Wilhelm Kordes (1865-1935) founded a company and a nursery for growing plants in 1887 on the fertile lands of Elmshorn (North of Hamburg), where rose soon became the main crop.
With this name begins the dynasty of breeders, and the modern name ‘W. Kordes ‘ Sohne’, known around the world, the company has since 1919, when the sons of the founder, Hermann and Wilhelm, joined forces.
Wilhelm Kordes and his son Rymer entered the history of pink as outstanding originators of the XX century. The priority direction in plant breeding since the beginning of the formation of the family firm ‘W. Kordes’Sohne’ Wilhelm Kordes elected excretion unpretentious and hardy roses, and a recognition of the value of these works was the introduction of a new class in the classification of garden roses (Hybrid Kordesii – hybrid rose kordesii).
The hit parade of celebrities of these breeders is rightly headed by the unforgettable ‘Crimson Glory’ (1935), which is still included in the catalog of the company. It was widespread and memorable scarlet velvety flowers of perfect shape and fragrant aroma of damask roses. The baton took one of the great roses of the century ‘Schneewittchen’ (1958), and continued the tradition of ‘Lilli Marleen’ (1959), ‘Sympathie’ (1964), ‘Lichtkonigin Lucia’ (1966), ‘Westerland’ (1969) and many other famous varieties.
Today at the head of ‘W. Kordes ‘ Sohne’ is the fourth generation of the dynasty. The company is one of the world’s largest producers of rose seedlings. It has over 400 nurseries in many countries.
The path of a new variety from the moment of creation to mass sales is long. The resulting innovations are studied in nurseries, breeding methods the cultivar characteristics are fixed, then tested under different environmental conditions. In Germany, on the legislative basis developed a program of testing varieties in the wild.
Certificate “ADR” (recognized German rose) according to the test results are the most immune and unpretentious varieties. Choosing varieties from the catalog, pay attention to this sign.
The difficulties, unfortunately, are related to the problems of adaptation of any seedlings (it is not known where they were grown), the conditions of their winter storage by the manufacturer and maintenance in other garden centers.
Roses company ‘W. Kordes ‘ Sohne’ in our market appeared among the first. In recent years, their annual mass deliveries have been organized. Many fans have already collected their collections and can Express their own opinions about these roses. My collection includes about 100 varieties of this company.
These roses (as well as all others in the General collection) I transfer to other rootstocks and I watch their growth and flowering, I estimate their decorative effect, health and winter hardiness. My General conclusion: most of them are practical and reliable roses.
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