Floribunda (rose)

'Sunsprite', Kordes 1973
'Else Poulsen' (Poulsen 1924), an early Floribunda cultivar
Floribunda Diadem (Tantau 1986) Rosarium Uetersen

Floribunda (Latin for "many-flowering") is a modern group of garden roses that was developed by crossing hybrid teas with polyantha roses, the latter being derived from crosses between Rosa chinensis and Rosa multiflora (sometimes called R. polyantha).[1] The idea was to create roses that bloomed with the polyantha profusion, but with hybrid tea floral beauty and colour range.

The first polyantha/hybrid tea cross,'Rödhätte' ('Red Riding Hood'), was introduced by the Danish breeder Dines Poulsen in 1907.[1] It possessed characteristics of both its parent classes, and was initially called a Hybrid Polyantha or Poulsen rose. Poulsen continued this line of work in subsequent years, introducing several Hybrid Polyanthas such as 'Else Poulsen' in 1924.[1] Other breeders also began introducing similar varieties, and in 1930 the name "floribunda" was coined by Dr. J.N. Nicolas, a rose hybridizer for Jackson & Perkins in the US. This term has been used since then to describe cultivars which in their ancestry have crosses between hybrid teas and polyanthas.

Typical floribundas feature stiff shrubs, smaller and bushier than the average hybrid tea but less dense and sprawling than the average polyantha. The flowers are often smaller than hybrid teas but are carried in large sprays, giving a better floral effect in the garden. Floribundas are found in all hybrid tea colours and with the classic hybrid tea-shaped blossom, sometimes differing from hybrid teas only in their cluster-flowering habit. Today they are still used in large bedding schemes in public parks and similar spaces.

Selection of cultivars

Cultivar Hybridizer Year Colour Notes Photo
'Angel Face' Swim & Weeks 1968 lavender
'Amber Queen' Harkness 1984 yellow Rose of the Year 1984
'Anne Harkness' Harkness 1979 apricot
'Arthur Bell' McGredy 1964 yellow
'Bonica 82' Meilland 1982 pink Rose Hall of Fame
AGM 1993
'Cherish' Warriner 1980 pale pink
'Dainty Maid' LeGrice 1940 pink blend Portland Gold 1941
'Edelweiß' Poulsen 1969 cream
'English Miss' Cant 1977 pale pink AGM 2001
'Gruß an Aachen' Geduldig 1909 pale pink
'Heidi Klum' Rosen Tantau 1999 pink
'Iceberg' Kordes 1958 white Rose Hall of Fame
'Julia Child' Carruth 2004 yellow Best of the Best 2010
AGM 2012
'Montana' Rosen Tantau 1974 red
'Pacific Dream' James 2006 purple
'Poesie' Warriner 1988 pink
'Rosa Gruß an Aachen' 1930 pink
'Sexy Rexy' McGredy 1984 pink
'Shockwave' Carruth 2006 yellow
'Sunsprite' Kordes 1973 yellow
'Tuscan Sun' Zary 2002
'Yesterday' Harkness 1974

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rosa Floribunda.
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Phillips, R. and Rix, M., The Ultimate Guide to Roses, Macmillan, 2004, p226