MOONLIGHT ® – yellow climbing rose – Kordes
Bring a touch of moonlit romance to your garden with MOONLIGHT ®, a tall, free-flowering climbing rose that covers walls, pergolas and arbours in warm yellow blooms. Its reliable climbing habit and semi-double, cupped flowers create a soft, luminous curtain of colour from early summer well into autumn. Bred by Kordes, this variety combines decorative impact with enduring performance, forming a long-lived framework of canes that you can train just where you want it. Own-root plants settle steadily into Irish gardens, gradually shaping themselves to your space and routine, even where you need to manage drainage carefully in heavier soils. In the first year it focuses on rooting, in the second on building shoots, and by the third season you can expect its full ornamental display. The pharmaROSA® ORIGINAL 2‑litre pot makes planting refreshingly simple for beginners and busy gardeners alike.
Use cases
| Target area |
Reason |
| Front-garden house wall or warm, sheltered façade |
MOONLIGHT ® quickly forms a tall climbing framework, ideal for dressing a plain wall with romantic golden blooms while keeping ground space free for everyday use, offering strong visual impact with manageable pruning for beginners |
| Garden pergola beside patio or seating area |
The vigorous, trainable canes cover pergolas in scented flowers, creating dappled shade and a soft golden glow that makes summer evenings feel special without needing complex maintenance schedules, suiting relaxed family seating spots for homeowners |
| Rose arch or arbour at a garden entrance |
Its repeat-flowering clusters give a welcoming tunnel of colour and fragrance from early summer onwards, with own-root plants maturing into a stable, long-lived structure that can be enjoyed year after year by busy gardeners |
| Small group planting on a boundary fence |
Planting 1–3 MOONLIGHT ® climbers along a fence creates a softly unified yellow screen, where moderate self-cleaning and simple deadheading keep things neat, ideal for those wanting charm rather than high-maintenance precision, including beginners |
| Rural cottage-style garden behind mixed perennials |
The warm, changing yellow tones blend naturally with cottage favourites like catmint and Crocosmia, rising above to add height and romance while roots adapt gradually for long-term reliability, suiting traditional-style gardeners |
| Urban courtyard or coastal balcony in a large container |
Grown in a 40–50 litre container with support, MOONLIGHT ® offers vertical colour where soil is limited, and its good heat tolerance pairs well with regular watering, fitting compact spaces for busy urban owners |
| Family play garden needing colour away from lawn areas |
Trained along fences or over arches, the rose keeps most thorns away from play zones while still giving generous colour; its remontant flowering offers interest across the season with straightforward care for practical-minded families |
| Mixed rose border in areas with heavier, wetter soil |
As an own-root climber it settles steadily and copes well once drainage is sensibly managed in wetter Irish spots, combining dependable height and long life with a classic look that reassures cautious beginners |
Decorating ideas
- Golden Cottage Arch – Train MOONLIGHT ® over a simple wooden arch, underplant with Nepeta x faassenii and low grasses for a relaxed country feel – ideal for cottage-garden lovers
- Sunset Pergola – Cover a timber pergola with MOONLIGHT ® and combine tubs of lavender and rosemary nearby to echo the warm tones – perfect for evening-entertaining households
- Warm Welcome Wall – Fan-train MOONLIGHT ® beside your front door, with containers of white hydrangeas beneath to contrast the yellow blooms – great for tidy, statement-making entrances
- Coastal Glow Corner – In a 40–50 litre pot, grow MOONLIGHT ® up a trellis with Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ at its feet for a vibrant, wind-tolerant corner – suited to small coastal gardens
- Family Story Arbour – Let MOONLIGHT ® cloak an arbour with a bench, adding scented evening colour and a few shade-tolerant perennials at ground level – perfect for family relaxation spots
Technical cultivar profile
| Property |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Climbing rose from the Klettermaxe® collection. Registered cultivar name KORklemol; trade names MOONLIGHT ®, Moonlight ® Klettermaxe®. American Rose Society exhibition name: Moonlight®. |
| Origin and breeding |
Large-flowered climber bred by Tim-Hermann Kordes, W. Kordes’ Söhne, Germany. Parentage: (unknown seedling × ‘Lichtkönigin Lucia’) × unknown pollen seedling. Bred 1995, registered 2006, introduced after 2006. |
| Awards and recognitions |
Decorative climbing rose with trial recognition: Tokyo Bronze Medal (2005), Belfast Gold Medal (2007), The Hague International Rose Trials Bronze Certificate (2012), confirming strong ornamental value. |
| Growth and structure |
Vigorous climbing habit reaching about 200–320 cm in height with 70–120 cm spread. Medium-density, glossy mid-green foliage, moderately thorny canes, ideal for walls, arches and pergolas in private gardens. |
| Flower morphology |
Semi-double, cupped flowers with around 13–25 petals, produced in clusters. Large blooms (approximately 2.75–3.95 in) on a remontant plant; the second flush is also abundant. Moderate self-cleaning, light deadheading advised. |
| Colour and phenology |
Warm golden-yellow flowers with a subtle copper tinge. Buds deep yellow with orange hints, opening to rich golden yellow with peach sheen, then fading to pastel lemon with slight pinkish edges, creating gentle colour variation on the plant. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Strong, long-lasting scent with a rich, fruity character that is easily noticeable near seating areas or paths. Ideal where fragrance is a key requirement alongside colour and height in the garden design. |
| Rose hip characteristics |
Rose hip formation is usually minimal, as flowers are semi-double and often deadheaded; if present, hips are small, spherical, orange-red, around 8–12 mm in diameter, with limited decorative impact. |
| Resistance and hardiness |
Hardy to approximately -23 to -26 °C (RHS H7, Swedish Zone 4, USDA 5b). Medium disease resistance; some susceptibility to powdery mildew, with black spot and rust at medium levels, so monitoring is useful in very humid weather. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in full sun with reasonably drained soil. Recommended spacing: about 110 cm for mass planting, 100 cm for hedging, 180 cm as a solitary specimen. Water during prolonged dry periods; provide support and simple pruning to maintain structure. |
MOONLIGHT ® offers tall, fragrant golden blooms, dependable repeat flowering and long-lived own-root strength for walls, arches or pergolas, making it a reassuring choice when you would like a reliable, easy-care climbing rose.
