Helmut Schmidt

KORbelma - aka Goldsmith

Hybrid Tea 1979 Kordes

Medium yellow - 35 to 40 petals

New Day x Seedling

ARS rating 6.8

 

Helmut Schmidt is supposed to be very winter tender and we were advised not to try growing it in Montana. Helmut has become our best yellow rose and is a workhorse.

Description

Verdict: Very good rose - if he were a stinker I would rate him excellent. I'm not a yellow rose fan but Helmut almost makes me one when he is blooming. Some my most pleasing photos are of HS and I noticed I use them as wallpaper a long time...

Acquired: 2000

Brand: Weeks

Bush

Growth habit : 3 ft tall x 4 ft wide - lots of canes and almost thick foliage

Leaves: 

Disease Resistance: Blackspot is only a problem here on new or stressed plants. Powdery mildew is the main problem and I try to spray the roses that get pm with fungicide every 2 weeks or so when we have cool, dry nights. HS will get a little bit of pm if not sprayed here. I thought from researching Helmut that pm would be a problem with him.

Hardiness: Decent - We were warned that HS was a warm weather rose and might not survive here. I gave it extra protection the first winter, a foot of soil mounded and a foot of lawn clippings. We had a normal winter (lows in the -20°F range). The rascal had green canes to the snow line. He isn't one of the earliest starters but is about mid pack for showing new growth in spring.

Blooms

Fragrance: Slight to mild

Flushes: Very good - 30 to 45 blooms - almost all picture perfect though many have an empty center as they get partially open. Blooms open slowly and color doesn't fade nearly as fast as other danged yellows.

Repeat: Very good - always about 5 weeks - workhorse

Vase life: Good - a week

Silly Stuff

 Deb saw a photo of Helmut around 1997 and just loved it. She began a quest to find one about the time I began looking for Elmhurst. We don't do the mail order thing (except for minis from Tiny Petals) and a local nursery got tired of us asking for those 2. They ordered them for us and got some nice healthy ones for us in 2000. Deb wasn't real crazy about getting Elmhurst and Helmut was just another yaller thang to me. When the two of them began blooming..... Deb went gaga over Elmhurst. The first crop of blooms on Helmut made me sit up and take notice. I had never seen a yellow rose that good. He just keeps getting better. I tease her when she swoons over Elmhurst blooms and try not to let her see me stare at HS when he is covered with blooms :)

Helmut Schmidt at HelpMeFind

Helmut Schmidt at Gardenbuddies