Your Canadian roses sound large and scary. Like the ones around Sleeping Beauty's castle keeping out the world.
Actually, you're very right about this. There is a series of Rugosa roses (Explorer series) that were developed up here and they do tend to be a little on the rambunctious side. Most are large, rugged roses which have old-fashioned blossoms.. some like the cabbage roses, some with wild single petal formations. I have a few of those here. Also have some of the older roses from England and France. The one that I did battle with yesterday is an old French variety, Blanc Double de Coubert, which is also a Rugosa. I think it's supposed to grow to about 6 feet tall, but the canes grow much longer.. I cut a few back that were an easy 9-12 feet long. In summer it is covered with a continuous mass of very fragrant semi-double white flowers. The only problem with it is that it is very prolific and sends up new shoots several feet from the original plant. I have a similar pink one named, of all things, Delicata, an old English variety of Rugosa, and it is not at all in character with its name. Incredible highly fragrant double blossoms though. I don't grow very many modern rose varieties here as I don't use sprays and so on. It's the old varieties that are the toughest and most disease-resistant, so I stick to those ones.
BTW, yesterday I went for a hike in Frontenac Park near Kingston. Wonderful place with many miles of trails over the rugged terrain of the Canadian Shield. Hiked about 5 miles and shot about 100 photos of ferns, fungi, lichens, moss, bog plants, wild columbines growing out of chinks in marble cliff outcroppings, and even a few of some coyote scat -- shot those for a friend who studies such things.
Anyhow, it was a great day. Just the kind of day I live all the other ones for. (o: |
