Rosa rugosa is one of Nantucket’s quintessential plants, right up there with blue Hydrangeas. These Asian roses have been grown on Nantucket since the beginning of the last century, and possibly earlier. They do very well in our inhospitable maritime environment. They tolerate salty winds freezing winters and drought, all the while producing loads of flowers and disease-free foliage. They can be found planted all over the island and have naturalized in many of our dunes.
The botanical Latin term, “rugosa” means wrinkled. It refers to the quilted look of the shiny green leaves. Rosa rugosa has a beautiful pink single, or sometimes white flower. The white-flowered plants are often labeled as the cultivar, ‘Alba.’ The fragrant, single flowers are very beautiful, but there are many cultivars available with different flowering characteristics.
We currently have a large group of ‘Hansa’ in stock. This stunning rose was introduced in 1904, making it more than a century old! ‘Hansa’ sports huge, fully double flowers in a deep pink color. They flower throughout the summer perfuming the air with a clove-like fragrance. After the flowers fade, their hips enlarge and turn shades of orange and red, making them even more interesting to look at.
For more information check out our Blog post Rosa rugosa 101