Group three plants in separate 40–50 litre pots with lavender and rosemary at their feet for a fragrant, easy-care seating area – great for balcony and terrace owners seeking simple elegance.
- Low Hedge Gallery – Use BOTTICELLI® as a low hedge in front of taller shrubs or hydrangeas to frame the view towards your house – perfect for homeowners who like subtle structure without rigid formality.
- Pastel Entrance Bed – Combine clusters of BOTTICELLI® with white perennials and variegated dogwood for a light, welcoming entrance bed – suited to those wanting a bright, tidy doorway with minimal fuss.
- Calm Corner Retreat – Place a pair of BOTTICELLI® roses in large containers by a bench, where their very gentle fragrance and soft pink blooms create a peaceful reading nook – ideal for busy people seeking a quiet garden escape.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Floribunda bedding rose, registered as MEIsylpho; trade name BOTTICELLI ® bedding rose MEIsylpho, exhibition name BOTTICELLI. Part of the bedding rose collection, exhibition floribunda category. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Michèle Meilland Richardier, Meilland International, France. Breeding and registration year 2003, introduced 2005. Parentage not disclosed; selected for bedding and landscape performance. |
| Awards and recognitions |
Gold Medal, The Hague 2003; Silver Medal, Rome 2003; 1st Prize Bedding rose and 1st Prize Landscape architecture, Monza 2003; Gold Medal, Bagatelle Paris 2004; Golden Rose, Geneva (year mid‑2000s). |
| Growth and structure |
Bushy, compact shrub typically 60–80 cm high and 50–70 cm wide. Dense, slightly glossy dark green foliage, moderately thorny stems, forming an even, rounded outline suited to beds, edging and low hedges. |
| Flower morphology |
Very double, cupped, XL blooms with more than 40 petals, carried in clusters. Remontant floribunda type with abundant second flush; medium self-cleaning, light deadheading recommended for the neatest appearance. |
| Colour and phenology |
Uniform porcelain pink with slightly paler inner petals. Buds open soft pure pink, then lighten to powder-pink with an almost whitish inner glow before fading; very good colour retention across successive flowering waves. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very weak fragrance, barely perceptible at close range, with a subtle, delicate character. Designed primarily as an ornamental bedding rose where visual impact and colour continuity matter more than scent. |
| Rose hip characteristics |
Low fruit set due to very double flowers. When present, hips are globular, spherical, orange-red, typically 6–10 mm in diameter and discreet within the foliage, adding a light autumn accent. |
| Resistance and hardiness |
Hardy to about −21 to −18 °C (H7, USDA 6b, Swedish zone 3). Good heat tolerance with extra watering in drought. Disease resistance medium overall; resistant to powdery mildew, medium tolerance to black spot and rust. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Ideal for beds, edging, containers, patios, balconies and low hedges. Plant 40 cm apart for groups, 35 cm for hedges, 65 cm as specimens. Suitable for partial shade; use a minimum 40–50 litre container for long-term pot culture. |
BOTTICELLI ® offers compact, award-winning pink clusters, reliable repeat flowering and long-term own-root resilience for easy-care beds or containers, making it a reassuring choice if you would like a graceful, low-fuss rose.
