Deb's grandmother had a huge Kordes' Perfecta growing here before we moved in (1993). She didn't remember when it had been planted. Some arbor vitae were crowding KP so I decided to move it. I wasn't moving that monster by hand so I brought home a backhoe and transplanted it. A few years later the arbor vitae were 8 ft tall and I noticed something odd in the foliage. I looked and it was a Kordes' Perfecta bloom. I must have missed some of the root and the rascal had survived. It was completely overgrown by the a.v. but still managing to bloom. I trimmed the arbor vitae so it would get a little sun. I tore those a.v. out in 2005. Our little Kordes' Perfecta is growing like crazy now. Gotta like a rose that stubborn.

Kordes' Perfecta (the old one) gets 4 - 5 feet tall and wide here. KP is a fragrant bloom factory for us. I have seen at least a dozen around Billings as good as ours. It must have been popular around the area way back when. KP wins my best foliage contest every year. We get 70 - 100 blooms per flush. Turnaround time is on the slow side, about 7 - 8 weeks. KP also has the most vicious thorns of any of our roses. I always prune the big one last. I even take photos of the thorns. KP is not cane hardy. I figure if it went all those years without protection I'm not going to mess with what works. Spring growth is very vigorous.

Blackspot is not a problem here. Kordes' Perfecta will get a touch of powdery mildew if conditions are right.

Dave

South central Montana - zone 4/5

The old KP 3 weeks after being pruned down to 4 - 6 inches of live cane.