Roses Bred by Kordes

The Kordes family has one of the longest histories of breeding roses. Wilhelm, who founded the company in the first half of the twentieth century was famous the world over for his shrub roses which were tough and packed with flowers. Several represented landmarks in breeding. Reimer took over from him and focussed more on hybrid teas and floribunds as was the style of the 1960's. His successor, another Wilhelm gone one to introduce a number of roses that combine most of the strengths of both old and new.

The one thread that unites all of Kordes work would seem to be a clear prioritization of rose qualities with vigor and disease resistance always receiving highest priority, form and foliferous qualities recieving high, but secondary priority, and fragrance being a desireable but optional quality. For those who are struck by one or more of Kordes cultivars and would have them regardless of fragrance, this is a good enough order of things. But those rose lovers who covet fragrance in all their roses will find this a tough list to navigate. Graham Thomas, in particular, finds a number of the vigorous shrubs 'scentless, soulless.'

I have failed with Crimson Bouquet and Robusta, in both cases growing them in dense impoverished , dry soil. I have been delighted with the progress of Autumn Sunset, a sport of Westerland. It seems to manage almost as well as some of my best albas. Folklore, too, has done very well for me. And though I am not very enamored of Elmshorn, it has managed to grow well in poor, dry soil and mostly shade. Carribbean I have seen in two municipal parks and it is one of a very tiny number of roses that have truly wowed me. I have also been impressed with Rote Max Graf and Helmut Schmidt. I cannot recall ever seeing a more perfectly shaped hybrid tea blossom than one produced by Helmut Schmidt growing at Vintage Gardens Roses in Sebastopol. But then, I don't get out much.

Still, for gardeners growing roses in the NE US and the plains states, many of Kordes offerings will survive where some of rosedom's prettier things will perish. And when this is the choice you have, it's not so difficult to make.

Connected to database: rosefile_roses

RoseFile Database.

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Cultivar	Class	Color	Fragrance	Breeder	Hardiness
Aalsmeer Gold	Hybrid Tea	Pink/Yellow Blend	None	Kordes	Zone 4
Ace of Hearts	Hybrid Tea	Crimson	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 5
Agatha Christie	Large Flower Climber	Candy Pink	Slight	Kordes	Zone 4
Andenken an Alma de l?Aigle	Hybrid Musk	Shell Pink	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Andrea Stelzer	Hybrid Tea	Pale Pink	None	Kordes	Zone 7
Angelique	Hybrid Tea	Vermilion		Kordes
Antike 89	Large Flower Climber	White/Pink Blend	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Antique Silk	Hybrid Tea	Buff	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 7
Ave Maria	Hybrid Tea	Salmon	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 5
Belami	Hybrid Tea	Pink		Kordes	Zone 7
Bonanza	Modern Shrub	Red/Yellow	None	Kordes	Zone 5
Caribbean	Grandiflora	Apricot	Slight	Kordes	Zone 7
Corvette	Hybrid Tea	Coral	None	Kordes	Zone 5
Crimson Bouquet	Grandiflora	Red	Slight	Kordes	Zone 6
Crimson Glory	Hybrid Tea	Red	Strong	Kordes	Zone 5
Dornroschen	Modern Shrub	Cerise	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Elegant Beauty	Hybrid Tea	Pale Apricot	None	Kordes	Zone 5
Elysium	Floribunda	Candy Pink	Slight	Kordes	Zone 5
Eureka	Floribunda	Gold		Kordes	Zone 5
Eutin	Floribunda	Cerise	None	Kordes	Zone 4
Flamingo	Hybrid Tea	Shell Pink	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Folklore	Hybrid Tea	Salmon	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Goldbusch	Modern Shrub	Copper	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Harmonie	Hybrid Tea	Coral	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 7
Ilse Krohn Superior	Large Flower Climber	White	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4
Immensee	Ground Cover	Pale Pink	Slight	Kordes
Karl Forster	Modern Shrub	White	Slight	Kordes	Zone 5
Karl Herbst	Hybrid Tea	Crimson	Slight	Kordes	Zone 4
Keepsake	Hybrid Tea	Pink	Slight	Kordes	Zone 4
Kiss	Floribunda	Salmon	Moderate	Kordes	Zone 4

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