BACKGROUND
Joie de Vivre was bred by Kordes Rose Nursery in 2010. Kordes has a history of rose breeding that dates back to 1887 in Hamburg, Germany. Forget the likes of more recent rose breeders, Kordes has a history dating back over 130 years.
They have consistently bred some of the most renowned roses the world has ever known. Take the Iceberg rose variety, the most commonly planted rose in the UK – that was bred by Kordes and there are many more examples of their famous roses.
Joie de Vivre follows in this tradition, especially as far as disease resistance is concerned. Disease resistance is and always has been at the heart of the Kordes rose breeding programme.
Rose Joie de Vivre
Not only was this the Rose of the Year in 2011, it also has won several other awards including the RHS Award of Garden merit (AGM).
APPEARANCE
Joie de Vivre is well suited to small gardens and does very well when grown in containers. When fully grown it reaches a height of 70cm (28in) with a similar width. If you plan to plant this rose in a container, a size of about 45cm (18in) high by 45cm (18in) will do the job fine.
Although the container can be filled with multi-purpose compost, a soil based compost such as John Innes Number 3 will be best.
Rose Joie de Vivre half open flower
Joie de Vivre is a floribunda rose and produces multiple flowers on main stems in clusters. Flowering begins in late June / early July (mid May if grown in a container) with a rosette form – very full and beautiful. The centre of each flower is a light peach colour fading to light pink at the edges.
This is a repeat flowering variety which flowers until late September / early October.
The flowers have a mild, very pleasant, slightly sweet scent to them.
The mature foliage is a mid to deep green, glossy and with a leather appearance. Some new foliage is initially a light burgundy colour turning to green after a week or so (see picture below).
PESTS AND DISEASES
Joie de Vivre is a very healthy, disease resistant and quick growing rose. We still suggest however that you follow our instructions on controlling black spot which can be found here.
HOW TO PRUNE A JOIE DE VIVRE ROSE
Prune a Joie de Vivre rose as follows:
- Remove all stems which show any signs of disease or damage. Cut them back to ground level or back to a main stem.
- Remaining stems should then be pruned back to 30cm / 1 ft from ground level. This will allow you to get a good view of the structure of the rose bush.
- Now prune the rose bush so that it has five or six stems arranged equally apart roughly in a circle from the centre of the plant. These stems should ideally be growing out from the centre of the bush.
- Compromise may be required but the idea is to keep the centre of the rose bush open and have the branches growing outwards. This is to allow air circulation to the centre of the plant and avoid infections.
- When selecting stems, make sure that you remove stems which are touching or nearly touching another stem. Where stems are touching, they will rub off the outer bark and allow infections to enter.
- Green stems are healthier than browner stems so remove the browner stems and leave the green stems.
- When selecting the stems to remain, don’t leave spindly stems. Your are looking to have five or six stems which are at least the thickness of a pencil, hopefully thicker.
Floribunda rose before pruning
Floribunda rose after pruning
CULTIVATION RECORD FOR JOIE DE VIVRE
PURCHASE
Bought from Wyatts Garden Centre in January 2020.
Originally priced at £12.95, this plant cost us the princely sum of £3.95 in their end of season sale. They were clearing the remainder of their previous year’s stock, to make space for the new year’s stock of roses.
In effect we had bought a two year old rose, in perfect condition, and well established in the pot, for less than a third of the price.
Although we would not normally buy a container grown rose, the price was too tempting. In addition, we will be planting it at the correct time of year (late winter) so it will be able to establish itself well before summer sets in.
Joie de Vivre ready for planting
CULTIVATION
This rose was planted in a larger container (roughly 45cm/ 18in square) on 1st February 2020. We used John Innes Number 3 as the compost. We will update you below throughout the life of this rose.
2020
31 March 2020
Sprayed with Roseclear. Fed with a handful of blood fish and bone.
In line with Flower Power (which was also planted in a container), this variety was growing far quicker compared to the other varieties growing in the rose bed.
9 May 2020
Of all the roses in our 2019 trial Joie de Vivre was the first to flower and it was ahead of all the other varieties. Remember, it was planted in a container and this seems to induce better growth and flowering compared to roses grown in open ground.
Not only was it the first to flower but several buds had also been produced well in advance of all the other varieties. See the two pictures below.
Joie de Vivre first flower 09 May
Joie de Vivre flower buds at 09 May
22nd June 2020
First flush of blooms has finished but there are still four blooms opening with plenty more buds clearly developing.
20 July 2020
The second flush of flowers has begun, not quite as many as the first flush but still impressive.
19th August 2020
The second flush of flowers has finished. No signs at all of any pests or diseases – completely free of black spot.
VERDICT 2020
Beautiful flowers (and lots of them throughout the season) with glossy very disease resistant leaves. Highly recommended.
SUMMARY OF ROSE JOIE DE VIVRE
HEIGHT: 70cm (28in)
SPREAD: 70cm (28in)
ROSE TYPE: Floribunda, repeat flowers in clusters and singly over the summer
FLOWER COLOUR: Light peach to light pink
FRAGRANCE: Slight, sweet
LEAVES: Light burgundy when new, soon turning to mid/deep green, glossy
THORNS: Some but less than many other varieties
UK HARDINESS: -20C
USDA ZONES: 8b to 4b
DISEASE RESISTANCE: Very good
GROWING CONDITIONS: Full or partial sunlight (four hours or more sun)
SOIL CONDITIONS: Almost all soil conditions except dry or water-logged soils
CONTAINER GROWING: Well suited to growing in a container
BREEDER: Kordes 2010
AWARDS: Rose of the Year 2011, RHS AGM
MORE IN DEPTH ROSE REVIEWS
Click here for more in depth reviews of our recommended rose varieties.
Recommended Rose Varieties for Small / Medium GardensPlanting a Rose Bush
Caring for Rose Bushes
Prunining Rose Bushes
Propagating Rose Bushes from Hardwood Cuttings
Pests and Diseases of Rose Bushes
Comparison of online rose suppliers
JOIE DE VIVRE ROSE
Rose Joie de Vivre was designated the Rose of the Year in 2011. To put this into perspective, the RHS has given over 100 roses an AGM at the current date.The Rose of the Year award has only been in existence from 1982 so it is a far more prestigious award. Joie de Vivre is one of the very best roses ever to be given this award.Ideal for small gardens and container growing, the flowers are perfectly formed and slightly scented, the foliage is deep green. Quite rightly, it has an enviable reputation for its disease resistance.