In Japanese, it is called hamanasu, meaning "shore eggplant" and also hamanashi meaning "shore pear". In Korean, the species is called haedanghwa, literally "flowers near seashore".
It is a suckering shrub which develops new plants from the roots and forms dense thickets 1–1.50 m tall with stems densely covered in numerous short, straight thorns 3–10 mm long. The leaves are 8–15 cm long, pinnate with 5–9 leaflets, most often 7, each leaflet 3–4 cm long, with a distinctly corrugated (rugose, hence the species' name) surface. The flowers are pleasantly scented, dark pink to white, 6–9 cm across, with somewhat wrinkled petals; flowering is from summer to autumn (June to September in the northern hemisphere).
The hips are large, 2–3 cm diameter, and often shorter than their diameter, not elongated like most other rose hips; in late summer and early autumn the plants often bear fruit and flowers at the same time. The leaves typically turn bright yellow before falling in autumn.
Rugosa rose is widely used as an ornamental plant. It has been introduced to numerous areas of Europe and North America. It has many common names, several of which refer to the fruit's resemblance to a tomato, including beach tomato or sea tomato; saltspray rose and beach rose are others.
The sweetly scented flowers are used to make pot-pourri in Japan and China, where it has been cultivated for about a thousand years.
This species hybridises readily with many other roses, and is valued by rose breeders for its considerable resistance to the diseases rose rust and rose black spot. It is also extremely tolerant of seaside salt spray and storms, commonly being the first shrub in from the coast. It is widely used in landscaping, being relatively tough and trouble-free. Needing little maintenance, it is suitable for planting in large numbers; its salt-tolerance makes it useful for planting beside roads which need deicing with salt regularly.
Numerous cultivars have been selected for garden use, with flower colour varying from white to dark red-purple, and with semi-double to double flowers where some or all of the stamens are replaced by extra petals. Popular examples include 'Fru Dagmar Hastrup' (pink, single), 'Pink Grootendorst' (pink, semi-double), 'Blanc Double de Coubert' (white, double) and the more common 'Roseraie de L’Haÿ' (pink, double), which is often used for its very successful rootstock and its ornamental rose hips.
Syns:
• Apfel-Rose
• Beach Rose
• Hama-nashi
• Hama-nasu
• Hedgehog Rose
• Japanese Rose
• Kartoffelrose
• Nordische Apfelrose
• Ramanas Rose
• Rosa andreae Lange synonym
• Rosa ferox Lawr. synonym
• Rosa rugosa f. rugosa
• Rosa rugosa Thunb.
• Sea Tomato
• Shore Pear
• Tomato Rose
Also referenced as: R. andreae, Rosa rugosa flore simplex, Wild Beach Rose.
Purple or red. Or white. Strong fragrance. 5 petals. Large, single (4-8 petals) bloom form. Occasional repeat later in the season.
Armed with thorns / prickles, sends out runners, suckers on its own roots. Wrinkled (rugose) foliage.
Height of 90 to 245 cm. Width of up to 185 cm.
Zone 2b through 9b. Produces decorative hips. Shade tolerant. Disease susceptibility: very disease resistant.
Author: Lange
Diploid
Rosa rugosa was first described by Thunberg in 1784 and introduced to Europe 50 years later, also by Thunberg. Prefers sandy or gravelly soils with average pH, although soils range in pH from 4.7 to 8.5. Salt and drought tolerant. Rosa rugosa actually performs best with periodic burning of the top growth in fall.
Native to Hokkaido and Honshu, Korea, NE China and Kamchatka, and the Russian Far East, where it's native habitat is sand dune and shores near the coast the low elevations.
Rosa rugosa is an invasive species in northern, central and western Europe and in parts of North America - New England, in Canada from Ontario to Newfoundland, and in Washington.
