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Catalog: Rugosa Roses

For those who want roses that are fragrant, vigorous, winter hardy, disease tolerant and bloom repeatedly throughout the summer, Rugosas are a sure bet. We have lots more to say about Rugosas, so please scroll down to read. Or, go directly to the varieties available. Plants are shipped bareroot (no soil or pot) and dormant (no foliage) from early April to mid May.

Belle Poitevine	Blanc Double de Coubert	Charles Albanel	David Thompson
Foxi	Fru Dagmar Hastrup	Grootendorst Supreme	Hansa
Marie Bugnet	Purple Pavement	Rugosa rugosa alba	Rosa rugosa rubra
Rugosa Magnifica	Snow Pavement	Therese Bugnet

Roses need sun (at least 6 hours daily); well-drained, fertile soil; and consistent and adequate soil moisture to thrive and produce the most blossoms.

Learn more about growing roses:

• How to Grow Roses
• Planting Roses
• Pruning Roses
• Fertilizing Roses

More About Rugosas

In addition to their recurrent blooms, most Rugosas also set lots of rose hips in late summer that remain on the plant until spring. Rose hips are the fruit of the rose and are often very colorful and large -- some the size of crabapples! They are high in Vitamin C and can be made into jams and jellies. Check out our recipes for rose hips.

Rugosa roses have incredibly healthy foliage, which can also show fall colors in hues from yellow to burgundy. Rugosa roses are very versatile in the landscape and can be grown alone as individual plants, or placed in your perennial borders. They also make great hedges and can be easily pruned to shape the hedge.

As a group, Hybrid Rugosas have a mixed parentage, which results in a wide variety of flowering and growing characteristics.

Generally, Hybrid Rugosas can be distinguished from other roses by their deeply veined, thick leaves. These leaves are very tolerant of diseases, and generally are not affected by blackspot or powdery mildew. If you do see these on Rugosas, be sure to note that they do not like to be sprayed with harsh chemicals. Always check whether or not your rose can handle the chemical by spraying just a few leaves first before you spray the entire plant.

One of the most important thing to know about Rugosa roses is, in our experience, they can't tolerate liquid chemical fertilizers. Rugosas will often drop all their leaves (defoliate) if you spray or feed them with liquid chemical fertilizers, like Miracle Gro. We get lots of calls from people who tell us that their Rugosa's leaves turned yellow and then fell off. Our first question always is, "Did you give them a liquid chemical fertilizer?" The answer so far has always been "yes." Then we tell them not to ever do that again, and that their rose will recover. Even with organic liquid fertilizers, Rugosas can be sensitive to a sudden dose of nitrogen, especially when applied to dry soil. So, always, always make sure you apply liquid fertilizers to wet soil, not dry soil. Water first, then fertilize. This is a good thing to practice for all plants -- water first, then fertilize.

Other than their sensitivity to chemical fertilizers, Rugosas are really tough roses. They have the best winter hardiness, next to species roses that are indigenous to cold climates. Most are very winter hardy, suffering no cane dieback even to -40 below! However, there are always a few exceptions. Some can handle -50 degrees, and others will have dieback at only -20 degrees.

Rugosa roses are very drought and salt tolerant. This is because Rugosas evolved along ocean shorelines where they were exposed to sandy, dry soil and salt spray. This tolerance is great for those who want to place a hedge of roses next to a road that gets salted in the winter.

Rugosas will generally send out suckers and slowly expand their range. You can dig these up and replant them in your garden or give them away to friends.

What's a "bareroot" plant?

"Bareroot" is a term that describes how a plant is shipped to you. A bareroot plant is not in a pot, and is usually dormant (not actively growing). See the photo to the right that shows what a bareroot plant looks like. The bareroot plants that we ship to you were harvested in the fall and placed in cold storage over the winter to keep them dormant. In the spring, we ship the bareroot plants to our customers, from early April through mid May.

Bareroot plants are easy to grow. We include planting instructions with your order. When you receive your plant, take it out of the packing material and place it in a bucket of water so that the roots are completely covered. Let the roots soak for 4 to 24 hours, then plant it in your garden. Full planting instructions with photos are available on our Planting Roses page.