Rosa rugosa

Origin: North East Asia.

Botanical characteristics: It is a deciduous, medium-sized shrub. It grows vigorously with strong stems, very thorny and bristly. Leaves composed of 5-9 oblong leaflets, dark green, with clear ribs, wrinkled, glaucous and downy on the underside. It has single flowers with 5 petals, 8-9 cm wide, fragrant and pink. The flowering occurs in June and continues to bloom until autumn, followed by fleshy, round, red-orange, very decorative fruits (cinorroidi), which last on the plant.

Agronomic and environmental characteristics: It prefers fertile, well-drained soils but dislikes calcareous ones. It has an high resistance to drought, salinity and air pollution.

Use: It is very ornamental for its continuous flowering and decorative berries. It is the species that gave rise to many varieties and hybrids. It is the ideal for rustic and defensive hedges. In parks and gardens it is found in scrubs. It is particularly suitable in urban environments in traffic islands, as groundcovers for road embankments and river banks and for tubs and planters.