More and more gardeners are discovering the value of growing shrubs and roses.
Requiring a minimum of care, they lend themselves readily for hedges, as specimen plants, in shrubbery borders, or for use in a naturalistic setting.
In addition, shrub roses are particularly vigorous, hardy, disease-resistant plants. Many produce striking flowers; others bear attractive fruits. All have highly decorative foliage, which can be used to advantage in arranging.
Rugosas Rose
There is no more distinctive group among the shrub roses than the rugosas, including their hybrid progeny. Noted for their richly textured, shining, dark green leaves, the rugosas are reasonably hardy.
Furthermore, they have a long bloom season, are disease resistant, and bear attractive bright red fruits in the fall. That they can withstand seashore conditions accounts for their widespread use in coastal gardens.
Rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa), sometimes referred to as the “sea tomato” of Japan, was introduced to American gardens from northern China and Japan.
Large, single flowers, in shades of white to rosy crimson, appear from early June to September, followed by deep red fruits in fall.
As with the rugosas, the foliage is wrinkled, shining dark green. Plants grow to 6’ feet but can be kept within bounds by yearly pruning. For use in the shrubbery border or when planted as a hedge, rugosa rose is unexcelled.
Rugosas Rose Hybrids & Varieties
Varieties include a single white flowering form (R. rugosa alba) and a double white (R. rugosa alba plena). Rosa rugosa has fragrant, single blooms of Persian rose.
Of the hybrid rugosas, Agnes is one of the most delightful with its coppery, yellow buds, which open to pale amber gold in June.
Short stems hold up fragrant blooms, while the foliage is light green. A vigorous, bushy grower, attaining 6’ feet, is a very hardy, profuse spring flowering shrub.
Vanguard
Another hybrid rugosa is Vanguard, which produces large, double, fragrant orange-salmon blooms.
Planted where a vigorous growing shrub is needed or treated as a moderate climber, it will ultimately climb to 10’ feet.
Max Graf
Although more commonly known, Max Graf, another of the rugosa hybrids, is still a popular garden rose. Single pink blooms are borne on this trailing type rose, which is excellent for ground cover use.
F. J. Grootendorst
F. J. Grootendorst, with clusters of small, double bright-red to crimson blooms resembling a carnation, is a good subject for small gardens. Its flowers are slightly fragrant, while the foliage is a leathery, wrinkled dark green.
A disease-resistant plant, growing from 4’ to 6’ feet high, can also be planted as a hedge rose. This bushy, vigorous grower can be kept at any height by yearly pruning.
Pink Grootendorst
Yet another rugosa hybrid is Pink Grootendorst, a blooming picture with large clusters of small, double soft-pink, carnation-like flowers.
It is a hardy, tall growing shrub, reaching 6’ to 8’ feet. Also disease resistant, it is a bushy plant that is ideally suited for planting with other shrubs or as a hedge.
Frau Dagmar Hartopp
Somewhat newer is Frau Dagmar Hartopp, a low-growing rugosa rose ideal for use as a ground cover or where a low shrub is needed.
At home near the seashore, it is very hardy and disease-resistant. A profuse bloomer, flowers appear in shades of silvery pink from June to frost.
Golden Rose Of China
Especially noteworthy is the golden rose of China or Father Hugo’s rose (Rosa hugonis), which is covered with solitary yellow blooms from May to June.
Then, in August, deep scarlet fruits glisten on the gracefully drooping branches.
Father Hugo’s rose, growing to 6’ feet in height and often as wide, is an ideal choice for a specimen plant or hedge, particularly for large gardens.
The Scotch Rose
The Scotch rose (Rosa spinosissima), flowering from May to June, makes an excellent low hedge.
Sweetly scented flowers in shades of white, yellow, and pink (according to variety) are abundant along the stems. In late summer, rounded, black fruits are showy on this wild rose, which grows 3’ or 4’ feet high.
A country garden is only complete with a few plants of this lovely old bush rose.
Sweet-Briar Rose
Among the briers, sweet-briar (Rosa eglanteria) is one of the most appealing, with flowers that appear singly in small rose and pink clusters.
Foliage is noticeably fragrant on this tall, strong-—growing shrub, which is commonly seen in pastures. A favorite in old-fashioned gardens, it can be grown anywhere an informal hedge is needed.
Harrison’s Yellow
Harrison’s Yellow, a hybrid of the Austrian brier and Scotch rose, is a brilliant yellow shrub, sometimes seen in old gardens. Semi-double, fragrant blooms are borne on hardy, vigorous-growing plants.
A very thorny shrub rose, plants attain 6′ feet or more at maturity. Its black fruits are of no ornamental value and are a good candidate for use as a hedge or specimen.
French Rose
The French rose (Rosa gallica), a predecessor of the hybrid perpetual, produces pleasantly fragrant blooms in dark red shades. Against any autumn landscape, its bright red fruits are the most picturesque.
In recent years, no rose has been more maligned than the Japanese rose (Rosa multiflora). This is a shrub for hedge, but only on large properties where a tall, dense screen or windbreak is desired.
The white flowers that appear in June are not especially showy except in big mass gardens, but the red berries are showy throughout the autumn and are highly valued for dried arrangements.
44659 by Robert D. Wyman