LUSATIA ® – copper‑orange bedding floribunda rose - Kordes
Step out to your front garden after rain and let copper blooms line the path in neat, low hedges, their mild scent adding a sense of quiet balance. LUSATIA® is a bushy, compact floribunda bred for reliable structure and long seasonal colour, ideal where borders meet paving and in small London terraces that must also cope with blustery showers and heavier soils. As an own‑root rose it offers reassuring longevity and recovery if cut back hard, giving you a stable, tidy outline with minimal fuss. Plant it once, then over the next few seasons enjoy how it matures from settling roots to fuller flowering presence along your everyday walkway.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Front-of-border edging in a small family garden |
The compact, bushy habit and 60–85 cm height form a tidy copper-orange ribbon that defines paths or lawn edges without crowding other planting, ideal where children still need open space – recommended for the thoughtful homeowner. |
| Low informal hedge along a terraced-house front path |
Planted 35 cm apart, LUSATIA® quickly reads as a soft, low hedge, guiding visitors from pavement to door with repeating colour, while remaining easy to trim and keep within bounds – well suited to the busy urban gardener. |
| Mass bedding in sunny beds with heavier clay soil |
With planting densities around 5 plants per m², it creates a dense, weed-suppressing canopy whose root system knits into heavier ground, supporting a durable planting line even where clay holds spring moisture – ideal for the practical front‑garden planner. |
| Feature group in a rainwater-conscious urban scheme |
Clustered plantings around rainwater downpipes or shallow swales integrate its compact form into sustainable drainage layouts, giving colour while leaving gaps for water to soak away safely – a good choice for the eco-aware city-dweller. |
| Mixed planting with lavender, iris and low shrubs |
The warm copper-orange flowers sit comfortably with English lavender and bearded irises, while mid-green, slightly glossy foliage adds calm structure behind more fleeting perennials – attractive for the style-focused garden enthusiast. |
| Container display in large pots on sunny patios |
Its upright, compact growth makes sense in 40–50 litre containers, where a good peat-free mix and regular watering support stable flowering without complex training, perfect for paved courtyards – ideal for the balcony and patio owner. |
| Long-term planting in low-maintenance family beds |
As an own-root rose, it regenerates well from hard pruning and avoids rootstock suckers, maintaining an even look year after year with straightforward winter cutting – reassuring for time-pressed garden beginners. |
| Seasonal colour focus near seating areas |
The remontant, double, softly fragrant flowers provide repeated flushes through the season, giving gentle scent and colour around benches or small seating nooks even after wet, windy spells – appealing to the relaxation-seeking user. |
Styling ideas
- Copper-Ribbon Border – Run a single line along the front of a mixed border, underplanting with low nepeta for a soft blue edge and relaxed contrast – ideal for informal family gardeners.
- Terrace Welcome – Pair a short hedge of LUSATIA® with evergreen dwarf honeysuckle to frame a narrow London front path – perfect for urban homeowners wanting year-round structure.
- Sunlit Container Duo – Use one plant in a 50 litre pot with silver-leaved sage and gravel mulch to echo its warm tones – suited to balcony and patio gardeners.
- Rain-Friendly Strip – Alternate groups of LUSATIA® with permeable gravel bays along driveways to keep run-off low while adding colour – good for sustainability-minded front-garden planners.
- Calm Seating Nook – Plant small drifts beside a bench with lavender and bearded iris for a gentle, balanced colour palette – ideal for those creating a quiet reading corner.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
Floribunda bedding rose, registered as KORforst750, marketed as LUSATIA ® – copper-orange bedding floribunda rose, ARS exhibition name “Lusatia”, in the bedding rose commercial group. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred in Germany in 2003 by Tim-Hermann Kordes from ‘INTERflocu’ × an unnamed Kordes seedling; introduced after 2018 by W. Kordes’ Söhne, with US Plant Patent PP 29,264 granted in 2018. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Compact, bushy, upright bush rose reaching about 60–85 cm in height and 40–60 cm spread, moderately thorny with dense, mid-green, slightly glossy foliage that forms a cohesive, low-maintenance bedding structure. |
| Flower morphology |
Double, cupped blooms with 26–39 petals and medium flower size borne in clusters, remontant with abundant second flowering that maintains visual interest in beds and edging plantings across the main season. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Warm copper-orange with paler yellow centres; buds crimson-orange, opening vivid orange-red then softening to salmon-orange with yellowish undertone before petal fall, offering good colour retention and gentle, harmonious fading. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Soft, silky fragrance of mild strength, detectable at close range without dominating seating areas; primarily ornamental, with double blooms and limited accessible pollen providing modest rather than high pollinator interest. |
| Hip characteristics |
Fruiting usually limited; occasionally produces small 6–10 mm spherical bright red hips (RHS 40A), which add discreet late-season colour but are not a defining ornamental feature of the variety. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (RHS H7, Swedish zone 3, USDA 6b) with medium resistance to powdery mildew, black spot and rust, performing reliably in typical UK conditions given basic preventive care. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun with 35–75 cm spacing depending on use, at 4.9–5.7 plants/m² for bedding; prefers regular watering in drought and occasional plant protection, suiting low- to moderate-maintenance planting schemes. |
LUSATIA ® offers compact copper-orange bedding colour, reliable repeat flowering and long-lived own-root resilience; consider it where you want durable, easy structure in a modest space.
