LYDIA® – orange-pink park rose – Kordes | pharmaROSA® NEONATAL rooted cutting
Professional growers looking for reliable shrub material for UK nursery networks will find LYDIA® a versatile park rose that fits standard container production and urban-specification planting, offering remontant flowering on an upright, bushy frame suited to 2–3 L lines and later step-up into 40–50 litre landscape formats. As own-root propagation base, it develops renewable structure with predictable regrowth after heavier pruning and collection maintenance, supporting homogeneous batches and low replacement across reseller and project ranges. Strong, rich fragrance, warm orange-pink colour play and good self-cleaning reinforce its positioning as a dependable, medium-maintenance park rose for standard finished product programmes. Its H7 hardiness and zoning up to Swedish Zon 4 give dependable winter field performance, supporting nursery beds and container blocks even in more exposed northern sites with good cold and wind tolerance, while moderate disease profile and accessible stamens for partial pollinator value add balanced appeal for thematic rose gardens and public-realm schemes, aligning with sustainable own-root ranges and wholesale park assortments.
Usage options
Finished-product ideas
- Core 2–3 L park shrub line – Own-root LYDIA® in 2–3 L pots as a standard container shrub, highlighting remontant flowering and rich fragrance for reliable garden performance – target: garden-centre focused retail/reseller programmes.
- Urban park and hedge module – Bush-trained plants supplied in 5–7.5 L or stepped into 40–50 litre units for instant-structure hedges and park plantings, using dense foliage and upright habit – target: public-realm and municipal contractors via wholesale nurseries.
- Thematic Kordes collection block – Own-root production batches for collection beds, emphasising cultivar authenticity, colour progression and stable long-term structure – target: show-garden operators, rose gardens and heritage parks.
- Pollinator-accent shrub concept – Semi-double, strongly fragrant clusters positioned as partial pollinator-support roses within mixed shrub assortments, using remontant flowering for extended value – target: environmentally positioned retail and project ranges.
- Cold-hardy landscape shrub pack – H7 hardy, own-root stock assembled as a resilient shrub package for cooler and exposed UK regions, leveraging long-lived stands and regenerative capacity – target: regional wholesalers serving northern and coastal schemes.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
LYDIA® (Registered name: Lydia), shrub / park rose, exhibition category shrub rose; commercial group Park – shrub rose, ARS approved exhibition name Lydia; feminine given-name origin. |
| Origin and breeding |
Raised by Reimer Kordes, W. Kordes’ Söhne, Germany; parentage unknown seedling × ‘Circus’ (Swim, 1954); bred and introduced 1973 in Germany, with initial distribution by W. Kordes’ Söhne. |
| Awards and recognition |
Bronze medal at the Baden-Baden International Novelty Competition in 1975, providing a historical quality reference for performance and ornamental value within professional shrub rose assortments. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Upright, bushy shrub with dense, dark green, slightly glossy foliage (RHS 137A); height about 140–220 cm, spread 120–180 cm; moderately thorny shoots and good self-cleaning, most spent blooms dropping naturally. |
| Flower morphology |
Semi-double blooms with 13–25 petals, small flower size (approx. 0.5–1.5 in), goblet to cup-shaped, borne in clusters; remontant with a generous second flowering, supporting season-long ornamental interest. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Warm orange-pink base with yellowish sheen; buds deep orange-red, opening to vibrant salmon-orange with yellow wash, then fading through peach to creamy yellow; colour retention moderate; ARS OB; RHS 24B outer, 14B inner. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Strong, distinct rich fruity fragrance; semi-double, fragrant flowers with visible stamens attract pollinators, offering partial pollinator-friendly value in addition to ornamental and sensory performance. |
| Hip characteristics |
Moderately abundant hips, ellipsoidal, about 8–12 mm diameter, red (RHS 44A); can contribute seasonal interest and seed-set where not fully deadheaded in landscape or collection plantings. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately -26 to -23 °C (H7), Swedish hardiness zone 4, USDA 5b; disease resistance moderate to powdery mildew, black spot and rust; no specific data on heat or drought tolerance available. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Primary uses: park, specimen, hedge, container and urban green space; medium maintenance with occasional pest control; recommended as bush-trained, compact plant for standard container production with 2–3 L target pots. |
LYDIA® offers remontant flowering, strong fragrance and cold-hardy shrub structure on a predictable own-root base, giving long-lived, homogeneous stands for professional programmes where it is worth aligning capacity and scheduling in advance.
