W. Kordes' Söhne

W. Kordes' Söhne (en. W. Kordes' Sons) is a German rose breeding company in Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The company is one of the world's leading rose breeders and producers for cut roses and garden roses, annually selling worldwide more than two million rose plants at retail and wholesale. Each year, more than 50,000 new crosses of garden roses and cut roses are tested, leading to four to six marketable varieties after a trial period of eight to ten years.

History

Memorial stone for Wilhelm Kordes in Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop

Wilhelm Kordes I (born 1865 in Holstein, Germany, died 1935 in Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop) was a German horticulturist. In 1887 he created a rose garden in Elmshorn, specializing in growing garden roses. In 1918 he moved the firm to Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop in Schleswig-Holstein.

His sons, the breeder Wilhelm Kordes II (born 30 March 1891 in Elmshorn, died 11 November 1976) and Hermann Kordes (1893-1963) changed the name of the expanding company to "Wilhelm Kordes' Söhne". Wilhelm Kordes II's varieties made them one of the biggest rose firms of the twentieth century. His general aim was to breed hardy and healthy varieties for the German climate. After 1920 he concentrated entirely on rose-growing, leaving management to his brother Hermann. By the mid-1930s, the company had grown to considerable size.

[Wilhelm's] experiments focused at first upon the native European species, including Rosa canina, R. rubiginosa, and R. spinosissima: the results include such important shrub roses as 'Harry Maasz' (1939), 'Louis Rödiger' (1935), 'Raubritter' (1936), 'Karl Föster' (1930), and the early-flowering "Frühling" series. He also experimented with the Hybrid Musks such as 'Elmshorn' (1950), 'Erfurt' (1931), and 'Eva' (1933). [His son Reimer later bred 'Iceberg', also a Hybrid Musk.] Hybrid Teas were not neglected: 'Crimson Glory' (1935) had an unusually long reign as the world's favourite crimson rose.^[1]

During the Second World War Wilhelm Kordes II crossed the East Asian Rosa wichurana with the Japanese Rosa rugosa eventually to obtain a new species, Rosa kordesii, able to withstand the harsh winters of north Germany. From it he later bred such famous post-war varieties as 'Parkdirektor Riggers,' 'Leverkusen,' Hamburger Phönix' and 'Heidelberg.' "The dark, glossy foliage of many modern roses can be traced back to 'Kordesii'."^[1]

Wilhelm Kordes II was also very involved in implementing ADR testing (general testing of new German roses) in 1950, established by the rose breeders in the Federation of German Nurseries.

Above all, it is as a rose breeder than Wilhelm Kordes [II] will be remembered. He and his son Reimer bred some of the world's best-known roses, including 'Crimson Glory' and 'Schneewittchen' ('Iceberg'). Kordes knew that it was through introducing new genes that all the great advances in plant breeding had been achieved. His experiments focused at first upon the native European species and Rosa rugosa; his aim was to develop new bush roses for small gardens.^[2]

From 1955, his son Reimer Kordes (February 19, 1922 – 3 February 1997) ran the company until Reimer's son Wilhelm Kordes III (1953-2016) took over in 1977.

Reimer moved on from shrub roses to concentrate on brilliantly coloured Hybrid Teas and Floribundas for private and public gardens. Nevertheless, he introduced roses of every type: large-flowered climbers such as 'Alchymist' (1956) and 'Antike 89' (1988); ground cover roses such as 'Immensee' and 'Sommerwind'; Hybrid Teas including 'Duftzauber 84' (1984) and 'Kupferkönigin' (1996); shrubs such as 'Chiarivari' (1970), 'Lucinde' (1988), and 'Rosenstadt Zweibrücken' (1989); Floribundas such as 'Golden Holstein' (1988) and 'Crimson Bouquet' (1999); and cut-flower roses such as 'Champagner' (1985).^[1]

One of the world's best known rose cultivars, 'Iceberg' (syn. 'Schneewittchen') was introduced by Reimer Kordes in 1958. The variety was selected as the "World Favourite Rose" of 1983. Other famous cultivars include 'Sunsprite', and 'Aprikola'.

