She's a moderate grower at 4'-5' here, large foliage, very upright with strong stems, wonderful color and fragrance. There little doubt my specimen is virused. It must have been quite a rose when new.
As far as I know the only clones of Cathrine Kordes available in the U.S. all go back to a small piece that was saved from the destruction of an old municipal garden here in CA.
I bought one from a now closed antique rose (owned by a friend of Kim Rupert named Bob) nursery in Van Nuys, Ca. in the early 90s. It does not appear to be virused. Mine is more dark cerise than red and is a solid performer.
Noticed virus popping up this year on my bush. Still doing well and every cutting I planted this spring (1st time I've tried to this rose) rooted well. They are growing rapidly and already blooming full sized flowers.
There are a few puzzles in ‘Cathrine Kordes’. I’ve solved the puzzle I had with the seed parent (see Note) but I have been unable to solve the puzzle of why I have never seen a blood red, scarlet or crimson colour in my rose. It is usually a dark pink or cerise. I am getting the impression from the references that it pales in hot weather, but David Ruston from hottish Renmark recognised my rose here saying “Oh I love ‘Cathrine Kordes”. He might have recognised my label of course, but throughout the references, there has been much comment on how variable the colour was.
