Rose Queen’s Crown

Lavish and very full lavender-pink rosettes with a soft garden-rose perfume and keep their regal poise in the vase for 16-18 days; ‘Queen’s Crown’ couples Kordes’ trademark disease-tolerant foliage with steady year-round production, delivering long, elegant stems and a show-bench finish that has already garnered ribbons on both sides of the Atlantic.

FLOWERING

Pointed buds measuring 6.0 - 6.5 cm (~2.4 - 2.6 in) in diameter the sepals slowly unfurl to a generous, high-centered cup 5.5 cm (~2.2 in) or more in height, finally opening to an 8 cm (~3 in) ruffled rosette with quartered heart and reflexed guard petals that evoke antique gallicas.

The palette of rose variety ‘Queen’s Crown’ begins as cool black-currant lavender brushed with silvery pink along the outer petals and matures to a soft, smoky mauve - an effect prized by event florists for muted, “vintage” colour harmonies.

Petal texture is thick and velvety, showing very good bruise resistance; a count of 50 - 55 petals gives blooms impressive substance without sacrificing form. Fragrance registers as light-to-moderate on most nose scales - growers describe an airy sweet-tea note with hints of fresh rosewater, sufficient for bridal work yet unobtrusive indoors.

Under heated greenhouse culture the cultivar crops continuously, averaging 0.9 - 1.1 marketable stems per plant per month, which converts to ten-plus flushes annually in equatorial production. On a plant in the gardens the flower lasts for about 5 - 6 days, but once cut and conditioned the blooms hold for about 16 days (commercial trials) and up to 18 days under cool-chain handling, opening to 80 % aperture before petal drop.

‘Queen’s Crown’ debuted on the show bench with multiple Red and Blue Ribbons at the Society of American Florists Outstanding Varieties Competition (Miami, 2024), confirming both colour impact and presentation quality.

PLANT

The rose variety ‘Queen’s Crown’ is classified as a modern Hybrid Tea rose for the cut-rose trade. This rose grows 90 - 120 cm (3–4 ft) tall and 60 - 90 cm (2–3 ft) wide in the garden, or 50 - 70 cm stem length when cropped under glass. The growth habit is upright with a single strong stem per flush.

The canes of this rose variety are medium-green, round and lightly glaucous, maturing to deep olive, and carry moderate, slender prickles that are easily stripped.

The compound, five-leaflet foliage is mid-green, semi-glossy and has tested highly tolerant to powdery mildew and downy mildew in Kordes’ internal screens, reducing fungicide inputs in sustainable programmes. The edges of the leaflets are serrated, the type of serration is large and single.

Hardiness outdoors is roughly USDA 7b–10 (RHS lists this rose “not native; trade only”), with greenhouse culture recommended in colder zones or for premium stems.

For this rose variety is recommended routine Hybrid Tea pruning: removing spent blooms to a strong outward-facing bud and reducing framework by one-third in early spring - this encourages long, straight canes.

Integrated Pest Management includes: maintaining 45–60 % RH under glass, applying prophylactic silicon and biologicals against Botrytis, and interplanting with companion species such as lavender, marigold and catmint which repel aphids and attract predatory hoverflies.

The rose variety ‘Queen’s Crown’ is ideal uses include luxury bouquets, bridal work needing pastel lavenders, and as a statement shrub or rose-standard in warm borders. Its cool-toned blooms pair exquisitely with silver foliage (Artemisia, Stachys) or dusky salvias for a sophisticated “moon-garden” palette.

The marketing name “Queen’s Crown” evokes regal elegance and the crown-like whorl created by its densely ruffled petals, aligning with Kordes’ “Crown” series of premium pastel hybrids aimed at the wedding market.

The breeder code KORcut0398 follows the KORcut prefix reserved for Kordes CUT-flower selections, while “0398” denotes the line number inside their breeding programme.

Crown

Red Ribbon - SAF Outstanding Varieties Competition, Miami, USA, 2024;

Blue Ribbon - SAF Outstanding Varieties Competition, Miami, USA, 2024;

ORIGIN OF THE VARIETY

The origin of this rose variety is not disclosed. Tim-Hermann Kordes is mentioned as a breeder of this rose in W. Kordes’ Söhne Rosenschulen GmbH & Co. KG, Klein Offenseth-Sparrieshoop, Germany. Selection finalized circa 2018. First commercial introduction by Plantec Ecuador, South America was made in 2019, followed by European launch through Kordes Cut Roses.

Plant Variety Rights: EU CPVR application 2020/1443, granted as EU 58979; additional protection granted in Colombia (A192532) and Ecuador (1564-19); Chinese filing 2018/0413 (Korcut0398).

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