Rosa rugosa in tough conditions.
Roses don't like my garden: it is prone to waterlogging all winter, dry in summer and lies in a terrible Blackspot region. But the basic rosa rugosa roses do very well, flower for months, have fabulous scent and even lots of hips. They don't suffer from blackspot or rust, they tolerate the wet ground and I cut them down to the ground each year so early growth is not damaged by cold wind in Spring.
I notice that there are a number of attractive hybrids but I wonder if they are just as tough. Does anyone grow them or know how susceptible they are compared to their less refined relatives?
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Rugosa roses do not need spraying and they should never be sprayed as it causes an adverse reaction in them...
i got some cheapbare root rugosa roses from a hedge supplier last year and just stuck them in the soul (without any prep). I thought they probably wont survive but now in spring all are sprouting.
The soil was deep, fertile, alkaline loam on a clay subsoil and in the first couple of years they grew and performed well but then they started dying off because of exposure to strong prevailing winds and, possibly, occasional chemicals form the farmer. They also suckered like mad so I ended up ripping them all out and building a fence form posts recycled from my daughters climbing and swing frame with builders' rusty iron mesh between. Grew blackberries and tayberries up the wire mesh and some pumpkins with black and redcurrants in the bed in front. Much better and prettier and productive too.,
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
My roses were all grown from seed picked up in the lane. When I first came here I spent a lot of money (for me ) on roses and they arrived vigorous, healthy and ready for a long life so it was pretty miserable watching them fail and die. There are no healthy roses in this area except rugosas and they thrive.
I don't have a particular rose in mind, I was just window shopping on the David Austen site. You can't beat healthy roses for beauty - look at Malorena's garden - but I can't do that here. I'm hoping some of the hybrids might be an attractive substitute.
It grows on a bank of stones with a bit of subsoil, they seem to grow on nothing substantial.
'Scabrosa'.. if you can find this one, you will be rewarded with the largest hips from this group..
'Rosemoor'... this does not look like a rugosa, but you can tell from its foliage which is of a rugose type... it's a David Austin hybrid rugosa, and has the advantage of being almost thornless, which is unusual for roses of this kind..
I don't know 'Snowdon' I haven't grown it... I grew 'Blanc Double de Coubert' a long time ago and I remember it was highly scented.. but I preferred the plain rugosas at the time..
'Rosemoor'... sometimes the blooms can be rather muddled, but it's cute...