FIREBIRD ® – yellow-red bedding floribunda rose – KORtragoso
Floribunda performance on own roots gives FIREBIRD ® a compact, upright base that suits dense planting in nursery beds and efficient 2–3 L containers for retail-oriented finished stock. The clustered, cupped, double blooms deliver a distinctive colour shift from golden-yellow to crimson red, supporting visually impactful, reliable garden performance in standard finished products. Medium maintenance and disease resistance with hardiness to H7 enable predictable scheduling and low replacement in UK nursery networks, even where exposed winter and wind conditions must be accommodated. Homogeneous, own-root stands offer regeneration and long lifespan, providing stable capacity planning for wholesalers serving thematic rose gardens and public-realm schemes. From rooted cutting to finished bed rose, year 1 focuses on root establishment, year 2 on structural framework, and year 3 on full ornamental display, supporting confident long-term stock strategies and wholesale programmes based on tray-grown, semi-finished material.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- 2–3 L floribunda bedding line – Compact, upright growth, floribunda habit and medium maintenance suit efficient 2–3 L standard container production for dependable yellow-red bedding stock – target audience/channel: retail garden centres and independent resellers.
- Colour-shift feature series – Highlight the dramatic yellow-to-crimson colour change within a curated floribunda series, using bush-trained plants finished in 2–3 L pots – target audience/channel: concept-driven retail programmes and promotional benches.
- Hardy collection rose range – Use its H7, Zone 4 hardiness and reliable garden performance rating as part of a hardy floribunda selection grown from NEONATAL cuttings into standard containers – target audience/channel: public-realm suppliers and landscape-oriented nurseries.
- Thematic “Firebird” showcase block – Produce uniform 2–3 L plants from own-root material to create visually coherent blocks that underline the “firebird” story in show gardens and curated borders – target audience/channel: show-garden organisers and collection managers.
- Premium display containers – Select higher-vigour plants for grow-on into 40–50 litre feature containers, using the remontant, clustered flowering for high-impact seasonal displays – target audience/channel: destination retail sites and municipal display purchasers.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Floribunda bed rose cultivar with registered name KORtragoso, marketed as FIREBIRD ® within the Fantasia® collection; ARS exhibition name Firebird supports exhibition floribunda classification. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred in Germany in 2005 by Tim-Hermann Kordes from unnamed Rosa hybrida lines; introduced 2015 by W. Kordes’ Söhne and Star Roses & Plants, with EU and US protection from 2015 and 2017. |
| Awards and recognition |
Recognised internationally, including Audience Prize at Le Roeulx (Belgium, 2014) and further awards in international rose competitions, supporting its suitability for exhibition and collection plantings. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Compact, upright bush 60–80 cm high and 45–65 cm wide, with dense, glossy dark-green foliage and moderate prickles; no specific data on self-cleaning behaviour currently available. |
| Flower morphology |
Double, cupped flowers with 26–39 petals, medium-sized clusters on floribunda-type inflorescences; remontant habit ensures generous second flowering under suitable cultural and site conditions. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Yellow-red bicolour with golden-yellow base and vivid scarlet-red edges; ARS yb, RHS 43B outer and 13C inner, showing progressive shift to crimson-red tones rather than simple fading in the landscape. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Fruity fragrance character with very weak intensity; double flowers restrict stamen access so pollinator attraction is limited, positioning the cultivar primarily as an ornamental display rose. |
| Hip characteristics |
Low hip production expected due to double flowers; occasional small spherical hips 6–10 mm across may develop, orange-red RHS 34A, typically of minor visual and commercial significance. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Medium overall disease resistance, notably resistant to powdery mildew and black spot, with medium rust response; winter hardy to around -26 to -23 °C, assessed as RHS H7, Swedish Zone 4 and USDA 5b. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Suited to flowerbeds and pots, with medium maintenance and occasional plant protection; ideal for standard container production in 2–3 L pots, delivered as bush-trained compact plants from own-root cuttings. |
FIREBIRD ® (KORtragoso) combines compact floribunda habit, hardy, reliable colour performance and own-root longevity into predictable, regenerative stock stands, making it a solid candidate for aligning capacity and scheduling in professional rose programmes.
