I’ll share photos and info when it opens!! Unfortunately I take a ton of photos and don’t label them , and bliss is in a bed with no identification in photos. Usually I remember roses in picsbased on what is in the background but I can’t tell where it is in my collection! :)

I have Bliss and it is an excellent rose in every single way....except fragrance. I too wondered why it was noted for fragrance by being in the "parfuma" section when for me it should be more in the "sun belt" series for its excellent performance in heat and humidity.

This is one of my healthiest roses who's blooms do not shrink, fade, or stop in the middle of the summer heat. It is extremely healthy except for the chili thrips who seem to love it, to no fault of its own. I think Bliss is one of my favorite performers, but I dont detect much scent at all. I got no scent last year, but a bit more this year, although still light. I have a feeling this might be one of those roses who get more scent as they mature.

I hope so. If this rose had scent, I could literally say it would be the perfect rose. Disease free, vigorous on its own roots, bloomy and scented? Seems too good to be true, but mine is not going anywhere anytime soon! I love it.

Just a note on Parfumas. My Earth Angel too did not have any scent its first year, now on its second year its blooming more often and I totally get the scent. It is very sweet and strong. But first year, it had NOTHING. Funny how that can be.

SoFL, Great information on the Bliss rose I've been eyeballing that 1 for quite some time now and your good review helps me make my desicion

Kristine,

I have been eyeing Bliss too, especially since it is another ADR winner. ADR winners have been very black spot resistant for me, practically no fungicide spraying needed at all. However, winter hardiness of some ADRs I have tried does not follow suit as would be expected.

I wonder if Bliss has a bloom color fadeout issue, and is it 'pancake,' flat like so many Kordes roses are? I think I will not rush out just yet, and wait until the reports are in on this one.

Moses

Moses, I am so over my Savannah rose. The blooms are flat as a pancake and few and far between. Time to replace her with Quietness. I know that you are a fan.

How is your Purple Prince rose ? Mine is continuously in bloom. They dont last very long but smell so good.

I will wait for more reviews on Bliss

Bliss will go pancake but it’s a much slower opener than say, Beverly, who flattens out within the day.

Do you think that that is a Kordes trait ?

Not necessarily Kristine. It depends on the rose. For example plum perfect does not have pancake blooms at all. Nor does wedding bells. But some do. My worst offender is Beverly. Tuplelo honey has flattish blooms but they are more pompon in shape. Earth Angel has deep globular blooms. No flatness there ar all.

Kristine what is the rose in your profile pic?

Kristine,

Purple Prince was so tiny, barely 4" tall when I got it early this season. Now, it has tripled in size, but it is still small, at 1' tall growing in the ground right now. It is a bloomer though, flower after flower....quick repeating and no nodding. The fragrance is strong, as is its purple color. Bloom life?....I need to watch more carefully, but so far I do not recall a quick petal drop.

I fear it may be particularly winter tender here for me, coming from Australia if it is indeed Brindabella Purple Pince, the floribunda, as I believe it is, but I plan to give it every consideration with plenty of winter protection, and hope for the best.

Moses

SoFl rose

How big does Bliss bush gets for you ? My kordes roses get huge for me .

Im not sure if it is the Kordes or the Multi flora rootstock. But they get huge here too.

I need to get Plum Perfect, what a color, wow!

Dark Desire doesn't pancake ouout either.

SoFL, my profile picture is my darling Olivia Austin. She is pretty white right now in the heat

Wow, what a difference zones can make. It's interesting SoFl that your Beverly pancakes that quickly. Mine stays pretty high centered for at least 4-5 days and has the firm petals of the more lasting HT type blooms. I hesitate to say it's because of cooler weather, since it has been 90-100 degrees consistently since early May, but we may have cooler nights and lower humidity than certainly you would in FL. I do find that Tupelo Honey opens up fairly quickly but there are enough petals and not a high contrast center so it doesn't get that daisy-type look that puts me off for some roses. I like daisies, but not on a rose bush.

Cynthia

Pink rose, my bliss is well behaved so far. But mine is on its own roots. I bet she’d be a monster on fortuniana. However she’s only been here a year and a half so she may start picking up some. So far however, she’s very mannerly. Only about 3 feet tall x2 wide.

I don't trust write-ups of fragrance on roses any longer. I have so many that are "supposed" to be fragrant, but have no fragrance to my nose. I have had a lovely rose, Perfumed Tiger, since the beginning of my rose journey. She's tidy, always has nice small, pink and white striped blooms, and has always been fragrance-less. Also, any rose marketed with "light" or "medium" fragrance, I presume has none. Maybe it's my nose, but unless it's extremely fragrant or strong fragrance, to me, it's not fragrant.

Karen,

I too, interpret 'light' or 'medium' fragrance, as you pointed out, as not or insignificantly fragrant. I steer clear of them, regardless of their desirable traits, otherwise. I want fragrance in a rose, and plenty of it.

