Rugosa Rose (Rosa rugosa)

A truly beautiful plant that is usually in a rose that it will grow true from seed. It does not need much care or maintenance once established and flowers prolifically for long periods of time. Its extremely rugged (hence its name) it will grow on almost any soil even pure sand but does not like wet soils. It needs full sun to be at its best but will take a little shade. Extremely hardy down to zone 3 it is very drought tolerant. It laughs at high winds and salt living happy on wind scoured beaches and flowering in beach sand. The beautiful pink or sometimes white flowers can be 4" across and are very aromatic which attracts butterflies and bees. Its followed by the largest hips of any rose which is wonderful for making rose hip products or just letting the birds enjoy them through the winter as they stay red on the bushes for months. Even those who are not that keen on roses will like this plant. You can plant and forget it except for enjoying the flowers. May need a little pruning in spring depending on your zone, in some you can just mow it down for the winter. The hips (fruit) are very high in Vitamin C as well as other essential compounds your body want to stay healthy so plant some this year and enjoy.

A truly lovely simple rose with large pink or white flowers up to 4 inches (10 cm) across with yellow centers. These are borne singly or in small clusters and are very aromatic. The flowers are followed by large hips 1 ½" (3.8 cm) in diameter like flattened spheres or donuts . Flowering begins in late spring to early summer and continues until the frost. Hips are borne as soon as the first flowers fall and will be on the plant at that same time as many flowers. Rugosa is a prolific bloomer making up for its solitary flowers by numbers over a longer period of time. The leaves are a deep green and 3-6 inches (8-15 cm) long, most often with 7 leaflets, each 1 ¼-1 ½ inches (3-4 cm) long, with a distinctly corrugated or rough surface which gave rise to the species' name. The stems are very spiny densely covered in short, gray, needle-like thorns about 1/4 to 1/2" (0.6-1.2cm) long. Rugosa Rose is a suckering shrub which means it will develop new plants off the roots and can form dense thickets if left alone.

Rugosa rose is unusual in that it grows true to seed unlike other roses which are usually grafted. However Rosa rugosa seeds need to be stratified before they will germinate. The quickest method for this is to either direct seed them in the fall or to sow them in pots or seed trays and place outside for the winter months. There are several other methods to choose from please read our stratification instructions and choose the one best suited to you.

We have not found that scarification, soaking or other treatments make any difference to the amount of seeds that germinate. Some seeds may germinate without stratification just by being left in the refrigerator for a period of time. All our seeds are stored in cold conditions to help with this process.

We recommend sowing in small individual pots or a tray of cell pots and either leaving outside during the winter or placing in a cold shed or garage for the winter months. Sow 1-2 seeds per pot for a 2 inch (5 cm) pot. Whatever your method make sure that the pots stay moist. If placing indoors wrapping in a large clear plastic bag will help keep the soil moist during the winter months. This method does not work as well outside as the plastic tends to become ripped by birds, falling twigs, leaves and other means. So if keeping outside make sure they are close enough to the house that you remember to water them and keep moist as outside pots tend to dry out rapidly.
If placing outside take care to protect seed trays as rodents will dig up the seeds and eat them.

Once the seeds have stratified germination is usually fairly successful. Percentage rate is usually 60-80% but will depend on the conditions you use. Not all seeds will germinate but if you are patient though another year they usually come up in the second year.

Once seedlings have germinated treat as any other seedling. It is usually best to repot seedlings into larger pots and grow on to about 12" tall (30 cm) before transplanting to their desired location. This usually takes a couple of months but the plants are very fast growing.

