My Quest for the Rugosa
When I think of the Rugosa, my thoughts immediately turn to New England beaches: a sparkling blue sea framed by smooth pebbles, sand dunes and sea grass, the salt air and sweet fragrance of wild roses. In fact, the first time that I really took notice of them as their own class was when I visited Nantucket back in my early 20’s. If you’ve ever been there, or read about it, then you know that the island is sort of known for it’s roses. Besides the ubiquitous ‘New Dawn’ which I recall seeing in many Nantucket gardens, R. rugosa also abounds and because of it’s ability to withstand salt spray, sandy soil and cold winters, it can often be found along the New England coast all the way into Maine.
If that didn’t already convince you as to how rugged, hardy and carefree rugosa roses are, let’s talk about their unique foliage: rugosa roses got their name because of their distinctive leaves; In Latin, rugosus means “wrinkled.” These leaves, which are usually thick and leathery (hybrids can demonstrate thinner leaves), are touchy about being sprayed with anything. It can even cause them to go into shock and defoliate! So, even if you wanted to go through the trouble of spraying them, you would be advised not to. Isn’t that nice? Kind of takes the pressure off, doesn’t it?
Rugosa roses look straight out of a fairytale as their robust canes are absolutely cloaked in prickles. The flowers are fragrant, some more so than others, with a heavenly old rose and fresh cloves perfume. Rugosa species are single petaled but even the fancier hybrids with their more floofy-petaled flowers are, for the most part, relaxed and open revealing golden stamens which the bees enjoy. In autumn, the leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow and orange like the colors of deciduous hardwood trees. Some even have colorful canes which are beautiful when backlit by a low, winter sun. Most rugosas produce colorful, plump, hips which are a rich reddish-orange and with sepals still attached making them look quite architectural! Besides being pretty to look at in winter, the hips offer food for birds (and nourishment for you if you care to eat them, as they are rich in Vitamin C. Wait until you’ve had your first hard frost before picking as it sweetens the fruit.)
Rugosa roses often spread by suckering forming a dense thicket of sorts. This is a “downside” for some gardeners. To avoid suckering, purchase a rugosa that is grafted–not grown on it’s own roots. However, if you enjoy letting a rose run a bit wild, and/or have a larger space for it to spread, these suckers can be dug up and shared with fellow gardeners.
So, besides suckering, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you garden, are there any other downsides to rugosas? Sure there are, like anything. For starters, they can get rowdy and may have a less cultivated look to them. OK, for me that’s not a downside–this blog is named “hedgerow rose” after all–but that might not be your thing. Some of them, like the popular Hansa, which I’ll talk about in a minute, may not repeat bloom or at least not very reliably. When pruning time comes around, you might have to really get in there to remove old canes, etc, and the prickles can make the task a bit tricky. I also feel that most rugosa roses prefer a longer vernalization, i.e. a period of cold in winter, to be healthy and bloom their best. All these things seem like a small price to pay to have a healthy rose which requires no spraying and looks beautiful all year ’round, don’t you think?
Alrighty, so since the theme of this current garden has been about sustainability, I am keen to add more rugosa roses to our collection. I’ve already talked about this shift in direction so I’m just going to jump in now to those rugosas that I already have, or have grown and those that I’d still like to purchase. Keep in mind, many of these recently added are young plants–barely a twig and a few leaves!–so the jury will be out for a while as to which are my favorites.
For the following list, I had to do something I normally don’t like to do which is pull photos from a shopping site. As mine bloom and get photographed, I’ll replace them. For now, these photos will link to the nursery they were sourced from so if you want to grab one for yourself it will whisk you away to their site! 🙂
Rugosa Roses in My Garden:
‘Agnes’ via High Country Roses
A yellow rugosa! Bred by Dr Saunders around 1900. Agnes is supposed to repeat a little bit later in the season. It has R. foetida persiana in it’s lineage, hence the yellow, but not the stinky fragrance. Supposedly smells like raspberries? Lots of petals on this one, like pale yellow pompons. Leaves are not your typical leathery rugosa type but are rather papery.
