Fire Flash

Where to plant. Containers on a terrace, small borders, the front of a display; as a patio rose it looks good in a pot by the entrance. In a greenhouse — as a commercial variety for cut bouquets.

Climate. To −18 °C — this is primarily a greenhouse variety; as a patio rose in Ukrainian gardens it needs winter cover in all regions except the south.

Care. Removing spent flowers every week extends flowering; standard prevention; in the garden, be sure to mound up the base of the bush and cover it for winter.

Name. 'Fire Flash' — English for 'flash of fire'. It conveys the character of a bi-colour flower: when a red bud opens, a deep yellow centre appears — as if it 'flashes' yellow flame from within. A classic descriptive marketing name for a cut-flower spray variety.

Breeding. Bred by Interplant Roses BV, Leisten, Netherlands — a world leader in breeding spray roses specifically (since 1962). Denomination Intertrofla, VBN-code 103246. The breeder's personal name is not given in open sources (standard for commercial houses). The exact year of introduction is not documented — commercially active in the Interplant catalogue since the 2010s. Parentage not published.

Significance. IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: there is also another variety with a similar name — 'Fireflash' (one word), bred by E.B. Le Grice in the UK in 1960, a yellow-orange Hybrid Tea. These are DIFFERENT varieties. The old Le Grice 1960 is practically off the market; no public photos exist. In today's Ukrainian nurseries and among florists, 'Fire Flash' refers exclusively to this Dutch Interplant spray variety. Production — greenhouses in Ethiopia, Kenya and Ecuador; it reaches Europe and the USA through the Dutch flower auction Royal FloraHolland. This is the variety that is really available to the Ukrainian buyer.