At a potential of 8'x8' - or more - there is nothing particularly compact about Limelight hydrangeas. In fact, they are one of the larger growing panicle varieties.

Wont get as large as the hydrangeas but my favorite rugosa is Blanc Double de Coubert. Blooms heavily all summer with semi double white flowers and a strong fragrance. Develops large red-orange hips. It is a rugosa hybrid and for continuous flowering, I think the hybrids are what you should be looking at.

Moje Hammarberg (dark pink) and Souvenir de Philemon Cochet (white) are my top favourites. I also love Roseraie de l'Hay but it's a poor producer of hips. All are wonderfully fragrant but I believe RDLH has the edge. SDPC is a sport of Blanc Double de Coubert.

I grow a few other Rugosas but I believe these are the standouts.

Blanc Double de Coubert for me too, but I don’t know SDPC. Far more appropriate for a potager look than Hydrangeas. Hips and petals are edible and the scent is incredible.

Gardengal, thank you for mentioning the size of Limelight hydrangeas. I didn't realize it can grow that large. I don't know if I have room for 8x8 shrub at each corner, but maybe? :) Fenced garden will be 24'x17'.

After reading couple of threads about here, Blanc Double de Coubert seems to be a common winner in people's gardens!

Smithdale, Roseraie de l'Hay and Moje Hammarberg both look like they would fit my bill! RDH looks especially pretty and has high ARS rating. Does she make hips?

How about Snow Pavement or Schneekoppe? Anyone has any experience with it?

“How about Snow Pavement or Schneekoppe? Anyone has any experience with it?”

Moses

I hope he will chime in :)

RDH is a poor producer of hips but her flowers are breathtaking.

@Yulia_6a_Michigan

Aside from the wonderful HMF, I love this website for information about rugosas:

https://m.rugosaroser.dk/

It's a Danish website, so use your phone or computer translator, but they have a massive collection and great info pretty much every variety of rugosa hybrids in existence.

Denmark is zone 7 so not drastically different from your zone 6 (I think?), and they show lots of pictures of each variety in their collection and give details about height, hips, rebloom, scent, thorns and foliage, etc...

That sounds great! Is she pretty in fall minus the hips? Is she healthy? Blooming throughout the summer? Also, how thorny is she? Sorry for too many questions : )

Seasiderooftop, the website is amazing! Great reference and answered many of my questions. Boy, those are some thorny shrubs, haha!

Snow Pavement is wonderful! Rosarie d l Hay is great too.

Yulia... Every rugosa I've come across is very thorny and very healthy except perhaps Topaz Jewel, some say she's a weak grower. I personally haven't grown her.

Smithdale, I love the healthy part! And the wonderful fragrance. Does it need a lot of tending to? Yearly trimming and such?

I have to agree with the nomination of Blanc Double de Coubert. It's hard to beat. However, two of my all-time favorite rugosas are Belle Poitevine and Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. BP has the strongest scent of any of my rugosas, not to mention the most voluptuous old rose bloom of just about any of my roses, period.

CFM is the most perfect, clearest baby-ribbon pink you've ever seen, with a bud and bloom that rivals a tea rose, just not as high centered. With that said, there are caveats concerning both. BP is not the heaviest blooming through the heat of summer, though she does soldier on with a few blooms most of the time. But Spring and Fall are her times to show off. And CFM is a BIG boy. Mine is at least 8' tall, and about 6' wide. I have a large property though, so I let him fill all the space he wants. But BP is quite well-mannered at about 5'x5'. She would be lovely planted next to Blanc Double de Coubert (a combo I've been planning for years, but never got around to, lol).

Since it seems you are new to growing rugosa roses, you need to be warned: DO NOT SPRAY RUGOSA LEAVES WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN WATER, EVER! If there is enough rugosa heritage in the rose for it to have the typical crinkled (rugose) leaves, then it will be highly sensitive to any chemical, including summer oils, insecticides, soaps, and even fertilizer. Miracle Gro is NOT a friend to rugosas, unless applied at the roots. Thankfully, rugosas are extremely healthy, and not prone to problems in general.

John

EDIT: If you can get your hands a copy of Suzy Verrier's "Rosa Rugosa", then buy it. Eye candy galore, and the best descriptions and advice you will find on many common and rare varieties (sadly, some are not in commerce now that Suzy has passed away. Her nursery is no more).

Suzy's book on Amazon

EDIT of the edit: You should get Suzy's "Rosa Gallica" as well, just for fun. More eye candy!

@Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6, Moses, I think the OP will get the message, lol. I've already warned her about avoiding putting anything on rugosa leaves. I might have even screamed it at her :P But I'm still glad you chimed in. Hopefully we save her some heartache.

Hi Moses,

Thank you for all the information and food for thought!

Hydrangeas are great, especially the ones you have mentioned. The one negative for me is that I am trying to put something that is good for pollinators and a lot of hydrangeas (not all) have sterile flowers.

I am going back and forth on putting hydrangeas or another shurb. It's a real struggle :) but a good distraction from the current political situation in my home country of Ukraine.

