Wilhelm Kordes specialized in breeding roses for parklands. His roses tend to be big, vigorous, foliferous, and disease free. About most of them Graham Thomas grouses that they are 'coarse' or llacking refinement or that they are 'scentless and soulless.' Nobody has finer sensibilities in this area than Thomas, and he is surely right.
Still, Kordes work on landscape roses has proven invaluable to several generations of his successors. For instance, Kordes worked for some time before he succeeded in crossing R wichurana with R. rugosa. He achieved a stable species-like rose now known as R. kordesii which is used quite liberally in the breeding of tough and hardy roses for northern climates. Dortmund and Heidelberg are two highly rated roses on this list that owe their success to that cross. And most of Dr Sveda's successes owe some measure of their success to the same cross.
Rose gardeners in Canada and the colder regions of the US will frequently find that roses bred by the house of Kordes, roses that derive from many of the cultivars listed here, will do better than those developed by American breeders working in the arid heat of California. This said, I have grown Elmshorn and while it grows into a nice shrub I am not much enamored of its flowers. Leverkusen has failed in my garden owing, I think, to summer drought. Raubritter scrapes by, barely doing well enough to escape shovel pruning. I had some success with Nymphenberg and intend to plant it again. Same holds for Dortmund.
| Cultivar | Class | Color | Fragrance | Breeder | Hardiness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Modern Shrub | Purple | Strong | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Cluster Flower Climber | Red/White Blend | None | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Rambler | White/Pink Blend | Strong | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Modern Shrub | Rose | Slight | W. Kordes | Zone 5 | |
Hybrid Musk | Pale Pink | Strong | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Modern Shrub | Crimson & Cerise | Slight | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Modern Shrub | Candy Pink | Strong | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Modern Shrub | Buff | Moderate | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Modern Shrub | Primrose | Powerful | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |
Modern Shrub | Pink/Yellow Blend | Moderate | W. Kordes | Zone 5 | |
Cluster Flower Climber | Primrose | Moderate | W. Kordes | Zone 5 | |
Modern Shrub | Shell Pink | Moderate | W. Kordes | Zone 5 | |
Gallica | Scarlet | Slight | W. Kordes | Zone 4 | |