Moses

I bought 3 Sweet Intoxication because the write up said " this rose is so fragrant that neighbors will be drawn over to smell it " ha ha, zero fragrance to my nose. Its not even that cool a rose. Big disappointment

I agree, the vendor’s standards for fragrance are being ratcheted downward. Sort of like ‘Jumbo Shrimp’, the standard keeps getting smaller and smaller. Many of the new roses marketed as ‘strongly fragrant’ are only of medium scent to me. And yes, medium is the new light, and slight is the new none.

There are some new roses that are extraordinarily scented...Sugar Moon, Lavender Crush, Neil Diamond are some of the biggest scents I’ve ever come across. But some very mediocre scents (ie La Park, Radiant Perfume) are being lumped in with them, because everyone knows fragrance sells.

My Bliss rose, planted earlier this summer, finally bloomed. Lovely form, but I also cannot detect any fragrance whatsoever...

Jen,

Thanks for posting your shot of Bliss. It looks beautiful. Jen, it looks like the flower is cupped. Am I right? How does the bloom look full open, flat or nice depth? Thanks for the help.

Moses

The overuse of "fragrant" is highly deceptive.

Not to condemn this particular seller as I think all seller's have this issue, but just for example - the following are listed at Regan Nursery's as "VERY FRAGRANT" and have NO or barely perceivable fragrance to me:

Arizona

Color Magic

Just Joey

Radiant Perfume (another with the Perfume in the name)

Strike it Rich

Veteran's Honor

Listed as Fragrant with same lack thereof are:

Crown Princess Margarita

Dream Come True

Paradise

Teasing Georgia

Tropicana

Don't get me wrong, I love most of these roses. But I'd be very annoyed if I ordered them thinking I'd end up with fragrant roses.

Moses,

These are my first two blooms, I will try to take more pictures as they mature. They just opened yesterday afternoon &/or this morning. The blooms are definitely cupped, at least initially, at this point.

Jen,

So far so good, then. Waiting to hear the final report on your two blooms.

L ses

It is very hot here so my blooms are lighter than expected. But so very beautiful. And you can’t really find any black spot to speak of ! So if you ignore the empty promises of fragrance , it’s a beautiful rose .

I’m happy with it !

Wow. What a sweet color

Here's some bloom progress shots. We had a hard thunderstorm overnight that shattered the bloomtoo soon.

As an aside regarding fragrance, the Soul Sister rose (second picture) I planted next to Bliss did have a lovely sweet fragrance. Smaller blooms though.

Bliss/Märchenzauber is under Fairytale from its German official website so it's not really under Parfuma. The website ranks it as Best of 2018 Rose if you view the website in German version and use Google translate. I have seen it here at Royal Botanical Garden in Canada. It's a beautiful rose that has a English rose look. The scent is nice but not as strong as the real Kordes Parfuma collection.

I’m waiting for my bliss to get buds as I just planted as a bareroot rose in April. Meanwhile I’m wondering about this:some rose sellers list this as. Hybrid Tea and others as A Floribunda! The official USA Kordes site doesn’t even say which kind it is. Curious. Do any of you know?

Hi! Does bliss make a good cutting rose?

Yes. It absolutely does.

Mine seems to be more of a hybrid tea in its characteristics.

Oh, so it's tall? I want to plant it in a container.

From photos it looks like Bliss can really vary in height from pretty short to a medium shrub. I want to try Bliss for my tiny flower bed, but need to know

is she decent or a devil of a thorny rose?

I keep making mistakes ordering thorn factories like Lady of Shalott who was cast out after a few months despite her beauty.

My Bliss is about 3 ft after 2 years and not as wide. I dont find her particularly thorny, but she is next to Mr Thorny Munstead Wood.

Yes, but Mr Thorny is a superb rose, as we know. Diane

Thanks for the additional info Kristine, the deep red of Mr Thorny next to your Bliss must be so lovely together. Why do the best roses have to be so thorny ! You are much braver than me, I'm not up to a swordfight anymore. The Alchemist sliced my wrist , that was the end of him. Astonishingly silky Colette and all the evil others are gone.

Bliss has such great reviews it's hard to pass up another year. I could place one out of harms way at the west end corner , formerly the compost spot. My neighbor's dog is apt to eventually dig up trouble if i don't stop burying food there. Sorry to spoil the dog's potential bliss. The worms will be up in arms too so to speak , no more vegetable scrap bliss for them either, but they can wiggle on down to the east end for coffee grounds. I'm starting to envision a real improvement.

I ignore thorns because they are nature's way of protecting roses from all their many enemies. You should see my punctures and scratches after spring pruning. It's all in the game. For Colette, I use goatskin gloves with gauntlets. Diane

Diane, you are so right! "It's all in the game".