Not to be confused with R. rugosa albo-plena. ‘Alba’ is very fragrant species with large, pure white blooms. (Buds are the palest blush pink.) Produces hips. For me, it blooms in 2-3 flushes a year. A reliably beautiful rose.
One of the first roses we added to this new garden! A hybrid introduced by Dr Basye in the late 1960’s which is kinda cool to think about since around that time people were all losing their minds over hybrid teas. What I love most about this rose is it’s deep reddish purple coloring, like jewels! Plant this one where it can be backlit by the setting sun to illuminate the red canes and glowing flowers.
‘Belle Poitevine’ via High Country Roses
I ended up getting 3 for the price of 1 with this rose when a rabbit chewed right through the base of the single cane and I rooted the remains. Being able to propagate what was left definitely made lemonade from those lemons! Belle is so beautiful in the photos and seems like a good rose for a smaller garden. I have yet to see the flowers in person due to the whole starting over from scratch thing with mine. I’ve heard really good things, though, and it’s highly rated by ARS (8.5) Do you grow this one?
Whenever this rose gets mentioned in rose-circles, someone always brings up “the fragrance!” True enough, it has a wonderful perfume. What a lot of people don’t know is BDdeC is actually a seedling of ‘Alba’ (above) and they share that wonderful trait. In my experience, ‘Alba’ is much more robust than BDdeC, which takes a little while to get going. Also, I’ve never seen hips on my BDdeC but Alba does set pretty reliably. The flowers are gardenia-white in person. Lovely!
I feel like a dingdong, because I have this on my list of roses but can’t for the life of me recall where it is in the garden. Do I actually have it? I’ll have to wait until they start blooming to find out for sure. 😉 Anyways…this is also known as Foxi Pavement (see my blurb about the pavement roses in ‘Snow Owl’ below.) This one and Dagmar H. (below) are both growing at our test garden. Buffalo Gal’s flowers are similar to Dagmar but are deeper pink and have a few more petals.
I fell in love with Dagmar where it is growing at our rose society‘s test garden. It’s a stunner. It also spreads like the dickens (not uncommon with rugosa roses.) I am completely in love with single-petaled roses and Dagmar’s really make a statement. This rose seems to be in flower all season long.
‘Hansa’ via High Country Roses
‘Hansa’ was the first rugosa rose I ever grew. For that reason, I’ve added two more to our garden here in WNC, even though I don’t think she’s the best representative of her class. (I actually didn’t intend to order two of these so one may end up at our annual plant sale!) Hansa can get rather large (up to 7′ tall and wide) and although reports on HMF state she repeats occasionally, I never saw any other blooms other than in spring. But boy of boy when she bloomed it was magnificent and so fragrant. I also recall her producing hips reliably.
‘Moje Hammarberg’ via High Country Roses
I’m so excited about this rugosa. I have heard from other rosarians that it is fantastic. If you look at the pictures on HMF it will make you drool. Also, the mature size, capping out at around 4′, feels much more realistic for today’s gardens. Supposedly Moje repeats reliably throughout the season. So she sounds pretty much perfect.
‘Pink Grootendorst’ via High Country Roses
I’ve heard mixed reports about Grootendorst. But Antique Rose Emporium said it does well in their Texas heat so I’m intrigued. Also, there are those petals that look like they’ve been snipped with little pinking shears (much like a carnation) so how could I resist? Pink Grootendorst is an old favorite, harking back to the early 1920’s. I can just imagine this rose as the fragrant backdrop of a Great Gatsby-esque garden party.
R. rugosa ‘Rubra’ via High Country Roses
I don’t have any personal info to share on this rose because it hasn’t even arrived in our garden, yet! It was one of my winter shopping spree rose reservations. But, I think this excerpt from the HMF site says it all, “R. rugosa var. rubra Rehder (1902) is specifically described as the purple-flowered form of the species. It was, at least at the time it was initially described, thought to be a species selection. Now Modern Roses 12 notes that R. rugosa var. rubra is “considered indistinguishable from Rosa rugosa (Thunberg).” This comment recognizes that the species produces blooms in a range of colors, including both purple and white.”
