I've seen it and I've liked it. Used to drive by a large old Tudor timber frame home with a hedge of the pinky red ones. They were planted somewhat close together and allowed to grow into eachother - although I'm sure a gardener was involved in there somewhere. It was stunning.

I have a couple of the double white "Blanc Double de Coubert". The thorns are killers, but with a good pair of thick gloves and sharp pruning shears they're easy enough to take care of.

i had them lining a fence... they got about 8 feet in every direction..

and scratched the heck out of me while i was mowing the lawn ...

proper cultivar selection is imperative.. as well as proper placement ...

and.. most only bloom once per year.. or a very small reflush .... which i dont think i would like as the prime focus of the front of my house...

why not a better selection of rose for the area.. like the everbloomers..

there is a rose forum ... never been there.. i dont know how active it is..

ken

I once saw a gorgeous one in Bar Harbor, Maine. It was kept at about 4 ft, so the homeowners could have a view of the ocean. Keeping it shorter than that would just be fighting the plants too much.

The problem with rugosas in a prominent location is that they are not attractive plants during the winter. Unless it's been waaay overused in your neighborhood (and I have a hard time imagining such an enlightened place) the variety to look for is Therese Bugnet. It's part rugosa, and part red-stemmed American species rose (R. blanda)

'Bugnet' is not very dense. The one with the superior habit is 'Fru Dagmar Hastrup', from Denmark. 'Frau Dagmar Hartopp' and other variations are incorrect.

You see hedges of Rosa rugosa on Cape Cod and other areas near the water here in Mass. They look beautiful and do very well in those conditions. But they are very prickly, an important consideration in anyone's garden.

I found plain Rugosa rose, ( no special variety) very cheap and decided to try them in a hedge planting. I spaced them 3 1/2 ft apart. The box said 4 shrubs make a 10 ft hedge, so I figured that was close enough. I am not going to change the planting if I can avoid it, I put down weed fabric for ease of mowing and moisture retention. My question is, is 3 1/2 ft too close? I read that they get 8 ft in all directions in one of the above posts. Is that for the plain variety?

They are widely used over here, especially in coastal gardens since they are very wind and salt tolerant. They make lovely hedges if you have the room and like a less formal looking planting. They will take quite heavy cutting back but do not actually need it apart from the usual 'dead, diseased and crossing' mantra.

I have a hedge of Fru Dagmar Hastrup. It is about 50' long and 3'-4' high. It is in an exposed, windy location. I prune it with the electric hedge trimmers each Spring and then totally neglect them---there's always something else to be doing, it seems.

Despite not receiving irrigation or fertilization or spraying of any kind---they have done well. Ocassionally, a plant or two dies but others are always coming along to fill the void.

The only caveat I could offer would be to find them on their own roots. This planting is over twenty years old and during that time, the multi-flora rootstock sending up shoots has been and continues to be an annoyance.

Thanks for the replies, from the info given I will be happy with choosing the original rugosa rose.

I know this is quite an old discussion, but I still want to add my 2 cents.
I've grown Rosa Rugosa for decades. It makes an amazing hedge. Each shrub does get to 8' X 8'. I see, here, that many people say it only flowers once. I'm confused by that. Mine bloom from spring through late fall continuously. I cannot tell you what kind it is. The original shrub was an heirloom plant, given to me by a family member who received if from a family member (and so on). It has a mixture of deep and pale pink roses.
About once every 2 weeks, I clip the dead roses back to the first set of 5 leaves. (Because the person who gave it to me said I should.) This keeps new flowers constantly blooming from top to bottom from the time the first blooms come on until after the frost comes.

hey GK ...

a pic of the flowers.. and a posting in the NAME THAT PLANT FORUM.. might get you an ID ...

and a name would be great ...

but i note yours is also 8 by 8 feet..

would you put it near the front porch???

ken