GUILLOT’S LEGACY OF EXCELLENCE THE GUILLOT FAMILY
(From 1829 to the present day SIX GENERATIONS OF ROSE CREATORS)

Among all the creators who have devoted their life and talents to Roses, only the GUILLOT family can pride itself on having fathered six generations of rose growers: their diverse talents have enabled them to establish a tradition going back to the beginning of the XIX century.

Jean-Baptiste GUILLOT, referred to as Guillot père, was born on 10th December 1803 in Grenoble, married Jeanne Marie Piollet on 21st August 1825 in Voreppe, and settled down in Lyon, in the Guilloti re district in 1829.

After starting in mixed farming, he was the first, in 1834, to devote his activity to the creation and marketing of Roses. It was he who launched the great Lyonnaise Rose-growing tradition, thereby superseding the Paris region which had been taking advantage of Empress Josephine’s benevolence.

The Firm, located at 238, route de Grenoble, took on the evocative name of ‘La Terre des Roses’ (The Terrace of Roses).

Its first creation was a Bourbon Hybrid christened ‘Lamartine’ which was produced in 1842. In the following years the Firm accumulated the impressive number of 81 new varieties.
Among these, are many of the most beautiful old roses marketed at the present time.

We could mention Mme Bravy, Comtesse d’Oxford, Baron J.B. Gonella, Pavillon de Pregny, Triomphe de la Guillotière, Comtesse de Barbentane.
Jean-Baptiste died in Lyon on 18th April 1882

.His son, Jean-Baptiste André, or Guillot Fils as he was called, was born in Grenoble on 9th December 1827. Obviously he accompanied his father when he set up in Lyon.

From the age of 14, he joined his father in their efforts to continue to make the family business prosper. It was in 1849 that he invented the process which was enough to ensure his recognition by rose-growers throughout the world, i.e.

Shield-graft budding on dog rose seedlings
In 1850, he married Catherine Berton, the eldest daughter of a long line of gardeners in la Guilloti re, Lyon, since 1690.
In 1852, he left his father and created his own firm at 27, Chemin des Pins, Lyon Monplaisir.

It was here that he was to create 69 varieties, including the variety which revolutionised the world of Roses as, when in 1867 the first Hybrid Tea appeared ‘La France’ (climber) and in 1875 the first polyantha, ‘Ma Pâquerette’.

These varieties are known throughout the world, but it would be a pity not to mention varieties such as Catherine Mermet, Etoile de Lyon, Mme de Watteville, Horace Vernet or Mme Falcot which still enchant collectors and amateurs.

In 1884, Jean-Baptiste brought in his son, Pierre, to the management of the firm. Together, they produced 16 varieties marketed under the name ‘Guillot et Fils’, among which are Gloire Lyonnaise and Mme Laurette de Messimy.

He died in Lyon on 6th September 1893 leaving a flourishing firm, but also a reputation to keep up.
Pierre Guillot was born in Lyon on 13th November 1855, and after a general further education, took over the management of the Roseraies in 1892.

If Pierre only produced a few creations, it was certainly without doubt that as competition was becoming stiff, it was not a question of not marketing high quality varieties but above all because one could think of him as the ‘theoretician’ of the family.

He was the author of a certain number of reports about roses which he presented during numerous national and international conferences. He was a member of several erudite societies, took part in numerous juries, corresponded with many foreign rose growers and due to his reputation, was invited to many events dedicated to the Rose. He was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1913.

Among his 41 creations, varieties such as Comtesse du Cayla or Mme Léon Pain are still cultivated and are very much the fashion today.
On 2nd September Pierre married Marie-Louise COMPAGNON and they had three children, Hélène, Marguerite and Marc.
He died on 23rd September 1918 in Lyon, and it was his wife, Marie-Louise, who took over running the business until Marc was able to succeed his father.

Marc was born on 31st July 1899 in Lyon and took over the Roseraies in 1926 on the death of his mother.
He had to cope with numerous difficulties: the expropriation of the Chemin des Pins because of the increased urbanism of Lyon, the installation of the nursery gardens at Saint-Priest, increased competition, and the Second World War.
With the help of his wife, Juliette GRANJON, he continued the tradition and created several varieties, among which the best known, Comtesse de Cassagne and Souvenir de Pierre Guillot are still with us today.

Unfortunately his premature death in 1953 prevented him from continuing his work, and he left four orphaned sons, the eldest being only 10 years of age.

It was his wife, Juliette who took over the role of ‘Regent’ which she assumed courageously and successfully until 1972, when Jean-Pierre took in hand the destiny of the ‘Roseraies Pierre GUILLOT’. It is he who manages the firm at the present time.

After moving the nurseries from Saint-Priest to Chamagnieu, he tackled the task of the firm’s modernization to meet market requirements. The firm produces and markets 250,000 rose plants a year.
For several years now, two major aspects guide the firm’s policy :

Enhancement of the Old Roses
With an incomparable legacy of more than 500 varieties representing all the rose families, the GUILLOT family is without a shadow of doubt in the best position to talk about old roses. It was unthinkable not to bring this heritage to the fore.
After years of research in the collections of rose gardens such as de l’Hay les Roses, Lyon or Bagatelle, Jean-Pierre has grouped together all the ‘House’ varieties still in existence and has completed this collection by choosing the best varieties obtained since the XVII century, and in 1990 offered amateurs a first list of 160 varieties.

The following year saw the publication of the first illustrated catalogue entirely devoted to Old Roses.
Their current catalogue offers more than 500 varieties including many which are not offered by any other rose grower.
Research continues and the next few years will without doubt see new treasures unearthed from oblivion, to enrich the Collections of more and more numerous enlightened Amateurs.

Creation of new varieties
In this field as well, it would be inconceivable not to continue the work of creation undertaken by the GUILLOT family since 1834.
Jean-Pierre Guillot has created new roses which combine the charm and diversity of the Old Roses with the qualities of
modern roses.
They group these ‘New Old Roses’ under the name of ‘Rosa Générosa’. Sonia Rykiel® is a perfect example of this new
type of rose.

Like other firms, the Roseraies Guillot have set up an organisation which draws the maximum benefits from the long and delicate process of successful cross breeding, seedlings and first year selections from the Marsellaise region, which benefit from optimal climatic conditions - long periods of warm weather favourable to the perfect ripening of the fruits, also grafting, test cultures and rose multiplication at Chamagnieu, in a region whose rose growing qualities are recognised.

The very carefully elaborated cross-breeding programmes, have the following objectives:
 To escape from the constraints of the present standards by looking for variance in shape, habits and foliage, which are the stamp of Old Roses.
• To reinforce and diversify the ‘Scented’ character, the rose in fact has the unusual particularity of developing numerous scents, violets, apple, banana, and lilies of the valley — a whole world of aromas to be explored and tamed.