Rugosa roses for northern tier gardens

[Nastarana]

Anyone wanting an easy care hedge which needs no chemical intervention, grows of itself like weeds, attracts pollinators and repels unwanted trespass could do worse than to consider Rosa rugosa and it's hybrids.

The species R. rugosa is native to the shores of Japan and northern Asia. It is completely hardy to at least zone 4 and probably even colder, and is one of the very few rose species which does rebloom throughout the growing season. The flowers are very attractive large blooms, about 3" in across, either red or white. The red color is the true red, not mixed with any trace of orange or yellow. The flowers are covered in bumblebees (and honeybees, when those were still around) when in bloom. I found in my yard that the humble bumbles like to nest near the rugosas if a gardener will be kind enough to leave piles of straw nearby.

The species and hybrids can be planted in any average soil, with no or minimal fertilization, and NO pesticides must ever be used. Rugosa leaves cannot tolerate chemical application. They are tolerant of salt, being beach roses, and do need plentiful water. Therefore, they are not best choices for desert areas, nor do they thrive in the hot southeast USA. Their armature is formidable, and can probably repel deer and certainly will keep vegetable thieves out of your garden if you live in a neighborhood where that might be a problem.

The species grows to about 4'. some of the hybrids grow much higher. The most famous hybrid, and one of the iconic roses of the 20thC is 'Therese Bugnet', a rose with red branches which is attractive in every season. Two nurseries which have good rugosa selections are North Creek Farms in Maine and High Country Roses in Colorado. The second I can praise highly; I have not ever ordered from North Creek. The owner of North Creek has published a book called "Rugosas"; anyone wanting more information on these beautiful roses could consult that book at your local library.

[silverseed]

I put in a hedge of Rosa Rugosa about 3 years ago and I love it. It made a nice fence with pretty flowers that bloom from late spring to fall.

[KarenO]

Many rugosa hybrid roses were developed in Canada. For example, Therese Bugnet was bred by Georges Bugnet in the 1940's along with many other hybrid roses in a village called Legal, Alberta, very near to where I live. (Zone 3) Therese Bugnet was named after his sister, a Carmelite Nun and is known to be reliably winter hardy to Zone 1 (ie Yellowknife)in Northern Canada.
I have 2 of them in my yard and I agree, they would make a beautiful hedge.
For hardy roses in general, there are many others that were developed on the Canadian prairies, folks can research Morden roses developed at the Agriculture research station in Manitoba, Canada. The "explorer" series is probably the best known, a series of hardy roses named after famous men who explored and mapped the Canadian north.

A Dutch rose called "Hansa" is another extremely fragrant and hardy rugosa rose that is commonly grown in my area. Dark magenta/purple blooms and a strong fragrance, you will find them in boulevard plantings and shrub beds receiving no care and doing quite well here as well.
There are roses that will grow anywhere, one just needs to find the right ones
KarenO

[luigiwu]

Do these sell these at big box stores or are they only available online?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Do these sell these at big box stores or are they only available online?

I don't shop at Big box stores but some of them are sold via catalogs and I know they do via Jung's b'c that's where I got some of mine.

The ones I've grown are:

Therese Bugnet
Blanc Double de Coubert
Rosa Rugosa
Hansa

Karen mentioned hardy roses in general and one that has done wonderful for me is John Cabot from the Canadian Explorer series and I'm looking at it right now out in the backyard.

Here's a link to that series,I want to grow more of them if I can find a good place.

http://www.midwestgardentips.com/explorer_roses.html

There are many places where can buy the rugosas and the Canadian ones, I just chose the place above b'c they give such detailed descriptions and good pictures.

Carolyn

[Labradors2]

I LOVE Rugosa's, and the Explorer series too. I've had two William Baffin's climbing over an arch for 12 years, and I've never had to cover, mulch or pamper them in any way.

Another good Canadian hardy rose developer is Morden. They were developed at the Manitoba Research Station, so they darned well ought to be hardy .

Linda

[Nastarana]

Wow, thank you everyone for the responses on my first post on this forum.

