Rosa rugosa Rubra Pink Rose

Rosa rugosa Rubra Pink is an extremely vigorous rose which can tolerate a wide range of conditions and provides a long blooming season of highly fragrant and beautiful pink blooms. Commonly known as the Red Japanese Rose, Rosa Rugosa Rubra Pink will be covered in its deep pink, highly fragrant flowers, 9 cm across, from June to September, followed by large, red rosehips which add autumn and winter interest and can also be harvested to make rosehip jam or tea. The crinkled, glossy green leaves turn yellow in autumn. The branches are extremely thorny. 

Rosa rugosa ‘Rubra’ pink is extremely hardy and will easily survive winters throughout the UK. The plants grow to a height and spread of 1.5 to 2 metres in 2 to 5 years, making them a good choice for a fast landscaping solution. Depending on how fast you want them to fill in, you can plant anywhere from 3 to 5 bushes per metre, or up to 7 in a staggered planting for an even denser hedge. Like all roses, they will benefit from pruning, but if you are putting in a mass planting in semi-wild situation, you can just let them grow. 

The Red Japanese Rose will grow in poor soil, but prefers moist, well-drained rich soil with regular applications of fertilizer. However, they will still grow in sand, clay or chalk, and will tolerate any soil ph. Rosa rugosa Rubra pink does best in full sun, in an exposed or sheltered location, with an east, south, or west-facing aspect. Since it is quite resistant to salt spray, it is excellent for landscaping by the sea and for coastal planting. 

Rosa rugosa Rubra pink makes an excellent informal hedge plant, either in a mixed hedge or just as a row of fragrant, beautiful roses. They are a boon for wildlife, as the blooms attract bees, and the dense bushes are attractive as nesting locations for birds, who also eat the mature hips in the autumn and winter. However, their thorniness and density makes them less appealing to deer and rabbits. 

You can also make a mass planting of Rosa rugosa Rubra Pink on a hill or bank to prevent erosion or as a ground cover in a less desirable area for lawn. 

Save this beautiful roamer for the hedges and ground covers to which it is so well-suited!