While Rugosa roses are not fussy about most things they do need full sun to thrive. They can take some shade but become spindly and don't flower well. Otherwise they are not too fussy about most things they will grow in almost any type of soil provided it is fairly well drained. They cannot tolerate waterlogged soils. However they will grow in almost pure sand so are an excellent choice for beachside gardens. They much prefer a richer soil with a good amount of organic material to be at their best but will flower profusely on sand. Once they become established they can get fairly large and will spread out to about four feet (cm) in diameter so care should be taken when choosing placement. They grow vigorously and make a wonderful hedge or barrier.
They are extremely hardy up to zone 3 and can tolerate salt, even salt spray and will grow right on the beach if the opportunity arises. They are also very drought tolerant but do need a period of cold in the winter to stimulate growth so don't do as well below zone 7b. Often flower in the second year from seed.
The size the plant grows to will depend on your zone. In cold zones the plant can die back to the ground entirely in winter, in mid range zones it will keep a couple of branches and warmer it may behave like any other rose bush. Thus plants that die back will not reach the same size as one that was already a fair size going into winter. Plan and plant according to your zone.

This is usually done in late autumn to early spring and will depend on where you are located. In cold zones they will often die back to the ground completely in winter. In which case the whole plant can be cut down or even mowed. In warmer areas - zone 6 and more- a few live branches will survive but others may die off. In these cases the dead branches should be cut back to the ground. Prune back overly long branches to keep the shape you want. Many state that this rose blooms on old wood and care should be taken when pruning however this is only the case in warmer areas. For those in cold areas where the plant dies back to the ground or only leaves a couple of living stalks the plants will readily bloom on new wood and grow back vigorously every year. In many cases little or no pruning may be necessary.

One of the delights of Rugosa roses are the huge rose hips as large as cherry tomatoes. Fruits begin to appear in mid summer after the first flowers have ended and will continue until the frost. Hips are pretty frost hardy. Looking like clusters of ripe cherry tomatoes, the red rose hips are oval and glossy, lasting until late autumn. The hips are large, 2 to 3cm (1in) diameter, and often shorter than their diameter, not elongated like most other rose hips; in late summer and early autumn the plants often bear fruit and flowers at the same time.
The best time to harvest is just after the frost, however if you plants are producing hips early you may need to harvest some sooner or they could dry up and be lost. Fruits should still be soft maybe a little wrinkly but not to much, if they are all soft you have waited too long and they are rotting. Cut the hips off just behind the fruit using scissors or floral snips (my choice these things are great). How you then proceed will depend on what you are doing with the hips.

While Rugosa roses tend to be less prone to rose disease than other roses they can occur especially if the plants are located in sheltered locations with little airflow. Those in windy or beach locations rarely encounter problems unless extremely stressed.
In the right location diseases can include: Black Spot, Powdery Mildew, Rust, Aphids, Scale and Spider Mites. Deer will eat them to the ground if they can.

There are many uses for rugosa rose hips. They are considered to be the sweetest and have the best flavor or any of the rose hips plus their size means you don't have to harvest as many for your project.
Most recipes for using hips use only the fleshy part of the hip with the seeds removed. The seeds are covered in little hairs which can be very irritating in processed into a food. If cooking do not use any metal pans or utensils other than stainless steel or risk discoloration of the fruit and loss of its precious vitamin C stores. The most commonly made items are syrups, jams and jellies sauces or a rose hip butter of puree and sweetener.
The flower petals are also edible are excellent in omelets, fried in batter, crystallized, added to soups, salads, or processed to make jelly, syrup or rosewater. A tea can also be made from the leaves.

Rugosa roses are not the first choice for medicinal hips however they are much larger than most of the other species so tend to be used because they are easier to harvest even if the potency is not as great. However all hips do contain high amounts of vitamin C as well as A, E, flavonoids and other compounds. They are also a good source of essential fatty acids which is quite unusual in fruits. The leaves are sometimes used to treat fevers and the flowers are used to fortify the spleen and liver and aid in blood circulation or constrained liver energy in Chinese medicinal terms. Flowers are also used to help with poor appetite and digestion, and menstrual complaints. Rose hip syrup is often used to treat coughs most likely due to the high vitamin C content.
While most sources state that the seeds should be removed before using the fruits recent research has found far more benefits in leaving the seeds in and using the whole fruit. Fruits used in this way are dried and then turned into a power before use which eliminates the problem with the irritating hairs. In this form they are being used to treat some cancers and hepatic disorders.

Rugosa Rose, Japanese Rose, Ramanas Rose, hamanasu