Another reason I like rugosa roses is sentimental. I grew up around them and they remind me of my childhood home.

Also, it's hard not to like a shrub that I can just plant and forget (or so I think? ) that will produce flowers and fragrance. I am most definitely not going to do any kind of spraying.

Thanks again!

Linda Campbell is the brightest red color and very flowerful.

I second Linda Campbell. The cheerful true-red cluster of blooming is gorgeous. And it's my fastest repeat rugosa.

If you like pink singles, check out Frau Dagmar Hastrup. It's wonderfully fragrant, the bees love it and grows to about 4'. I've never grown them, but have always admired F.J. Grootendorst and its sport Pink Grootendorst.

I used to grow Henry Hudson and appreciated it's graceful growth habit and perfect blooms, however it doesn't drop it's petals and looks very messy after a flush. Deadheading was a chore due to the sheer number of blooms it produces and its extreme thorniness. Roseraie de L' Hay is gorgeous and fragrant, but mine did get blackspot on the lower foliage. It was in a mixed border so better circulation may remedy that. Rugosas are a wonderful class of roses with fragrance, hardiness, good health and repeat bloom. You don't always get that in one plant!

Yulia, I think I can speak for everyone here when I say we're all hoping for the best in Ukraine.

I’d definitely go with the rugosas over hydrangeas. They are so much more interesting. They are scented, medicinal, edible and support far more wildlife.

afaik Linda Campbell has little to no scent.

Linda Campbell looks lovely! Does she have fragrance? Heirloom roses says "moderate fragrance" but high country roses says none.

Thank you for you feedback, chris 209. It's good to know that Henry Hudson doesn't drop her petals. Roseraie de L' Hay is lovely but good to know about balckspot and she doesn't make hips.

So far, Snow Pavement seems to hit everything I am looking for and it's available on one of the sites (thank you Moses! ).

Yulia, rugosas make wonderfully shaped bushes with no pruning. Don't worry about BS. Never had it in Minnesota, Alaska or here on rugosas.

I can't detect fragrance from Linda Campbell. If you're looking for fragrant and repeat rugosa, Blanc Double de Coubert could be another option.

Thank you Sheila!

Feiy Lo, yes, Blanc Double de Courbet is definitely in the running. Several others mentioned it's great fragrance and how well it repeats!

Linda Campbell is just about scentless. Her non-rugose foliage is black spot prone in hot, humid locales unlike most Hybrid Rugosas' mostly black spot free foliage, even those growing in heavy black spot pressure locales.

Did I neglect to mention that Hybrid Rugosas are just about Rose Midge Fly proof, a tremendous asset?

The Grootendorst line of HRs is scentless, but they're bountiful bloomers.

If you want to feed bees and butterflies, consider the Rose of Sharon bush. The pure white 'Diana' is a stunner. So is the red centered 'Blue Bird'.

Another bush for pollinators with a fragrance bonus is Butterfly Bush. The variety 'Pink Delight' has not been knocked off its throne as being 'Best Butterfly Bush', IMHO. 'White Fascination' is just a 1/2 step behind 'Pink Delight' as the second best.

Moses

Moses, so are you thinking I should not put hybrid rugosa around my garden? Are they not the best in this setting?

Diana does look lively!

Charles Albanel is my 4th. Best Pick, Hybrid Rugosa. True pink, not mauve, on a refined flower (for a H. Rugosa), without the typical disheveled petal blooms so prevalent among the lot of the other varieties . It's between Snow Pavement and Henry Hudson in height at about a bit over 30". The flower actually has a charm about it. Not so for a lot of H. Rugosas.

Moses

Hybrid Rugosas are great roses! They thrive with the minimum of care. Repeat bloomers, even with hips on the bush. How many HTs would repeat if left to make hips? Their winter hardiness is legendary, too. No black spot. No midge fly. Super fragrant. Why think about jumping ship?

Take a look at Wasagaming, a H. Rugosa I did not try. If it will grow like most of its kin do, I bet it would be added to my favorites.

Moses

Wasagaming also has incredible fall foliage, as I learned from Sheila.

This talk about bees and hybrid rugosa roses reminds me that one of the very best things about summer is watching the bumble bees ecstastically roll around inside Purple Pavement’s blooms .

Yes, Wasagaming and Purple Pavement are fantastic!

Floral_uk thank you! And yes, rugosa rosas are much more interesting. Rifis, I am looking forward to seeing bumblebees, summer can't come soon enough!

Wasagaming is stunning but I can't seem to find it for sale.

Moses, thank you for all the wisdom!

'Fru Dagmar Hastrup' (this is the correct spelling, because it's from Denmark and not Germany). Superior compact habit, unique silver pink flowers, cherry red hips that do not clash with the flower color. (Unlike most pink or purple rugosa roses, with their tomato red fruits).

Yulia, High Country Roses has had Wasagaming mailorder. I agree it is not listed now. Calling HCR might help, and calling Freedom Gardens Peter Schneider might help. They have roses not on the website at times.