Wedding Bells

Where to plant. In cutting beds for wedding bouquets and cut flowers; as an accent in a bed; in wedding arrangements; by a bench, for its perfume-like fragrance; even in northern regions, thanks to its record hardiness, 5a.

Climate. All of Ukraine without cover (USDA 5a, a rare winter hardiness for an HT); tolerates summer heat well.

Care. Moderate: full sun; minimal disease prevention thanks to its 5/5 resistance; feeding 2-3× per season; pruning ⅓ in spring; deadheading speeds up the second flush.

Name. 'Wedding Bells', a symbolic wedding name in the tradition of wedding floral arrangements, with no reference to any specific person. Kordes's marketing name for a cut-flower bouquet variety, which maximises the association with wedding bouquets and celebrations.

Breeding. Bred by Tim Hermann Kordes at W. Kordes' Söhne (Sparrieshoop, Germany). Code KORsteflali. Bred 2001, introduced 2010. Parentage not disclosed. Belongs to the Eleganza® Collection, a Kordes series created as cut-flower HTs with good garden performance (not greenhouse cut-flower types such as Topaz or Super Green).

Significance. Portland Gold Medal 2019, a prestigious American award from the Portland International Rose Test Garden. USDA 5a: a record winter hardiness for an HT. Most HTs overwinter only in zones 6b and above, and Wedding Bells is a rare exception that makes it suitable for all of Ukraine without cover. Very resistant to black spot, the Eleganza-standard. 40-55 petals in a classic HT form make it an ideal cut flower. A perfume-like myrrh-rose fragrance, a rarity among cut-flower HTs. The legacy of Tim Hermann Kordes: together with Schöne Koblenzerin (2011) and other modern Kordes-line works, Wedding Bells represents the modern stage of Kordes breeding, combining garden hardiness with cut-flower quality. ADR: NOT confirmed (a common myth in secondary catalogues); no official source (Kordes, HMF, adr-rose.de) lists an ADR. NOT a floribunda, as some legacy catalogues state; it is a classic HT.