Shocking Blue

Kordes, 1974.

This is a beautiful variety with unusual colouring, but Shoking Blue does not quite live up to its name.

The flowers are fuchsia pink with a lilac reverse: because of the play of light and shade on the wavy petals, the flower appears dark lilac or purple-red.

The flowers are large, shaped like hybrid tea roses, and appear in clusters of 3–9.

The long stems make them ideal for cutting: this variety is grown commercially as a cut flower.

The narrow, elongated shrub also makes the variety suitable for floristry.

Shoking Blue is a very fragrant variety.

The foliage is dark, glossy, robust and disease-resistant.

The shrub grows quickly and responds well to pruning, producing new flowering shoots more rapidly.