PlantFiles: Japanese Rose, Wrinkle-Leaved Rose, Saltspray Rose, Ramanas Rose
Rosa rugosa

I love these roses. You only have to prune them. I have several different kinds of the Rosa rugosa. They do spread very aggressively. I am always giving them away, planting them in a different spot or just throwing them away. The rose hips taste amazing!

This plant makes good shelter in windy saline coastal areas and beaches, but beware of its invasive nature! It could fill your backyard, and is capable of displacing native species.
Very useful and beautiful though, but blacklisted in several countries.

Rosa rugosa is also commonly referred to as beach rose. Living on Narragansett Bay, rugosa grows along the shoreline (and in my yard) "naturally". These wild rogasa tend to be pink and sometimes white. They can be very invasive, sending trailers out up to 18 inches from the main root. They get very leggy and I've found that they can be severely trimmed occasionally(early spring) and come back much thicker and healthier.

I planted several pinks ('Wildberry Breeze') and whites ('Wild Spice') in early summer this year. They make a beautiful hedge, growing relatively wide and low. They have a LOT of thorns, tiny spikey ones. Each flower lasts about a day, but they bloomed continuously (with deadheading) from when I planted them until late fall. If they are not deadheaded they make huge, beautiful red rosehips. Apparently rugosa roses do not like to be sprayed.

These roses will spread even into the yard via underground runners. Very aggressive!

Rugosa roses originate from the coastal dunes along Northern Japan and Siberia. They are cold-hardy and disease resistant. The foliage of the rugosa is comprised of 5-9 ovate to elliptical leaflets that can reach 3" long and are wrinkled on the upper surface.

Pink or white blooms appear in summer, and in late summer, fruit develops (rose hips) that are the size of small crab apples. These rose hips are rich in vitamin C. There are many new cultivars of the original Japanese rugosa that was hybridized in England in the late 1800's. Now varieties are available with blooms of red, white, and yellow.

In Alaska, these roses are often referred to as 'Sitka Rose' because there is a unsubstantiated bit of folklore that states that this rose was introduced to Sitka by the Russians when they arrived in Southeaster Alaska. Alaskan rugosa rose hips are often used to make jelly.