Apothecary Rose

3 months ago

I want to grow the Apothecary Rose, Rosa gallica officinalis, but it's not a repeat bloomer. "Duchess of Portland,the hybrid cross between R. gallica and a damask, is said to be the closest thing to the Apothecary Rose. Is anyone familiar with both types? I don't want to sacrifice fragrance and hip quality for repeat blooming. Maybe I should get both? A small garden cannot accommodate many 1 shot roses.

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porkchop_z5b_MI

3 months ago

What's a good rugosa cultivar that's the real McCoy, and with great fragrance? I'd prefer one that can reach 7 feet."

As a general statement, the more rugose the leaves the fewer problems you're going to have with disease so stay away from rugosa hybrids with leaves that are relatively smooth (non-rugosa genes in there = disease problems). Examples of these are Conrad F. Meyer, Theresa Bugnet, Robusta, Hunter, and Linda Campbell, but there are others.

My favorites are Fru Dagmar Hastrup (aka Frau Dagmar Hartopp) and any of the Pavement series (e.g. Snow Pavement aka Schneekoppe, etc) but they are shorter, around 3-4 foot, maybe 5 depending on conditions. Wildberry Breeze is a very heavy bloomer, but I don't think it's in commerce any longer; she gets around 6-ish feet, give or take.

Alba is a tall one, has sparkling pure white single blooms -- stunning in their simplicity. Rosa Rugosa Rubra is another tall one, vibrant purple-pink single blooms. Flowers of Scabrosa are pretty much the same as R.R.R. but I've seen different heights cited for Scabrosa.

All of these are very fragrant and hippy.

"How many waves of blooms do you usually get on your's per season?"

Big first flush in late May-early June with light re-bloom all the way through fall. Mine don't really bloom in cycles, it's more of a steady light re-bloom. They seem to pick up a bit of a second wind when the cooler fall weather starts to arrive, but it's rare that any of my well-established ones don't have at least a little something on them.

You will need gauntlet gloves for pruning if you get into rugosas. :0)

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Comments (7)

porkchop_z5b_MI
3 months ago
This is a good question for the afficianados on the Rose forum.

I think I've grown both a gallica and a damask in the past, but that was some time ago and neither lasted in my garden very long, so they either must not have done well for me or I didn't care for them. Oh both. I don't really remember anything about them, though.

Do you have any interest in rugosas? There's where you're going to great some great hips, and mine tend to lightly re-bloom on-and-off all season after an initial big first flush. The fragrance! None of the disease issues that plague other roses, hardy as a bone, and great winter interest with those mean-looking thorny canes. The key is get a rugosa that does not have much non-rugosa in its genes -- that's where the problems start to set in. I can post more specifics if you're interested.
Jay 6a Chicago
Original Author
3 months ago
Yes I'm interested. What's a good rugosa cultivar that's the real McCoy, and with great fragrance? I'd prefer one that can reach 7 feet. How many waves of blooms do you usually get on your's per season? I'll still probably still get an Apothecary Rose too. The Rosa setigera that I recently started from offsets blooms only once and it roots at the drooping stem tips and becomes a huge beast with it's own zip code. I'll have to keep it under control.
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UpperBayGardener (zone 7)
3 months ago
Just jumping in to say, Rosa are far from a main obsession - in fact maybe the name brand genus I'm least interested in - but I've always tried to have a couple around fragrance, hips and general 'garden je ne sais quoi'. But RRD wiped out the few I had some years ago. I just started replanting - first this year, Rosa de Rescht. Holy smokes, who cares if it only blooms once a year, the fragrance is INSANE. You can probably smell a single flower from 50 feet away. I don't think I've ever encountered a rose like it. (with the caveat above in mind though, when I visit botanical gardens, I'm hardly running from rose to rose sniffing them)
Jay 6a Chicago thanked UpperBayGardener (zone 7)
Jay 6a Chicago
Original Author
3 months ago
Thanks for the advice UBG! Makes my decision so much harder now, Apothecary?, rugosa?, Rosa de Rescht? I looked up Rosa de Rescht and it's supposed to be a repeat bloomer? Apparantly the Apothecary isn't the world's most fragrant rose. I, like you, am not an obsessed rosaholic, but I wouldn't mind having a couple around for fragrance and hips. Maybe like Cannabis continuing to be selectively bred to increase potency, they are doing the same thing with fragrant roses?
Jay 6a Chicago
Original Author
3 months ago
Porkchop, Thanks for the great info! I've compared all the different rugosa and have chosen Rosa Rugosa Rubra. It seems to be sold out everywhere currently. Do rugosa ever get grafted onto inferior rootstock?
porkchop_z5b_MI
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
I've always purchased rugosas on own rootstock. I would not purchase one that is grafted. Grafting defeats one of the draws to growing rugosas -- they're hardy as a bone, absolutely no protection required whatsoever, even in frigid sub-zero temps. Introduce a graft and that goes out the window.

ETA: Do you have any nurseries in your area that carry rugosas?