Sortable list of Kordes rose varieties

Name	Form	Colour	Date	ADR-recognised	Photo
Adolf Horstmann	hybrid tea	yellow and pink	1971
Agnes Bernauer	hybrid tea	light pink	1989
Alchymist	bush	apricot	1956
Aloha	climber	apricot and pink	2002
Amadeus	hybrid tea	dark red	2003
Angela	bush	carmine pink	1984
Ankori (Angelique)	hybrid tea	orange blend	1980
Antike 89	floribunda climber	white blend, red edges	1988
Aprikola	floribunda	yellow-orange to apricot	2001	2001
Asso di Cuori	hybrid tea	dark red	1981
Athena	hybrid tea	white blend	1984
August Kordes (Lafayette)	floribunda	deep pink	1928
Australian Gold (Mona Lisa)	floribunda	apricot blend	1980
Ave Maria	hybrid tea	strong salmon-orange	1981
Bad Birnbach	floribunda, shrub	carmine-pink	2000	2000
Bad Füssing	floribunda	red	1980
Bad Neuenahr	bush	mid-red	1958
Bad Wörishofen (Pink Emely)	floribunda, shrub	carmine pink	2005	2003
Ballet	hybrid tea	deep pink	1958
Belami	hybrid tea	orange-pink	1985
Bella Rosa	floribunda	strong pink	1982
Bengali	floribunda	orange-red	1966
Berlin	bush	red	1949
Berolina	hybrid tea	citron yellow	1986
Beverly	hybrid tea	light pink	1999
Black Boy	bush	dark red	1958
Blue Bayou	floribunda	mauve	1993
Blue Girl (Kölner Karneval)	hybrid tea	mauve	1964
Blue River	hybrid tea	mauve	1984
Blühwunder	floribunda	bright pink to salmon pink	1995	1994
Bonanza	bush	golden-yellow, copper edges	1983	1984
Bremer Stadtmusikanten	floribunda	pink blend	2000
Bride's Dream (Märchenkönigin)	hybrid tea	light pink	1985
Burghausen	bush	bright crimson	1991	1989
Caramella	shrub	yellow	2001
Cervia	floribunda	apricot and pink	2003
Charmant	dwarf	strong pink	1999	2004
Cherry Girl	floribunda	red	2007
Chiarivari	shrub	yellow blend	1971
Christel von der Post	hybrid tea	deep yellow	1990
Colour Wonder	hybrid tea	orange-red, cream reverse	1964
Crimson Bouquet	grandiflora	dark red	1966
Crimson Glory	hybrid tea	dark red	1935
Cubana	shrub	apricot blend	2001
Diamant	floribunda, Shrub	white	2001	2002
Die Welt	hybrid tea	orange-red	1976
Doktor Waldheim	hybrid tea	salmon pink	1973
Dolomiti	floribunda	pink, cream centre	2011
Dornröschenschloss Sababurg	shrub	pink	1993
Dortmund	climber	carmine-tinted crimson, white centre	1955	1954
Duftzauber	hybrid tea	dark red	1984
Dusterlohe	climber	deep pink	1931
Eifelzauber	shrub	light pink	2008
Eliza	hybrid tea	pink to silver-pink	2004	2005
Elmshorn	bush	cherry red	1951
Elveshörn	bush	bright red	1985
Escimo	miniature	bright white	2006	2006
Esmeralda	hybrid tea	white and pink	1980
Esprit	floribunda	dark red	1985
Eva	bush	cherry	1933
Erfurt	bush	pink, white on a golden base	1939
Eureka	floribunda	apricot blend	2002
Eutin	bush	cherry	1940
Fairest Cape	hybrid tea	apricot, orange shading	1994
Fantasia Mondiale	hybrid tea	apricot, salmon-pink edges	2006
Fee des Neiges (Iceberg, Schneewittchen)	floribunda	white	1958
Felicitas	bush	dark red	1998	1996
Flammentanz	small shrub	crimson	1955	1952
Flirt	floribunda shrub	deep pink	2000
Florentina	hybrid tea	crimson	1973	1974
Fortuna	floribunda, shrub	dark red	2002	2002
Fritz Nobis	bush	bright pink	1940
Frühlingsanfang	bush	bright yellow	1950
Frühlingsgold	bush	muted yellow	1937
Frühlingsmorgen	bush	pink-yellow	1931
Fuggerstadt Augsburg	floribunda	orange-red	1985
Funkuhr	hybrid tea	yellow, red edges	1984
Gabriele Gebauer (Sunstar)	floribunda	light yellow	2007
Garden of Roses	patio shrub	cream, apricot centre	2006
Gärtnerfreude	shrub, floribunda	bright red	2001	2001
Gartenzauber	floribunda	red	1984
