Rosa Robusta - Rugosa rose

Rosa Robusta is a descendant of the 'Regeliana' rose, from which it has inherited excellent disease resistance and large, simply beautiful red flowers gathered in generous clusters. Its flowers are a magnificent red, almost fluorescent, a colour further enhanced by a pink centre with golden stamens. They bloom throughout the summer on a strong bush which can exceed the size of a man. Wild and brilliant, this low-maintenance rosebush will be perfect in an informal or defensive hedge.

'Robusta', obtained in 1979 by Kordes, comes from a seedling of Rosa rugosa 'Regeliana', a very beautiful subspecies (or hybrid?) of rose, much less known than its cousin Rosa rugosa despite the numerous qualities that the famous German rose breeder has detected and used. This deciduous rosebush grows naturally by the sea in Japan, China, and Siberia, often on sandy dunes, facing the spray, and is well adapted to poor, salty soil, even periodically dry. When it grows on its own roots, it tends to sucker and doesn't like limestone in the soil.

'Robusta' is a very beautiful rose. It forms a bushy, flexible, slightly loose shrub, reaching an average height of 1.40 m (5ft) and width of 1.20 m (4ft), but it can be much larger in fertile and moist soil. It produces numerous thick, sturdy, and thorny stems that bear light green, shiny, healthy leaves divided into 5 to 7 slightly crinkled leaflets. Flowering generally begins in June and continues with varying intensity until August. The flowers are numerous, gathered in magnificent terminal corymbs on vigorous branches. Each one is 10 cm (4in) wide and composed of 5 shiny petals surrounding a pink centre with golden stamens. Their eye-catching colour is similar to poppies, with a touch of magenta pink. The flowers are slightly fragrant and followed by large red hips that can be used to make jams.

Robusta is very hardy, essential in a low-maintenance garden with an easy-going, untamable temperament, absolutely nothing like a polyantha or an ordinary landscape rose. Vigorous and large, it will fit well in an informal or defensive hedge, or a somewhat wild garden, where it will compete with its botanical cousins Rosa rugosa, hugonis, complicata, moyesii, or bracteata to protect your garden and flower beautifully. It can be accompanied by cotinus or euonymus for autumn colour, lilac or mock orange for fragrance in spring, or silver willow and viburnums are also very accommodating. Finally, it is well suited to coastal gardens.