GRÄFIN DIANA® – burgundy-red hybrid tea rose - Kordes
With its deeply coloured blooms and evocative perfume, GRÄFIN DIANA® brings a sense of evening romance to a family garden, especially when grown near a seating area or along a path where you can pause and enjoy the scent. As a premium own-root rose, it is bred to deliver long-term reliability, building a strong underground framework that supports healthy regrowth if pruned hard or affected by winter weather. The large, velvety flowers are ideal for home cutting, allowing you to recreate a classic parlour arrangement from your own plot. Its upright, bushy habit suits mixed borders and more formal layouts alike, giving reassuring structure without taking up excessive space. In containers, a generous 40–50 litre planter allows this rose to anchor well and manage moisture around the roots, providing stable performance even where borders are limited and patios are exposed to breezes and coastal-style weather. Over time, you will appreciate the dependable longevity of an own-root plant, which maintains ornamental quality as it matures rather than declining after a few seasons. The strongly double flowers, rich colour and intense perfume together create a storybook atmosphere that fits perfectly beside a cottage-style arbour or near a kitchen-garden gate.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Feature rose beside a seating area or garden bench |
The intense, fruity-spicy fragrance and deep burgundy blooms create a romantic focal point where you linger, ideal for enjoying afternoon tea or evening unwinding in a cottage-style space, particularly for lovers of scented gardens. |
| Own-root specimen in a mixed cottage border |
As an own-root plant, this rose builds a resilient framework that can regenerate from the base, supporting long-term ornamental value and flexibility in pruning for gardeners who prefer plants that endure, suiting buyers seeking lasting structure. |
| Cutting bed near the house or kitchen garden |
Large, very double hybrid tea blooms on upright stems lend themselves perfectly to cutting, so you can bring richly coloured, perfumed flowers indoors without relying on florists, appealing to homeowners who enjoy home-grown bouquets. |
| Structured planting in a formal front garden border |
The bushy, slightly columnar shape and dense, glossy foliage give strong visual order, helping to frame paths or entrance areas and complement hedging and clipped shrubs, ideal for families favouring a traditional frontage. |
| Large container on terrace, balcony or paved courtyard |
When planted in a generous 40–50 litre container, the root system can anchor well and moisture is easier to manage, making it suitable where borders are scarce yet you still want a statement rose, attractive for busy urban balcony owners. |
| Small group planting for colour impact by a patio |
Planting in threes at recommended spacing creates a dense, upright cluster of repeat-flowering blooms, giving a strong colour block without excessive width, appreciated by gardeners working with compact family plots. |
| Part-shaded spots at the edge of a cottage garden |
Its suitability for partial shade means it can still flower and scent pathways where light is filtered, helping you use spaces under light tree canopies or beside buildings, valuable for owners of dappled, established gardens. |
| Protected rose border in regions with changeable summers |
With appropriate plant protection, this variety rewards care by maintaining its rich colour and perfume even when summers are humid and breezy, coping well when planted where soil drains freely after heavy rain for gardeners in variable coastal climates. |
Styling ideas
- Moonlight Arbour – Train GRÄFIN DIANA® near a simple timber arbour and underplant with sweet alyssum and white foxgloves for a perfumed evening nook – for romantics who want a scented escape corner.
- Kitchen-Garden Edge – Place the rose as a specimen at the entrance to a vegetable plot, with sedum and herbs at its feet, to bridge ornamental and productive areas – for cottage gardeners blending beauty and utility.
- Parlour Bouquet Row – Create a narrow cutting strip with repeated GRÄFIN DIANA® plants, backed by tall liatris and annuals, to ensure a steady supply of classic blooms – for those who like arranging flowers at home.
- Front-Door Welcome – Flank the front path with evenly spaced plants to form a low, upright rose avenue, their glossy foliage and colour giving formality – for households wanting a polished, traditional approach.
- Terrace Centrepiece – Install a single plant in a 50-litre clay pot with trailing alyssum and low sedum to soften the rim, creating a movable focal point – for balcony and terrace owners seeking flexible structure.
Technical cultivar profile
| Property | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
Hybrid tea rose, registered as KORdiagraf, marketed as GRÄFIN DIANA® Parfuma®, exhibition hybrid tea suitable for both garden and cutting use. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Tim-Hermann Kordes (W. Kordes’ Söhne, Germany), introduced and registered in 2012, from Chartreuse de Parme × (Esther Geldenhuys × unknown seedling). |
| Awards and recognition |
ADR award Germany 2014; Rose of the Year GRF 2017; Grand Prix de la Rose France 2018; top fragrance awards in The Hague 2018 and Adelaide 2016. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Upright, bushy, slightly columnar plant, 100–140 cm high and 65–95 cm wide, with dense, dark green glossy foliage and moderate prickliness on the stems. |
| Flower morphology |
Large, very double, rosette-shaped blooms with more than 40 petals, mainly solitary on stems, repeat-flowering well with an abundant second flush in suitable care. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Deep velvety burgundy-red with subtle blackish tones; buds almost black burgundy; colour deepens in cooler weather and softens to ruby red in heat without browning. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Very strong, garden-filling scent with a fruity, spicy character, best appreciated near paths or seating; primarily ornamental, with densely double flowers concealing stamens. |
| Hip characteristics |
Rosehip production generally limited due to strongly double blooms; where formed, hips are small, spherical, about 6–10 mm, and orange-red in colour by late season. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately –21 to –18 °C (RHS H7, USDA 6b); disease-prone foliage, so requires regular preventative care, good air movement and attentive seasonal hygiene. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in well-drained soil with consistent moisture; suitable for beds, specimen use and large containers; needs regular plant protection and deadheading to maintain display. |
GRÄFIN DIANA® rewards attentive care with sumptuous cut-worthy blooms, a powerful garden-filling fragrance and enduring own-root vigour; consider it if you want one special rose to anchor a romantic corner.