Gebrüder Grimm	floribunda	orange-red uppers, peach backs	2002	2002
Gelber Engel	floribunda	bright yellow	2002	2004
Georgette	floribunda	pink	1995
Goldbusch	bush	copper	1954
Golden Gate	climber	bright yellow	2005	2006
Golden Medaillon	hybrid tea	deep yellow	1991
Goldener Holstein	floribunda	deep yellow	1988
Goldmarie	floribunda	deep yellow	1982
Goldrausch	floribunda	yellow	1961
Grande Amore	hybrid tea	intense dark red	2004	2005
Gruss an Bayern	floribunda	red	1971
Hamburg	bush	dark red	1935
Hamburger Deern	hybrid tea	orange-pink	1997
Hamburger Phönix	Kordesii climber	red	1954
Hannah Gordon (Tabris)	floribunda	white, pink edges	1983
Hansa Park	shrub	mauve	1994
Harlekin	climber	cream, red edges	1986
Harmonie	hybrid tea	orange-pink	1981
Heidelberg	hybrid tea	carmine-red	1959
Harry Maasz	hybrid macrantha	crimson-violet, white centre	1939
Heckenfeuer	floribunda	red	1983
Heidelinde	floribunda	mauve	1991
Heinzelmännchen	floribunda	bright crimson	1983
Helmut Schmidt	hybrid tea	yellow	1979
Herkules	shrub	white, pink undertones	2007
Holstein	floribunda	carmine-red	1938
Ilse Krohn	bush	bright cream and white	1957
Ilse Krohn superior	bush	bright cream and white	1964
Innocencia	shrub, floribunda	bright white	2003	2004
Immensee	shrub	light pink	1982
Jasmina	climber	violet and pink	1997
Juanita	shrub	pink, carmine pink	2007	2006
Karl Förster	bush	white	1931
Karl Herbst	hybrid tea	carmine red	1950
Karl Ploberger Rose	shrub	yellow, lighter outer petals	2007
Kleopatra	hybrid tea	red and yellow	1994
Knirps	shrub, ground cover	carmine pink	1997	2004
KO 95/1727-03	shrub	yellow blend	2003
KO 98 1552-01	floribunda	yellow	1998
KORblixmu	floribunda	white	2007
Kordes Brilliant	shrub	orange blend	1983
Korelasting (Lindenhof)	bush	bright pink, yellow centre	1999
Korona	floribunda	orange-red	1955
Kupferkönigin	hybrid tea	deep yellow	1996
Lady Rose	hybrid tea	orange-pink	1979
Laguna	hybrid tea	deep pink	1995
Larissa	shrub	light pink	2007
Las Vegas	hybrid tea	orange, yellow reverse	1981
Leverkusen	climber	bright yellow	1954
Lichtkönigin Lucia	bush	strong lemon-yellow	1966	1968
Liebeszauber	hybrid tea	dark red	1991
Lili Marlene	floribunda	dark red	1959
Lions-Rose	floribunda	cream-white	2002	2002
Lolita	hybrid tea	apricot blend	1972
Loving Memory	hybrid tea	red	1981
Louis Rödiger	climber	pale orange to orange	1935
Lucinde	shrub	deep yellow	1988
Lupo	miniature	mauve blend	2006
Lydia	shrub	orange blend	1973
Mabella (New Day)	hybrid tea	yellow	1972
Magenta	bush	mauve	1954
Maigold	bush	orange	1952
Mainaufeuer (Red Ribbons)	bush	red	1990
Mandarin	miniature	apricot blend	1987
Mandy	hybrid tea	dark red	1987
Manita	climber	pink, yellow centre	1998	1998
Mariandel (Christian IV)	floribunda	crimson	1982
Marondo	shrub	pink	1991
Maxi Vita	floribunda, shrub	dark pink, yellow-orange base	2001	2001
Medeo	shrub	white	2001
Mein schöner Garten	shrub	pink, salmon-pink	1986
Memoire	hybrid tea	white	1992
Meteor	floribunda	scarlet	1959	1960
Mireille Mathieu	floribunda	orange-red	1988
Mondiale	hybrid tea	old rose pink	1993
Moonlight	florist's rose	light yellow	2004
Moon River	shrub	white	1996
NDR1 Radio Niedersachsen	floribunda	deep pink	1996
Neon	floribunda, shrub	carmine pink	2001	2001
Neue Revue	hybrid tea	red blend	1969
Neues Europa	floribunda	scarlet	1965
New Day	hybrid tea	butter yellow	1972
Nicole	floribunda	white, red edges	1985
Novalis	floribunda	lavender	2010
Nymphenburg	bush	bright pink	1954
Out of Rosenheim	floribunda	red	2010
