I soon knew. Between the deadheading, the spraying, the careful pruning, the constant war on Japanese beetles, the fertilizing, the grooming -- he was one busy man. And he had 15 rose bushes. All hybrid teas.
I have 40. They take me about an hour a week, if I feel like deadheading. But most of mine are heirloom roses, and most of those are rugosas. Practically care free.
When I first became aware of the distinctions between classes of roses, I was surprised to discover how many of mine belonged to the rugosa family, until I remembered how I got them. I have a friend who loves to raise roses from seeds and cuttings,and most of mine came from her. She lives north of me, in zone 4, and gardens in sandy soil. Not ideal conditions for most roses, but rugosas grow very well for her. They are tolerant of a wide range of conditions that sound unfavorable for your average rose. But rugosas are not your average rose. If you drive along the Massachussetts shore you'll see rugosas growing wild, oblivious to neglect, sand, and salty sea air.
So, they're hardy and tolerant of unfavorable growing conditions. Mine, in fact, have survived this latest drought without even drooping -- and they are in a a part of the garden where the hose won't reach.
Rugosas are nice, bushy shrubs, and one of their nicest traits is that they flower repeatedly. Not only that -- they don't mind if you skip the deadheading. They'll continue to flower, and also produce a nice crop of red hips. Unfortunately, the hips tend to reddish orange, and unless you have a white rugosa, the flowers tend to a purple-pink -- which clashes rather badly.
OK --let's get the rest of its flaws out of the way. Rugosas tend to sucker. This is bad if you're trying to grow them with perennials and shrubs that resent intrusion. It's good if you want an easy source of more rugosas.
The individual flowers don't last too long -- not well at all in a vase, and in hot weather maybe only a day or two on the bush. But it repeats, which means a fairly steady supply of flowers in the garden setting.
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