Hansa Rugosa Rose
Rosa rugosa 'Hansa'
flowerHansa is a hybrid rugosa rose from 1905 and one of the toughest roses you can grow. It forms a vigorous, upright, suckering shrub 4 to 5 ft tall with distinctive heavily wrinkled bright green leaves, and bears very fragrant, deep crimson-purple double flowers with a strong clove scent from late spring through summer with excellent repeat. The blooms are followed by large, tomato-shaped orange-red hips rich in vitamin C. Hardy to the far north, salt and wind tolerant, and adaptable to poor sandy soils, it is a classic choice for hedges, seaside gardens, and tough spots where a fussy rose would fail.
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Sun
full sun
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Water
Every 7 days
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Bloom
~50 days
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Difficulty
easy
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Lifecycle
perennial
Comes back every year
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Spacing
3-4 ft. apart (closer for a hedge)
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Planting Depth
Set the root ball level with the soil surface (usually grown on its own roots)
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Soil pH
6.0-7.0
Growing Details
Soil Type
Adaptable, well-drained (even sandy)
Hardiness Zones
Zones 3 – 9
When to Fertilize
Little needed - an optional light feeding in spring
Fertilizer
Compost or a light balanced fertilizer
🌱 Growing Guide
Hansa is exceptionally easy and disease resistant. Grow it in full sun to part shade in almost any well-drained soil - it thrives in poor, sandy, or gravelly ground, tolerates salt spray and road salt, and is hardy to USDA zone 3. Water it while establishing, after which it is quite drought tolerant. It needs essentially no spraying, and rugosas actually resent fungicides. It suckers freely and can spread into a colony or hedge, so give it room or remove the suckers to contain it. Prune only lightly, removing old or dead canes in early spring, and if you want the big hips, do not deadhead in late summer so the last flowers can set fruit.
🌼 Have a different variety?Cultivars of the same species usually share the same basic care, and they differ mainly in flower color, height, and bloom form, not in how you grow them. So this guide still applies even if your exact variety isn't the one shown.
Planting Calendar
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Direct sow
Apr 15
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Projected first bloom
Jun 4
JJan
FFeb
MMar
AApr
MMay
JJun
JJul
AAug
SSep
OOct
NNov
DDec
✅ Plant alongside
Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests
- Catmint: A drought-tolerant skirt that softens the rugosa base and shares its lean, well-drained soil
- Yarrow: Another tough, sun-loving plant for poor soils that draws beneficial insects
- English Lavender: Loves the same hot, sandy, well-drained conditions and adds pollinator traffic
🛡️ Pest & disease prevention
Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts. Tap a name with an arrow for its full guide
Rinse off new-growth colonies; healthy rugosas shrug them off and rarely need more
Handpick into soapy water in the morning during their few weeks of activity
Rugosas are famously resistant - simply avoid spraying fungicides, which they dislike, and do not crowd them
🌸 Blooms & cutting
Hansa gives two harvests. Cut the intensely clove-scented flowers in the cool morning for fragrant short-stemmed posies. Then, if you stop deadheading by late summer, the plant sets large orange-red hips that can be picked after the first frost, which sweetens them, and made into vitamin-C-rich rose hip jam, jelly, syrup, or tea - just strain out the irritating inner seeds and hairs first. The hips also feed birds and add winter color.
🥗 Nutrition & benefits
One of the few roses grown partly for food: the large orange-red hips are edible and exceptionally high in vitamin C, traditionally made into jam, jelly, syrup, and tea. Bees work the fragrant blooms, and the hips feed birds and add winter color.
For educational and informational purposes only. HomeSown is not medical, health, or other professional advice. Always positively identify any plant before handling or eating it; some plants, and some parts of otherwise-edible plants, are toxic. Consult a qualified professional before consuming or otherwise using any plant, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a health condition.