Hybrid Kordesii 'Quadra': Ogilvie-Svejda's Explorer Guardian

Introduced in 1981 by the Ogilvie-Svejda team, 'Quadra' (PP09995, also known as J.F. Quadra, Explorer Series) is a hybrid kordesii shrub rose named for Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, the 18th-century Spanish explorer of the Pacific Northwest. It stands as a guardian of the Explorer Series legacy—tough, beautiful, and historically rooted.

Botanical Profile

The flowers are a clear, bright red, semi-double, borne in clusters on a vigorous, upright shrub 5-6 feet tall. The foliage is glossy, dark green, highly disease-resistant. As a hybrid kordesii, 'Quadra' inherits the ironclad hardiness of Rosa kordesii (Zone 3) combined with repeat flowering and manageable size. It blooms heavily in June, then repeats through summer. The Explorer Series, developed by Agriculture Canada, remains the gold standard for cold-climate roses. 'Quadra' is a red sentinel—plant it where winter winds howl, and it will still bloom.