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.

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

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)

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)

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.