Joseph Rambaux (1820–1878) was a gardener and rose breeder from

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He is considered the patriarch of the legendary Meilland family, award-winning rose breeders for six generations. The rose variety he is best remembered for is the Polyantha, 'Perle d'Or', introduced in France in 1883. 'Perle d'Or' was granted several awards, including the Lyon Gold Medal in 1883, and the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

in 1993.

Biography

Philippe Jean-Baptiste François ("Joseph") Rambaux was born in

Dracy-le-fort Dracy-le-Fort () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Gallery File:DracyLeFortChateau.JPG, Chateau File:DracyLeFortSquare.JPG, Square File:DracyLeFortCentre.JPG, Town cente ...

, France, on March 18, 1820. He was a gardener at

Parc de la Tête d'Or The Parc de la Tête d'or (; English: "Park of the Head of Gold") is the largest urban park in Lyon, France, with an area of approximately . Located in the northern part of its 6th arrondissement of Lyon, 6th arrondissement, it features the Jardi ...

. In France, in the 1830s and 1840s, rose breeders begun to practice the hybridization of roses and this quickly became the preferred method of developing new rose varieties. The cities where rose breeding was most practiced at the time was

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Lyon, and

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Rambaux became interested in rose breeding in 1850 and started breeding new roses at home, from crosses of roses from the gardens where he worked. The rose varieties that Rambaux developed during his career were mostly Hybrid Perpetuals, and all his new rose cultivars were introduced after his death on July 30, 1878. Rambaux left his rose breeding business to his wife Claudine (née Grappelou), daughter Marie and son-in-law, Francis Dubreuil (1842–1916). Rambaux's rose varieties include, 'Perle d'Or, 'Madame Marie Finger' 'Monsieur Rambaux', 'Madame Pauvert', 'Monsieur Druet' , and 'Jean Chevalier'. Claudine Rambaux developed six new rose varieties under the name of "Veuve Rambaux" (Widow Rambaux), including Tea rose, 'Souvenir du rosiériste Rambaux' (1883) and Hybrid Perpetual, 'Madame Rambeaux' (1894). Dubreuil introduced two of Joseph's rose varieties: Polyanthas, 'Perle d'Or' (1883), and 'Anna Maria de Montravel' (1897). Perle d'Or' was granted several awards, including the Lyon Gold Medal in 1883, and the

in 1993. Rambaux was the first of six generations of a family of awarding-winning rose breeders. They grew from a small family nursery in the mid-1800s into a large international rose growing business by the 1940s and have produced hundreds of award winning and popular roses, including 'Peace' ('Mme Antoine Meilland'), the rose that made

the Meilland family The Meilland Family is a multi-generational family of France, French rose breeders. The family's first rosarian was gardener, Joseph Rambaux, who first started breeding roses in 1850 in Lyon. He is best known for developing the Garden roses#Polyanth ...

famous after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Meilland rose breeders include, Francis Debreuil, Claudine Rambaux, Antoine Meilland, Francis 'Papa Meilland', Louisette Meilland, Alain Meilland, and Michelle Meilland Richardier.

Rose varieties

Joseph Rambaux

* 'Madame Marie Finger' Hybrid perpetual (1872) * 'Monsieur Rambaux', Hybrid perpetual (1872) * 'Madame Pauvert', China rose, (1876) * 'Monsieur Druet', Hybrid perpetual, (1876) * 'Jean Chevalier', Hybrid Perpetual, (1879) * 'Anna Maria de Montravel', Polyantha (1897) * 'Perle d'Or', Polyantha, (1883), introduced by Dubreuil

Claudine Rambaux

* 'Marie Rambaux', Tea rose, (1881) * 'Rosa polyantha remontant', Polyantha, (1879) * 'Ornement des Jardins', Polyantha climber * 'Souvenir du rosiériste Rambaux', Tea rose, (1883) * 'Madame Rambaux', Hybrid perpetual, 1881 * 'Anna Marie de Montravel', Hybrid perpetual, (1879)

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rambaux, Joseph Businesspeople from Lyon Rose breeders 1820 births 1878 deaths