Hansa Rugosa Rose

Rosa rugosa 'Hansa'

flower

Hansa 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.

✅ 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

• Aphids →

  Rinse off new-growth colonies; healthy rugosas shrug them off and rarely need more

• Japanese beetles →

  Handpick into soapy water in the morning during their few weeks of activity

• Black spot →

  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.