Rugosas rarely show up at the big boxes. That is because the boxes buy from wholesale rose growers who mostly these days seem to be concentrated around Tyler, Texas, where rugosas likely would not do at all well.

I have not yet grown 'Hansa". I hope to try it someday. My favorite so far is an OOC(alas) cultivar with purple single flowers called 'Germania', I intend to try to root some cuttings so in a year or so I may have plants to share.

'Blanc Double de Coubert' is stunningly beautiful, but, famously, does need to be deadheaded, as does the otherwise beautiful and formidable--nothing will get through those wicked thorns--'Ritausma', also called 'Polareis'.

A Canadian breeder whose work I particularly like is the late Joyce Fleming, breeder of 'Roberta Bondar', a hardy yellow climber, or large shrub and a splendid rose; I have grown it in both CA and NY and it has been superb in both climates. I wish more of her creations were available in the USA.

'Marie Bugnet' is now being sold in the USA, and a few nurseries had 'Louis Bugnet' as well a few years back.

The only Explorer I have tried is 'Martin Frobisher', which I gather was an early release. With that particular cultivar I have not been greatly impressed, but some of the later ones seem quite interesting.

Rugosa hybrids are also being developed in some of the European countries, Finland, I think, and some of the Central European countries. I have a 'Nyvelt's White', which is very nice. I think 'Ritausma' might be from Finland.

[salix]

What a timely thread, my roses are absolutely stunning this year - flourishing (rather than the usual suffering) from my benign neglect. Love the Rugosas, have several, but my favourite is Blanc Double de Coubert for the fragrance, as I have a rather large patch of it and it scents the area for blocks around. Also have several of the Explorer series (John Cabot and Henry Hudson are glorious at the moment) and some of the Morden and Pavement series. One rose that I wasn't sure of at first has really grown on me - a single named Frau Dagmar.

One thing that I think is quite important for northern rose growers is to buy 'own root' plants, rather than grafted. Often after a particularly bad winter they can sprout up from the roots.

[KarenO]

Roseraie de L'Haÿ (1901) is my favourite rose in my garden. I'm a person who likes a natural shape to my roses and so I am not much of a pruner so this one is a thorny monster at about 7 feet tall x 8 feet wide no winter die back to speak of and the big loosely double purple/magenta blooms have the strongest old rose fragrance, heavenly. It may be available to you, it is an old French hybrid rugosa, well known and very likely available in garden centers and catalogues which are generally much better plant sources than any box store.
KarenO

[Nastarana]

I second the recommendation for 'Roseraie dr L'Hay'. Mine has also grown higher than my head and nearly as wide. Also very nice, and of similar color, is 'Rugosa Magnifica'. I think the blooms on 'Magnifica' are even prettier than those on 'Roseraie de L'Hay', but it does not seem to want to grow as large.


There was a poignant post a few years ago on another forum from a Massachusetts gardener who had put in a big vegetable garden only to loose all her produce to thieves. Warm climate gardeners can deter two legged wolves by growing 'Mermaid'; for us in the cold zones, I think rugosas can serve a similar function as impenetrable living fences.

[bower]

+1 for Blanc double de Coubert - my absolute favourite and most extensive in my garden - 3 patches now. The scent is magnificent.
Magenta rugosas are really common around here in old gardens, I guess an unnamed variety at this point, which people just call the 'old fashioned rose'. There are whites too, but the roses are smaller and not as incredibly scented as BddC.

Another lovely white, not a rugosa but an heirloom variety which has lived a long time in my garden, is Maiden Blush. It has just a blush of pink in the bud and early opened blooms here, although I've seen pictures of a 'pinker' overall version - maybe the soil. It was a small bush for many years, until we rebuilt the front porch/deck almost over it, which it seemed to like a lot as it grew right up between the planks and blooms profusely in the corner of my deck every year.

Got these and other roses and fruit trees from Corn Hill Nursery in NB, many years ago - I see they're still in the business. All the plants i got from them were great quality.
http://www.cornhillnursery.com/retail/roses/roses.html