By Alan Summers
Rugosa Roses are some of the toughest and most handsome shrub roses available. They are fragrant, black spot and mildew resistant and are vigorous growers - blooming recurrently throughout the season. Rugosa Roses can be distinguished from other roses by their tough, textured, deeply veined foliage and erect spiny stems. In contrast to their foliage, the blooms of the Rugosa Roses appears very fragile, almost like silk that has been crinkled.
Rugosas prefer light, sandy soil in full sun to partial shade, making them especially suited for seashore planting. Rugosa Roses tolerate both salt and drought. Rugosas require no spraying for disease and little fertilization. Unlike other roses, deer never touch Rugosas. In autumn Rugosas have beautiful, orange-red hips, rich in vitamin C, which attract wildlife and are useful for jelly. Rugosa Roses are ideal for hedges and planted in masses for erosion control, especially in sand dunes.
Originally from China, Japan and Korea, Rugosa Roses come in a variety of sizes and colors - white, several shades of pink and red to almost purple. This week we are featuring the most disease resistant Rugosa of them all - a rose with single, pastel pink blooms on a neat compact plant - Fru Dagmar Hastrup.
Fru Dagmar Hastrup - The Most Sought After Rugosa Rose
Created in Denmark in 1914, Fru Dagmar Hastrup is loved for its abundance of cherry red hips in the fall and its elegant pink blooms that emit a sweet clove-like fragrance. Its blooms will reach two to three inches across and repeat exceptionally well throughout the season and it has the unusual ability to display hips and blooms concurrently. The rich, green foliage will turn maroon and then gold in the fall. Fru Dagmar will reach only four feet tall and wide. A lovely addition to any garden.
Planting and Care
- For best results plant in spring or fall.
- Prefers a light, sandy soil in full sun to partial shade. Remarkably tolerant of shade and heavy clay soil.
- Fertilize with Rose-Tone.
- Deer resistant.
- Hardy in Zones 3-9. Click here to learn more about Rugosa Roses on the Carroll Gardens website.
Alan Summers, president of Carroll Gardens, Inc., has over 30 years experience in gardening and landscape design. He has made Carroll Gardens one of America’s preeminent nurseries, having introduced more than 20 new perennials and woody shrubs over the years and reintroduced numerous “lost” cultivars back to American gardeners.
Carroll Gardens publishes a weekly online newsletter written by Alan. It contains valuable gardening advice and tips and answers to customer questions.
Every Saturday, Alan hosts a call-in gardening forum on WCBM radio - 680 AM. For those outside of the WCBM listening area, they can listen to radio show via the internet.
Visit CarrollGardens.com to learn more about Carroll Gardens, the weekly newsletter and the radio show.
Try to Visit http://www.rose.myzury.com
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