SPEELWARK® – apricot-yellow hybrid tea rose - Kordes
Let SPEELWARK® bring a sense of coastal refreshment to your garden, with large, apricot-yellow blooms that glow like late-afternoon sun over pale shingle. This hybrid tea gives you show-bench flowers on a compact, upright bush that fits easily into the average UK family garden, even where space is limited. Bred by Kordes for reliable quality, it combines strong, peachy-citrus fragrance with a long cutting season, so you can enjoy elegant stems in your favourite mug or teapot on the veranda. Planted in a free-draining spot that copes with blustery weather and lively salt-laden breezes from the sea, it soon feels at home, especially in Cornwall and Devon’s mild, windy coastlines.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Feature rose in a small front garden bed |
The compact, bushy habit and 70–95 cm height make SPEELWARK® ideal as a neat focal point by a path or doorway without overwhelming a modest plot, giving tidy structure and an elegant welcome for homeowners. |
| Cutting patch for home-arranged bouquets |
With extra-large, high-centred hybrid tea blooms on long, straight stems and a strong peach-and-citrus scent, this variety is perfect for cutting, providing reliable, florist-style roses through summer for enthusiastic beginners. |
| Coastal veranda in a large container |
In a 40–50 litre pot with good drainage, SPEELWARK® anchors well and forms a stable, upright bush, giving you wind-brushed, seaside colour that copes with breezy, salt-infused air for relaxed coastal-style veranda-owners. |
| Sunny mixed border in a family garden |
Its medium maintenance needs and remontant, plentiful second flush mean long-season colour between perennials and grasses, offering repeated waves of soft apricot-pink blossoms for time-pressed gardeners. |
| Romantic “girly” corner with pastel tones |
The soft peach-yellow flowers that fade to powdery pink create a gentle, feminine palette that pairs beautifully with lilac and light grasses, suiting those who enjoy a delicately styled, charming space for dreamy rose-lovers. |
| Structured hedge or linear planting |
Recommended spacings of 30–40 cm allow tidy rows or low hedges, where upright, even growth and dense dark-green foliage give a defined line that stays attractive for many years for practical-minded planners. |
| Long-lived specimen for evolving gardens |
As an own-root rose, SPEELWARK® builds strength below ground, then bulk above, settling into a durable plant that regenerates well and holds its ornamental value over time for forward-thinking owners. |
| Clay-based coastal plots with improved drainage |
Planted into loosened, amended clay with sharp grit, the strong bushy framework and dense foliage establish securely, remaining stable even in exposed, gusty weather on Britain’s more windswept shores for coastal gardeners. |
Styling ideas
- Coastal-Teacup Border – place SPEELWARK® near a white-painted bench with sea kale and Festuca for a breezy tea-spot feel – ideal for relaxed coastal-style homeowners.
- Apricot-Cut-Flower Row – plant a short row along a path, underplanted with low thyme, to create an easy-access cutting strip – perfect for beginners who love arranging flowers indoors.
- Veranda-Showpiece Pot – grow one plant in a 40–50 litre container with trailing lobelia to soften the rim – suited to balcony and veranda owners wanting low-fuss impact.
- Pastel-Drift Corner – combine with Stipa tenuissima and soft pink daylilies for a light, “girly” swish of movement and bloom – great for those who favour romantic, airy planting.
- Structured-Garden Accent – use two or three plants as repeating accents along a path, echoed by clipped lavender balls – appealing to planners who like order with a soft, modern edge.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as KORwarpeel, marketed as Speelwark® Hybrid tea rose KORwarpeel, ARS exhibition name Speelwark; collection: Hybrid tea rose for garden and cutting use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by W. Kordes & Sons in Germany from ‘Portrait’ × ‘Funkuhr’; introduced by W. Kordes’ Söhne in 1999, with registration in 1998 as a premium garden and exhibition hybrid tea. |
| Awards and recognition |
Silver Medal, Potsdam International Rose Competition 2001; Certificate of Merit, Belfast Rose Trials 2001; Certificate Award, Adelaide National Rose Trial Garden 2008, confirming international ornamental quality. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, upright hybrid tea reaching about 70–95 cm high and 35–50 cm wide, with dense, glossy dark-green foliage and moderate prickles, forming a compact, well-filled shrub in borders or large containers. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, double, high-centred hybrid tea blooms with around 26–39 petals, usually borne singly on stems; remontant with a plentiful second flush, giving a long flowering season suitable for cutting. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Peach-yellow base where pale yellow and pink blend; warm peach buds open apricot with pink edges, then fade to peach-cream and powder pink with a salmon flush, colour retention modest in strong sun. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Strong, clearly noticeable scent combining a peachy fruit character with a light citrus background; attractive for gardeners valuing aromatic roses, though double blooms limit pollinator access somewhat. |
| Hip characteristics |
Moderate hip set, with small spherical orange-red hips about 8–12 mm across, forming if spent flowers are not removed, adding a light autumn accent of colour and seasonal interest in the border. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to about −26 to −23 °C (RHS H7; Swedish zone 4; USDA 5b); moderate resistance to black spot, powdery mildew and rust, benefits from regular watering and basic plant protection in humid spells. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in a sunny position with fertile, well-drained soil; plant 40 cm apart in masses or 65 cm as specimens; medium maintenance, with deadheading, feeding and watering, especially during hot, dry periods. |
SPEELWARK® offers fragrant, exhibition-quality blooms on a compact, long-lived own-root bush that settles reliably into borders or large containers, making it a thoughtful choice for gardeners seeking durable elegance and gentle, seaside-inspired colour.
