Rosa 'Tan08973' STÖRTEBEKER

Klaus Störtebeker was a German pirate from the late 14th century who plied the waters of the Baltic and the North and until there are many myths and legends about his life. During the Swedish-Danish War, when he was as a sailor, he and his men were hired by the Swedes to fight against the Danes and to help supply Stockholm. He somehow grew fond of the battles so despite the end of the war he continued to raid merchant ships and appropriate their goods and wealth, in other words he became a pirate. The most widespread, but now debunked, legend says that he and his 73 companions were captured in 1401, and in Hamburg they were sentenced to death for piracy by beheading. Their heads were allegedly impaled on stakes along the Elbe River as a warning to other pirates.

Nevertheless, records have been preserved that indicate that Klaus, who was called Johann by the way, had already died the year before, along with 30 companions, though of unknown reason. Even though he was a negative character as a pirate, Klaus Störtebeker became a German icon about whom novels were written, an opera was composed, he has a statue in Hamburg, and there is an annual festival held in his honor in Rügen Island. And what does it have to do with roses? At least one mistake: there is a portrait of Kunz von den Rosen, the court jester of Emperor Maximilian I, which is often mistakenly identified as a portrait of Klaus Störtebeker.

STÖRTEBEKER^® is a hybrid tea rose developed by Christian Evers (Rosen Tantau). It produces beautiful, medium-sized, 10-11 cm wide, fully double, firm, dark red flowers with a strong, deep fragrance. It blooms in several flushes from June till October against a background of dark green, glossy leaves, which are almost completely resistant to powdery mildew and, in good growing conditions, suffer minimally from black spot. It forms compact, upright, and densely branched bushes about one meter high. It was first introduced in Germany in 2016 and was granted a European patent No. 48858 in 2018.

Planting instructions: Prepare a hole of size 30x30 cm. Put your rose in the way that the grafting point is 3 cm deep in the soil. Water well and cover new shoots with soil or bark mulch about 15 cm high. Roses tolerate a wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, in full sun.

Pruning: Cut the branches in halves in autumn and prune hard to 3-5 live buds in spring after danger of frosts. Spent flowers are best removed as they begin to fade. Cut off spent flowering clusters just above the leaf with 5 leaflets or deeper if rejuvenating is desired during vegetation.

Last update: 09-01-2023