Mine is about 10 years old; very winter hardy without hardly any winter dieback. It is very tall; about 6-7' and sometimes requires the help of additional staking when it puts up new, tender basals. It is one of the first to break dormancy in the spring and bloom, and is covered with deep dark red blossoms, blooms sporadically thoroughout the summer, and then has a nice fall flush.

My chief complaint is that the Japanese beetles are really drawn to this shrub, and immediately devour any summer and fall blossoms and chew up the foliage pretty bad.

You will not need to prune this rose very much; just cut out the dead wood in the spring, but it does require lots of room to grow because it gets big. The only winter protection it gets is oak mulch at its feet.

I purchased this rose from Jungs as a bareroot.
-terry

I haven't tried Cuthbert Grant, but I've been asking a similar question on the antique rose forum and herb forum. I'm hoping to put cold hardy, fragrant, low care roses in each corner of my herb garden. Most of the responses said to try rugosa roses. They're supposed to come in all sizes and many colors and some are very fragrant. Many produce hips for birds and can be cold hardy to zone 2 or 3. They don't like sprays and are best in organic gardens. The most highly recommended rugosa on both forums was the Fru Dagmar Hastrup. If you want more information, go to the herb forum and look under my post. FataMorgana included some interesting rugosa rose websites. Hope this helps!

It is an excellent, tough, Winter hardy rose. However, it is quite lacking in fragrance (except for a few fleeting moments when blooms first open, at mid-morning) and so it does not really meet your criteria. Otherwise an excellent medium sized shrub for cold climates.

"I don't mound, cover or protect in anyway. Just cut back before winter "

While this may be standard practice for Hybrid Teas in cold climates, please do not hack back Shrub Roses in the Fall! Hybrid Teas are bred to be cut back hard (in colder zones) but many shrub roses (Rugosas, Parklands, Mordens, and Explorers) do not require this treatment. In fact, all you will be doing is robbing yourself of the benefits of a large shrub and a spectacular first flush the following Spring.

I would second the idea of Rugosas...they are some of the first to bloom here, and such a beautiful pop of color. Like lavender lass said, they resent being sprayed. I believe they're low maintenance.
One thought though, from your post...you said your only winterizing is to cut them back before winter. I'd say that you'll improve the hardiness of all your roses if you don't do any cutting back until the spring; fall pruning encourages new growth that is less hardy, and puts unnecessary stress on the plant when it should be trying to shut down. We even stop dead heading in October, to avoid encouraging new top growth.

Best,
Lara

Cuthbert Grant here in Tropical Minnesota zone4a is cane hardy most winters with only tip damage. The blooms have a nice HT form, but not cutting stems. A mature plant gets around four foot here.

In a typical year there will be three flushes of bloom. I observe here, that the fragrance is dependent on the weather. In the spring, you can smell a very strong old rose fragrance from several feet away. In the summer if you put your nose way into a bloom, you can get a faint smell of carrot or leaf.

The smell in the fall is really variable. Sometimes faint to mild old rose, other times nothing.

All in all, a very nice shrub for the North.

Charles

Oops! Sorry Trospero; hadn't seen your post!

Rugosas have many merits BUT I find them generally lacking in the look of the flower. Most are kind of floppy messes. Now Fru Dagmar being a single is one of the exceptions as is Rugosa Alba that has a really beautiful flower. True reds, unless they are hybrids like Robusta, are also lacking not to mention yellows and all those colorufl blends of apricot, near orange, etc.

I've had Cuthbert Grant for years and it has done very well - clean, somewhat fragrant, and repeats a bit - one of the better hardy roses but IMO not as vigorous as Prairie Joy or Prairie Peace (this one may not be available to you).

The comments of rugosas are generally true but you may want to consider Austin's "Wild Edric" - If you have the same experience as me, it will fulfill ALL of your requirements. I was skeptical about this rose being cold hardy, i.e. being hybridized in England, but it sets a new standard for rugosa hybrids. There is definitely more color on this bush for a greater time of year than there is for Cuthbert Grant.

Trospero - Cuthbert Grant gagged on alba-semi pollen.

Doug

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. I, too, have Rugosas and indeed they are very winter hardy. They do tend to sucker quite a bit.Which is not all bad if one wants more plants.

I also have Buck roses. They are GREAT!

I've been letting my floras and hybrid teas survive on there own, over winter. Scentimental and Elina are they only to have made it thru two winters. Granted the winters, here in northern Illinois, have been fairly mild of late.

The McCartney rose is my wives favorite and is not fairing as well. That's the one I'm looking to replace.
So if anyone has any suggestions for a highly fragrant rugosa, let me know.
Thanks again.
John

'Hansa' will be superb in your climate.