"just say no to wimples and chastity belts"
wrote in message
...
On May 19, 9:27 pm, "Kate Morgan" wrote:
I have a wonderful hedging rose in flower at the moment, the smell is
amazing. A friend asked me what it was called and I had to hide my
ignorance by diving into the border to find the label, the name on the
label says it is Rosa Rugosa Japanese Rose, the picture shows a single
rose but mine is not a single by any stretch of the imagination, the
hips
will be there later, small spiky thorns are there but the flower is
different, I need educating I think. I must switch off the p.c. as we
are
having a belting thunderstorm here and power cuts, better be safe than
sorry

Rosa rugosa is the wild species, and there has been a lot of breeding to
produce different garden varieties, some of which are double. As far as
I
know, all the rugosa varieties are either white or deep pink. The easy
characteristic, though, is the 'rugose' leaves - sort of all crinkled up
rather than smooth and shiny like most roses.
--
Kay

Sacha put forward one possibility and that is Roseraie de l`Hay and after
looking closely at mine and other pictures on line I think that may be the
one, it is the nearest so far, later it will have super hips and it does
indeed have crinkled leaves as Kay suggests

If you like that one you might also enjoy the double white version,
Blanc Double de Couvert,
which also has wonderful scent. They are both grerat favourites of
mine . Both of them will sucker and spread, since its always grown on
its own roots the suckers match the parent and can be dug up for
propagating. A garden near here has vast billowing thickets of both
lining a boundary, a wonderful sight. For those who don't know it,
rosa rugosa is totally hardy and disease free, will grow in sand, and
if you keep deadheading it flowers all summer.

Janet

Wouldnt the two of them make a fantastic hedge, I feel another hedge coming
on :-) I like the fact that I can dig up suckers for propagation must have
a go at that. I dont do any deadheading as the hips are another bonus but
maybe I could just take odd one or two off, it is a big plant.

kate