Riding down the congested Leeds inner ring road this afternoon I saw lots of
flowering, deep pink rosa rugosa. They were dark with road dirt and vehicle
emissions but looked thriving, bushy and growing well.

My white, single bloomed, one (planted 2002) is a bit leggy, flowering well
but most of the green is at the top third of the plant.

Can it be cut back to encourage lower growth, if so when and by how much?

It would be a shame not to see the hips but if necessary I'd be prepared to
forgo that pleasure this year, in the hope of seeing more next year.

I hope someone can advise,

Mary

Mary Fisher wrote:
Riding down the congested Leeds inner ring road this afternoon I saw lots of
flowering, deep pink rosa rugosa. They were dark with road dirt and vehicle
emissions but looked thriving, bushy and growing well.

My white, single bloomed, one (planted 2002) is a bit leggy, flowering well
but most of the green is at the top third of the plant.

Can it be cut back to encourage lower growth, if so when and by how much?

It would be a shame not to see the hips but if necessary I'd be prepared to
forgo that pleasure this year, in the hope of seeing more next year.

I hope someone can advise,

Mary

.... and I'm all ears, for I would hate my splendid double deep pink
flowered 3 year old one to go leggy on me...

Cat(h)

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

These are the toughest roses of all.

that's what I decided when I saw them flourishing on the side of the
motorway!

A truck driving right over one
wouldn't kill it. You can prune rugosa right down to ground level and
they will send up strong new shoots and suckers (from their own roots,
same rose). Give them a mulch of old compost or manure and you'll soon
have a fresh new plant. You might get even get some flowers by autumn.

er - do you mean that I might try it THIS year?

I don't really want to do it yet, I was hoping that it might be possible in
autumn - but if you're sure ...

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

These are the toughest roses of all.

that's what I decided when I saw them flourishing on the side of the
motorway!

A truck driving right over one
wouldn't kill it. You can prune rugosa right down to ground level and
they will send up strong new shoots and suckers (from their own roots,
same rose). Give them a mulch of old compost or manure and you'll soon
have a fresh new plant. You might get even get some flowers by autumn.

er - do you mean that I might try it THIS year?

I don't really want to do it yet, I was hoping that it might be possible
in autumn - but if you're sure ...

Mary


Any time of year is fine for the truck driving method.
Whilst you are here have you noticed the dense planting of Araucaria on the
same bit of road near the Armley gyratory. Brilliant and even the local
plebs haven't worked out how to nick them:-)

"Rupert (W.Yorkshire)" wrote in message
...


Any time of year is fine for the truck driving method.

:-)

Whilst you are here have you noticed the dense planting of Araucaria on
the same bit of road near the Armley gyratory.

No ...

But I rarely go down there these days and if I do I'm usually driving the
car with all senses on the task in hand. It's not the most relaxing of
roads!

Today I was on the back of the scooter and saw the shrubs on the way to
Elland Road (no, not for that); on the way back I could see nothing because
we were going between other vehicles and my eyes were mostly shut, I was
praying ...

Brilliant and even the local plebs haven't worked out how to nick them:-)

Wouldn't it be nice if they tried!

I'll have a look out next time.

Mary

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

A truck driving right over one
wouldn't kill it. You can prune rugosa right down to ground level and
they will send up strong new shoots and suckers (from their own
roots,
same rose). Give them a mulch of old compost or manure and you'll soon
have a fresh new plant. You might get even get some flowers by autumn.

er - do you mean that I might try it THIS year?

I'm talking about a plant that's had every stem pruned right down in
winter, making enough new growth from spring onward, to flower later
that year.

If you did it in mid June it would grow, but I doubt you'd get
flowers this year.

Right, that's what I would have thought but I could have been wrong.

I don't really want to do it yet, I was hoping that it might be possible
in
autumn - but if you're sure ...

Autumn would be better

Thanks a lot, I'll do that.

Mary

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

A truck driving right over one
wouldn't kill it...................snip..............


Unlike Mary I actually want to get rid of some of my Rosa Rugosa. New shoots
come up in the most inconvenient places, there are nettles growing in the
middle of one bush which I can't get at and they are generally taking over
some of our flower beds.

So, sorry Mary, but is there an easy/sensible way of getting rid of them?

Jeanne

" Jeanne Stockdale" wrote in message
...

"Mary Fisher" wrote in message
t...

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...

A truck driving right over one
wouldn't kill it...................snip..............


Unlike Mary I actually want to get rid of some of my Rosa Rugosa. New
shoots come up in the most inconvenient places, there are nettles growing
in the middle of one bush which I can't get at and they are generally
taking over some of our flower beds.

So, sorry Mary, but is there an easy/sensible way of getting rid of them?

LOL! Don't apologise to me :-) I got rid of all the other 'conventional'
roses in our garden, I'm not a rose lover but it seemed like heresy to many!

The rosa rugosa is difficult because of its prickles but its scent and the
hips are glorious. We planted it on a boundary where it would serve as an
extra deterrent to unwanted visitors, along with other bitterly hazardous
plants - and a couple of friendly ones.

Most of what we planted weren't the best choice for a hedge because only a
holly is evergreen but it's getting better ... slowly ... :-)

I'd suggest some very stout gloves, protective arm, leg and face wear and
persistence! Or ask a man to do the deed, they mostly don't like to admit
that thorns are a problem for them!

Mary