| Disagree that they are not attractive in winter - they get gorgeous red/orange hips, and the bark is very thorny, which I personally think is attractive in the winter. One advantage of rugosas over other rose varieties is if they are the rugose varieties (i.e. not crossed with a non-rugosa) odds are *extremely* slim that they will get blackspot. In all the years I've been growing them, I've never once seen blackspot on them, even when other roses in my yard were covered in it. A tremendous advantage of rugosas over many other varieties is they are hardy as bone - you can plant them in the coldest, windiest part of the yard and they'll just laugh off the nastiest winters. While they don't bloom all summer, the foliage is lovely (to my eye, anyway). Again - you want a truly rugose variety, not a cross. Most are dense and lush, foliated top to bottom. You'll get a smattering of flowers on and off during the summer after the big flush, and often a nice fall rebloom. Some varieties re-bloom more than others, and as I mentioned, the hips are an attractive feature. And **THE FRAGRANCE**!!!!!!!! I second the rec for Frau Dagmar Hastrup (? spelling) mentioned above - large silvery pink single flowers on a lower-growing bush (around 3' or so). Another great bet is anything in the "Pavement" series (which sometimes go by other names such as 'Schneekoppe' or 'Rote Meer' - yea, it's confusing). These all stay in the 3-5' tall range, but they can get as wide. "Wildberry Breeze" is the most floriferous rugosa I have (in terms of re-bloom), it gets 5-6' or so. For really tall ones, look into "Scabrosa" or "Alba". The bane of rugosa roses (as well as pretty much all roses) is Japanese Beetles, though, so if those beasts are a problem in your area, you may not want any type of rose around the front porch/door. I don't have a hedge of rugosas, but I do have them scattered through my perennial beds and a few in the front of the house, and I love them, wouldn't be without them :0) |