‘Rugelda’ via High Country Roses
What’s unique about this Kordes rose is it’s foliage: unlike the thick, leathery, wrinkled leaves of a rugosa, this one has thinner, really glossy leaves like other Kordes hybrids. You wouldn’t guess it to actually be a hybrid rugosa when looking at it. What I found intriguing was the coloring of the flowers, a rich yellow with a rouge-red flush outlining the edges of the petals and buds.
‘Sarah Van Fleet’ via Antique Rose Emporium
I have a bit of a family history with Van Fleet roses so adding Sarah Van Fleet to my rugosa collection felt like a no-brainer. Antique Rose Emporium states that this rose does well in heat but does not like a colder winter. I like reading the comments on HMF to see if a rose is worth trying. I found that the positive comments for Sarah Van Fleet were very encouraging!
I’m already fond of this one because when she arrived, I was experiencing a real slump with my feelings about our garden and growing roses in general. Then, this bloom, and breathing in that magical rugosa perfume…it was like the heavens parted and I knew I had made the right decision in building up a collection. Scabrosa was recommended to me by another rosarian. Apparently, it also has crabapple sized hips!
‘Snow Owl’ via High Country Roses
Sometimes referred to as ‘White Pavement’, this is one of the Pavement series of rugosa hybrids, thusly named because they are smaller and more durable or so I’ve read. I’m not sure about the smaller bit because I think this rose can get up to 5′ and as for durable, that’s kind of what you expect from a rugosa. I like white roses and I had a good spot for this one. Fingers crossed it does well!
This rose is such a classic. Unlike other rugosas, the leaves are more like paper. The vivid pink flowers and strong scent are just what you’d expect, though. My experience with Thérèse is she can be a bit of a stinker with powdery mildew so that’s something to watch. This photo also tells me that I didn’t give mine enough room so I’ll have to keep an eye on that, too! Yikes!
Here are some of the hybrid rugosas I grew at the old garden but don’t intend to grow again:
I would still love to add the following: Roseraie de l’Håy and Wild Edric (not available in US), Mary Manners. And now I’d like to throw these questions out to you: Do you grow any of these rugosas and have any insight to share? Can you suggest any others you think I might like to try?
Hi Laurie,
I have three Purple Pavement rugosa roses on the south side of my house (Chicago suburbs). They have a great mulch of leaf mould and I feed them an Rose Tone fertilizer three times throughout the growing season, with supplemental fish emulsion diluted in water. They do tend to get dry, but boy, they just sit there and haven’t done much. This is the third season – any suggestions?
Laura, sorry to reply so late!! It sounds like you are doing exactly what I would do: mulch with organic material, feed with organic fertilizer (I like rose tone, too, and found that plant tone works just as well), supplement with kelp and/or fish emulsion. Perfect! My only suggestion is to test your soil ever few years or so just to make sure there isn’t anything missing or pH needs adjusting. Happy rose growing! 🙂
I have Bayse’s Purple and it’s in part shade. I love the color of the blooms and the contrasting sepals. The foliage is beautiful too. I had heard that rugosas did not like the clay and heat of north Texas so that is why it is tucked away. It’s not vigorous, but then again, I try to use all sorts of barriers in my attempt to keep my roses Rose Rosette Disease-free.
I’m going to the Antique Rose Emporium next week! I would love to see Pink Grootendorst. I’ve do not recall seeing it before.
Mark your calendar! The Heritage Rose Foundation 2018 Conference will be at the Antique Rose Emporiums Festival of Roses November 1-3.
Sharrie, you bring up a great point: barriers DO work in protecting roses from RRV. I keep meaning to write a post about this and you’ve given me a great reminder. 🙂
Calendar marked! Maybe this will be the year I can finally attend one of those conferences!
Laurie, I love this post. I grow a few that are on your list and plan to find others that I don’t have yet.
