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Rugosa rose produces loads of beautiful, fragrant, rosy violet flowers
in early summer and sporadically in late summer and early fall. Hybrid
cultivars of rugosa rose have white, light pink, deep pink, and purplish
red flowers. This dense-growing, wide-spreading shrub rose is exceedingly
cold hardy and disease resistant and has handsome, wrinkled, deep green
foliage that often develops yellow, orange, and red tints in the fall. In
addition, this rose produces showy fruits, or hips, that provide a bright
splash of red-orange through the fall and early winter.
Common name: Rugosa rose or Japanese rose
Botanical name: Rosa rugosa
Plant type: Deciduous shrub
Zones: 2 to 9
Height: 3 to 8 feet
Width: 3 to 8 feet
Family: Rosaceae, rose family
Growing conditions
· Sun: Full sun.
· Soil: Prefers well-drained soil with ample organic matter but tolerates
a range of soil types, including clay and sand. Slightly acidic soil pH is
best.
· Moisture: Consistent moisture is preferable, but rugosa rose has fairly
good drought tolerance.
Care
· Mulch: None, or a 1- to 2-inch layer of organic mulch such as small wood
chips, composted leaves, or cocoa bean hulls.
· Pruning: Rugosa roses take well to pruning, though their thorny stems
can make it a daunting experience for the gardener. Prune in spring to
reduce height.
· Fertilizer: Apply a balanced fertilizer once or twice during the growing
season.
Propagation
· You can grow species from seeds. Seeds require a cold
stratification period of three to four months. Sow seeds outdoors in the
fall, or place the seeds in a plastic bag with some slightly damp sphagnum
peat moss and store in the refrigerator for three to four months. Then sow
seeds indoors under lights.
· Propagate cultivars from softwood cuttings taken in mid- to late summer.
Treat with a rooting hormone.
Pests and diseases
· Resistant to rose diseases such as blackspot and powdery
mildew.
· Aphids, mossy rose gall (caused by a small wasp), and Japanese beetles
may affect rugosa rose.
Garden notes
· Rugosa rose is amazingly salt tolerant. It has naturalized along sandy
beach areas in New England, where it is sometimes called “saltspray rose.”
It also tolerates road salt that is applied in cold climates.
· Harvest the large, red-orange hips to make jelly. These large, colorful
hips give this rose one of its other common names—beach tomato.
· Mix rugosa roses with other roses, flowering shrubs, small evergreens,
and perennials. Or use them as a low hedge or foundation planting.
All in the family
· Rugosa rose is used in shrub-rose breeding projects because its
genes contribute cold tolerance and disease resistance to the resulting
hybrids.
· Rugosa roses originated in Japan, Northern China, and Korea, but they
have naturalized in a number of places in North America. 
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