About the name
Name. 'Hocus Pocus' — a magic formula, the traditional phrase in conjurers' incantations (possibly from the Latin church phrase 'Hoc est corpus'). The name conveys the 'magical' character of the variety perfectly: on one bush, flowers with different patterns appear at the same time, each as if 'conjured' separately. The Ukrainian equivalents are 'fokus-pokus' or 'abrakadabra' (the variety's daughter is called Abracadabra).
Breeding. Bred by W. Kordes' Söhne, Sparrieshoop, Germany, in 2000. Code KORpocus (the exact form with a standard -c-, not -k-). CLARIFICATION: Hocus Pocus is a sport mutation of Black Beauty (KORfleur, Kordes 1991, a dark wine-red floribunda). In other words, Hocus Pocus arose spontaneously on a Black Beauty bush as a shoot with stripes instead of a single colour. Kordes breeders isolated this shoot and propagated it as a new variety.
Significance. Hocus Pocus – Abracadabra is a chain of mutations at Kordes. A year later (2001) Kordes isolated a second sport mutation, this time from Hocus Pocus, and named it Abracadabra (KORhocsel); it has even more yellow stripes, which are brighter (claret plus pure lemon). This is a classic example of a mutation cascade at Kordes: Black Beauty – Hocus Pocus – Abracadabra. All three varieties are unstable and can revert to the parent dark red colour (without stripes). Therefore, when pruning, you must REMOVE shoots that have reverted to a single colour, or the variety will 'disappear' from the bush. ADR Hocus Pocus did not receive an award.