Last year a mystery rose appeared in my garden that has been identified as Martin Frobisher, a Canadian rugosa. I know I didn’t plant it because it came up in the pathway plus I’d never even heard of it. It is delicate in appearance, a soft powder pink, blooms all season with a strong fragrance, depending on the weather, and always healthy. It has suckered so this year I have three. Still no idea how it came to my garden. I think it’s my favorite.
Thank you, Andrea! I am so curious about your Martin Frobisher. That one was on my list and I *almost* bought it but then I read that it is susceptible to blackspot. Do you find that’s the case in your garden?
I have a large clump of Martin Frobisher, which I love, and I don’t have a problem with black spot, but our Victorian (Australia) weather has been very dry. I was just wondering if there is a preferred way to prune them, as they retain their hips forever. I am thinking of shears!
Thank you for sharing your experiences with Martin! 🙂 As for pruning, I have heard of people just using hedge trimmers! I prefer to get in there with my Felcos in the spring. That way I get the hips and lovely canes for the winter and still keep a natural looking shape.
I’ve never even considered growing them cause I like tons of petals and fragrance, and I thought they didn’t have either. Your post has convinced me otherwise and I’m excited to add several of the ones mentioned above to my collection!!!
Oh hooray! That’s what I was hoping this would accomplish. 😉 Do let me know if you decide to try any and how you like them!
They are all beautiful! I would try them but I don’t have the cold temps for them in winter. My favorite above is that Bayse’s Purple…how pretty!
‘Bayse’s Purple’ is a new one to me too, and I love the dark petals, and that it is a single!
Bayse’s is such a pretty one…that color! Holly, I think that Pink Grootendorst might work for you in your climate if you ever feel like giving it a whirl! 🙂
I have ‘Magnifica’ in zone 5 Wisconsin it’s been in for over 15 years and it doesn’t get any attention. Blooms it’s fool head off all summer. I use it as a decoy plant (same as honeysuckle) because the Japanese Beetles love it, but it doesn’t care, it just continues to bloom. I’ve had only one sucker, that was last summer. I do cut it down to 3 feet because it’s near a walkway. The fragrance is delicious!
Thank you so much for the recommendation, Nola! I can’t believe I’d never heard of this one but now I must try it because it sounds wonderful. Adding it to the list! 🙂
I have ‘Therese Bugnet’– got her by accident and now have her three babies, too. Love the clove scent and the fall foliage. I’ll be curious to know how these hold up for you in the humidity and how large they get down here– I know they’re very cold-hardy. ‘Therese’ is actually my one rose that has never had powdery mildew even when the others did; the most disease I’ve ever seen is one or two rust spots (and she wears them like beauty marks).
So many of these rugosas remind me of purple-flowering raspberry. Tasty.
Yes, purple flowering raspberry! Good analogy! That’s intriguing that your Therese never had powdery mildew…mine would get it in the spring. Different gardens, different climates…hmmm. I’ll definitely post updates and hopefully she does well here. 🙂
Oh, Laurie, Laurie, Laurie. Yours is the first gardening blog I got into, and it is still the best.
I LOVE rugosas. I grow ‘Hansa’ smack bang in the middle of my rose garden where it can spread. Last year was its first year, so flowering was less than it will be this year, but I thought it did repeat a bit – I will monitor more closely this year. I have planted a hedge (invaded my partner’s allotment) because I ran out of room in my bit of the garden, and got a bit carried away. First I ordered a dozen whips each of Rosa rugosa ‘Rubra’ and ‘Alba’. I was confused to find some of my ‘Rubra’s are darker than others, and have been trying to work out if there is a difference between Rosa rugosa and Rosa rugosa ‘Rubra’. You might have just answered that for me, and I wonder if they are sold interchangeably even if there was once a difference. I got these whips very cheaply (£1 a cane) from a hedging specialist, not a rose specialist, so nto surprised if the provenance/labelling was a bit relaxed. Whilst I was there, I got a little bit sidetracked/captivated/intoxicated by ‘Wild Edric’ and oopsy, what do you know? I ordered 12 (12!) from DA. Not quite so cheap. But gorgeous. It really showed the difference between buying spindly whips and DA shrubs. The whips are filling out already though, and I think they have suckered in a couple of places, which was exactly what I wanted.