Palmengarten Frankfurt	shrub	carmine pink	1988	1992
Parkdirektor Riggers	Kordesii climber	hard red	1957
Parole	hybrid tea	deep pink	2002
Peer Gynt	hybrid tea	yellow, red edges	1968
Perfect Moment	hybrid tea	red, yellow reverse	1989
Pepita	dwarf	bright carmine pink	2004	2004
Peter Frankenfeld	hybrid tea	deep pink	1966
Petticoat	floribunda	white, apricot centre	2004	2004
Pink Bassino	shrub	pink	1995	1993
Pink Robusta	shrub	pink	1987
Planten un Blomen	floribunda	red, pink reverse	1999
Pomponella	floribunda	deep pink	2005	2006
Postillion	shrub	copper-yellow	1998
Prominent	floribunda	orange-red	1971	1971
Queen Mother	floribunda	light pink	1971	1971
Queen of Hearts	hybrid tea	orange-pink	2008
Ramira	climber	pink	1988
Raubritter	rambler	bright pink	1936
Raymond Chenault	shrub	red	1960
Rebell	hybrid tea	red	1996
Ritter von Barmstede	shrub	pink	1959
Rosanna	climber	salmon pink	2002
Rosarium Uetersen	Climber	pink	1977
Roselina	shrub	deep pink	1992
Rosenfee	floribunda	light pink	2006
Rosenprofessor Sieber	floribunda	pink	1997	1996
Rosenresli	Shrub, bush	salmon-pink	1986	1984
Rosenstadt Zweibrücken	shrub	pink blend	1989
Rosenwunder	hybrid rubiginosa	deep pink	1934
Rosmarin	miniature	deep pink	1989
Rote Mozart	shrub	orange-red	1989
Roter Korsar	bush, shrub	dark velvet red	2004
Rotilla	floribunda	crimson	2000
Roxy	miniature	violet, red	2007
Rugelda	bush	lemon yellow	1989
Saarbrücken	shrub	scarlet	1959
Salita	climber	orange-red	1987
Samba	floribunda	red and yellow	1964
Scharlachglut	gallica	scarlet	1952
Schwarze Madonna	Kordesii hybrid tea	dark red	1992
Schwarzer Samt	Kordesii climber	dark red	1969
Sebastian Kneipp	hybrijd tea	white	1997
Shocking Blue	floribunda	mauve blend	1985
Smart Roadrunner	hybrid rugosa	deep pink	2002
Solero	hybrid tea	deep yellow	2005
Sommerabend	shrub, ground cover	bright red	1995	1996
Sommermorgen	shrub	light pink	1983
Sommerwind	ground cover, floribunda	pure pink	1985	1987
Sonnenröschen	dwarf, ground cover	white, yellow eye	2005	2003
Sparrieshoop	bush	pink	1953
Späths Jubiläum	floribunda	orange	1953
Speelwark	hybrid tea	yellow and pink	1999
St. Pauli		pink-yellow	1958
Sterntaler	hybrid tea	yellow	1995
Sunny Rose	shrub, ground cover	bright yellow, light yellow	2001	2004
Sunsprite (Friesia)	floribunda	deep yellow	1973
Sylt	Kordesii hybrid	dark red	1980
Sylvia	hybrid tea	pink	1978	1977
Sympathie	Kordesii climber	deep scarlet	1964	1966
Tatjana	hybrid tea	dark red	1970
Tradition	climber	red	1995
Träumerei	bush	lobster and salmon orange	1974
UNICEF-Rose	floribunda, shrub	bright pink	2007	2005
Uetersens Rosenkönigin	bush	orange to mid-red	2009
Uetersens Rosenprinzessin	bush	light pink	2009
Valencia	hybrid tea	amber-yellow	1989
Vogelpark Walsrode	bush	light pink	1988	1989
Walter Schultheis
Wedding Bells	hybrid tea	pink	2010
Weisse Immensee	shrub	white	1982
Weisse Wolke	climber	white	1998
Westerland	bush	orange to apricot	1969	1974
Wilhelm	climber	dark red	1934
Wilhelm Hansmann	Kordesii shrub	dark red	1955
Winter Sun	hybrid tea	yellow	2010
Yankee Doodle	hybrid tea	yellow blend	1965
Zaide	shrub	pink	2006
Zitronenjette	hybrid tea	yellow	1964
Zwergenfee	miniature	red orange	1978
Zwergkönigin	miniature	pink	1979

References

1. Charles & Brigid Quest-Ritson, The RHS Encyclopedia of Roses, Dorling Kindersley, 2003, p 221. ISBN 978-1-4053-3511-9.
2. Charles Quest-Ritson, Climbing Roses of the World, Timber Press, 2003, pp 195–6. ISBN 0-88192-563-2.

Bibliography

• W. Kordes Söhne The Kordes firm's website in English