Pavement rose at the end of the blooming season.
Since we have touched on this rose in another forum-here's the rest of the story.
The Pavement rose is really a 'Rugosa'...whether seedlings, named varieties, or hybrids, all have a strong but delicate fragrance.
Rugosa's usually have the look of wild roses, with single petals that can be pinkish, purplish or white. They can be semi double or double in the bloom.
The flowers are followed by fruits, called hips, that can be an inch or more across. The hips make delicious jams, tangy tea, and are rich in vitamin C.
Rugosa's are covered in small spines and the leaves are dark and leathery.
You can count on blooms all summer, in fact mine starts blooming in the spring and is the last of the roses to fade away in the fall.
They must be kept pruned if you don't wish to allow it to fill out its full potential...keep it pruned to 3 feet or let it grow to 6. The spread can be 4 to 6 feet also. ( this you can also control with pruning )
These beautiful roses are also disease resistant-a good thing !
They will flourish in zones 2-8 with full sun and well drained soil.
When you buy a Rugosa in the pot...make sure it is no more than twice as high as the container. Examine it well for any negatives -dark spots, leaves with holes or brown tips...it will either look really healthy or it will look sick...no in-between.
Each year( late winter )after all danger of freezing is past- cut the oldest stems down to the ground to make room for the new ones. Shorten any very long stems also.
In the spring, once established, it is wise to add some granular rose fertilizer-just once. Never ever over feed them.
Late summer, if you plan to use the hips-harvest them just after the leaves lose their dark green color. Dry them well and process accordingly to the purpose . You can eat them fresh if you like...allow them stay on the shrub until they turn bright orange...remember they are loaded in vitamin C.
If you only have space for one rose...I would make it a Pavement-Rugosa Rose.
Your thoughts ?
Bea
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing, these have been on my list to grow for a while. Currently our home, on the sunniest side has an old hedge which does nothing other than needing to get trimmed several times a year.
I'm all for pulling it out, easier said than done, and filling in the area with a few of these roses, herbs, etc.
Hmmm, I was working on a comment and it seems to have been removed.
Thanks for sharing the post, these roses have been on my list, thinking of tearing out an old hedge around my house and adding rugosa and herbs
Sorry Heidi, I removed a post that was nothing more than an advertisement from KS....I didn't see a post from you though.
If you mix anything with the Rugosa...allow plenty of spread room, it has a pretty demanding spread need, and lays on the ground too. So anything you put under it will get overtaken...Rosemary shrubs would work well...they can hold their place well. :)
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