Oh goodness, how I have gone on. And I still wanted to say that all these varieties are WONDERFUL!! I can’t wait to see them flowering in your blog in a couple of months. Thank you. THANK YOU!!!
Thank YOU for your kindness and for taking the time to comment! I love reading about other gardeners’ rose stories. So Hansa repeated for you? It never did for me but I wonder if it was because I was growing it in a climate with much shorter summers. I’ll be curious to see if it gets a second flush now that we’re further south. Now you have me really wanting to track down a Wild Edric! And yes, it really does make a difference buying more mature plants. I was just saying this to my husband the other day…I’m getting too old to be fiddling around with young plants. I want to be able to have time to enjoy them! 😉 Well, hopefully these young rugosas will flower at least a little bit this spring so I can share them with all of you….
I should have said, rather than wittering on, that ‘Wild Edric’ was the most floriferous rose in my whole garden (the last time I counted there were 120 of them). It smells of an old fashioned sweet shop: cloves and aniseed from the anthers, and old rose from the petals. Just divine. And the flowers are the most bouncy, flouncy pink, looking fab from bud to blown bloom. That was just in its first year.
Ahhhh I’m so wanty! 😀
In the 80’s Gurney’s blessed us with a “rugosa collection” that they no longer offer. But I got to grow Belle Poitevine, Hansa, Red Grootendorst, Pink Grootendorst and Therese Bugnet. I think the deal was five roses for 25 bucks or some such amazing bargain. They produced some gorgeous, extremely fragrant blooms, but the plants didn’t flourish in our hot, dry California summers, and I no longer grow them. I think of this as a North East rose rather than a good South West rose. My favorite by far was Pink Grootendorst. It grew the tallest, over ten feet, and was the healthiest of the lot and when placed in arrangements people always thought it was a carnation!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, Linda! Your Pink Grootendorst sounds like it was a real showstopper and it’s interesting that it did so well in CA. That kind of confirms what Antique Rose Emporium was saying about how well it does in hotter climates (compared to other rugosas.) Wonderful info! 🙂
I’d strongly recommend Roseriae de l’Hay. It’s a wonderful bushy shrub with superb foliage and it flowers all summer long. The scent is wonderful. You will always find a bee in the centre of the flowers! They love it.
Your blog is so informative, I really enjoy visiting and reading what you have to say.
Thank you Neil that is very kind of you to say! And I appreciate hearing your opinion about Roseriae…it seems she is a favorite among many rosarians. I’m definitely putting it to the top of the list! 🙂
What an excellent write up on the Rugosa! Thank you!
They can be a handful to maintain, but once you breath in the amazing fragrance and get a glimpse of the gorgeous colors, you get hooked. I think, I have the Scabrosa and the Alba. Was not a big fan of single petaled roses, but after seeing these two, two things come to mind -Simplicity and Purity.
Thank you, Lisa, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! I know just what you mean about singles…they’re roses in their purest form! 🙂
In a public garden near my home Wild Edric has grown to a huge size, at least 7 or 8 feet tall…so I hope you have space for him! I am in England and I guess we would call it a zone 7/8 where I live.
holy cats! That’s huge! well, I’m off the hook for now as it doesn’t seem to be available in the U.S. 😉 thanks for sharing that info with us!
Thanks for creating your informative blog.
I am age 61 and have gardened since I was age 9.
Until recently, I never had the space or sunlight requirements for rose growing. Yesterday, I bought Purple Pavement roses for the first time. It’s exciting!
I will let you know, next year, how well suited they are to being planted at a cold, windy and salty air, south west Nova Scotia ocean side location.
Hi Brenda, welcome! I’d love to hear how Purple Pavement does for you. If it can survive your climate and conditions, it should do well for most other gardens. Thank you for stopping by! 🙂