Roses are naturally prickly. Sure, some are completely to very smooth and "nice" to handle, and those are definitely the ones to go for for gardeners that can't or are unwilling to accept that roses are like that. Whether the reasoning is pets or children, I remember growing up as a kid whose grandmother had roses, barberry bushes, and gooseberries. All quite prickly plants. I never got myself hurt. It's like the education about poison ivy: Do NOT Touch it! Not to mention, why would kids be running amok in the flower garden anyway? Veggies I can see.

I feel absolutely no fear, anxiety, or concern over any of my roses that are prickly. (Unless I actaully fall into one, ha!) I have Harison's Yellow, William Lobb, Rosa eglanteria, Munstead Wood, Gertrude Gekyll, Rosa primula, Rosa hugonis, and Gabrielle Noyelle that ALL feature quite notable spiky prickles.

Albertine is more of a "whip with shark teeth"; quite prickly, but in a different fashion.

Huh! Someone here can't smell Just Joey. Amazing. Every time I encounter it potted in a nursery and blooming, I find the scent delightful. Sure shows the individuality of everyone!

I agree with the catalogue descriptions exaggerating fragrances. Usually if it's listed as "moderate" or "medium" and more, I can smell it and do so easily. I find even Peace and its sports to be moderately fragrant time to time and when they are, they're really enjoyable.

My only modern Kordes is Madame Anisette and I love its anise scent. Very nice, pungent, and distinctive. I like that its blooms go from high centred to very full and sometimes quartered when fully opened. It's been pretty vigorous here own-root, but the cane borers got it a bit this past summer. I'm hoping to try Dark Desire, but I'm really out of room for current beds. I'd need to cut new ones in the limited spaces with lots of sun remaining because I'm a tree lover and have many in the yard.

Steven

Diane- Goatskin you say, my sister just happens to have a wily " Angus ".

Steven, Madame Anisette is probably my most wanted and shouldn't, I LOVE black licorice.

I made a promise to Amara, our rescue American Bully, i would make her yard as safe as possible, for me too as my tremor gets worse. She has to smell, and tries to taste every flower she passes.

berrypie7- Aww! She is absolutely adorable! I love pitties! That definitely makes a lot of sense to due considering circumstances, and bless you for rescuing such a beautiful dog!

Steven

How is Bliss compared with Evelyn frim David Austin. i mean in terms of growth, disease resistance, fragrance etc

Evelyn-

Blooms: large perfectly formed saucer shaped blooms - sometimes more pink than apricot depending on the weather. Hold their color well.

Fragrance: Strong peach & old rose

Shrub: large, not particularly graceful

Disease resistance: poor

Bliss-

Blooms: medium to large saucer shaped blooms. Pink to light apricot but blooms fade to cream.

Fragrance: light to medium fruit & vanilla

Shrub: short but well behaved and shapely.

Disease resistance: excellent

Evelyn is worth growing for the blooms alone but is hard to find now. Bliss is an excellent rose from Kordes. I wish the blooms were more colorfast and had a bit stronger fragrance but very much worth growing. It makes a good pot rose.

I think Evelyn is the most fragrant of these 3. Evelyn is also pinker and more apricot.

Bliss is slightly apricot fading to white in hot weather. Can be pink in cold weather. Its bush size is smaller than Evelyn's here. Bliss's fragrance is less than Evelyn or Madame Anisette's.

MA is a climber here. The leaves are healthiest of the 3. The flowers blush changing to creamy white. Flower petals are thicker. Fragrance anise, vanilla & sometimes lemony. Its my favorite of the three based on fragrance and health. I like Evelyn's button eyes!

Bliss

Evelyn

Madame Anisette

Also Madame Anisette ♡

Madame Annisette is one of my top roses for fragrance, beauty plus is long lasting as a cut flower. another top favorite is Sugar Moon.

i started a new rose garden at my new retirement community in Seal Beach CA Zone 10. left 80 rosebushes behind at my old house. they were a big selling point for the new owners.

Madame Annisette with striped Parade Day in background which also has a strong fragrance and is long lasting as a cut flower

Madame Annisette

Parade Day

Susan, How large does Sugar Moon get? Does she get black spot? What is her fragrance like? I am glad you are still growing your beautiful roses!

She gets quite tall 6’ or more. But narrow in comparison to height. You can find more info on Heirloom Roses which gives a lot of information. Her smell is strong and very sweet. Hence her name. Almost too sweet! I’ve not seen black spot but rust can be an issue. I don’t like to spray chemicals, so I just strip off those leaves and once less humid weather comes midsummer that problem goes away. She is almost nearly thornless. Large blooms on single stems and last long in water. Also the height hasn’t been a problem as she is strong and very upright on her own. If I can find a pic on my phone, I’ll upload a picture.

Not the best picture. But here’s a pic of Sugar Moon taken at my old house in 2020.