Therese Bugnet Roses For Old Fashioned Beauty
In my garden journal I wrote:
A word about the Thérèse Bugnet Rose. It is a very beautiful, hardy, fragrant, full blooming rugosa rose. That is a picture of it at the top of the post. Most years it is simply covered with roses of a very pretty bright lipstick pink which scent the air in garden with the most delicious sweet smell.
It does have its faults, however.
It spreads widely and takes over. I have started pulling it up just to keep it in line, but it pops up ever further from its allotted place. I noticed it was full of tiny pointed rosebuds, so I can’t bear to part with any until after it blooms…. then without mercy!
And yes, this does mean it can prove invasive under the right circumstances.
Delicious bloom beside the driveway
That sums up the parts succinctly, but doesn’t give you the full story. If you have room for it, or can keep Thérèse Bugnet (pronounced Terez Boo-nay) in check, I would recommend it highly for your garden.
Among it’s attractions:
- It gives a “cottage garden” look very quickly
- It’s pink bloom is bright, yet tender, and mixes well with other colors; it is a delightful color
- This rugosa rose is hardy as all get out- it survives and thrives [Zone 4, some say to ‘2’]. Healthy without pampering
- It is fragrant with a real rose smell which carries on the air of the garden
- strong shrubby profile that can be used as a windbreak, or to screen out undesired views.
Full of bloom and hardy
Therese Bugnet Appearance
The dimensions and characteristics of this rose are
- 5′ – 7′ high x 3′ – 6′ wide. For me, it reaches the larger range and wider
- The fragrance is sweet and described as spicy
- Re-blooms during the season
- 36 wavy petals (some say 26-40 petals), 3.5″ to 4″ in diameter, in clusters of 2 – 5 blooms, *so say those who count;3 to 9 leaflets
- Shade tolerant- I grow mine in partial shade receiving the east morning sun
- Thorny, but without malice
An interesting note:
The Swedish Rose Society recommends Thérèse Bugnet for northern Sweden.
Rugosa roses have the reputation of high tolerance to salt air if you have an oceanside garden, and drought tolerance (to which I can personally attest). This particular variety has lighter green leaves and less of the texture than say, Blanc Double de Coubert, but is every bit as tough.
I love a rose that has beauty, fragrance and performance , and that is what the Thérèse Bugnet rose offers me. Yes, it is a little work to keep it in line with grubbing out and pruning, but not nearly the amount of work that other less healthy roses require. Every year it performs and gives me great joy in the generous first bloom and the fresh delicious way it perfumes the air. Even when the garden has been neglected, this rose has made me remember the glory of a garden in full bloom… and decorates the area between the house and the driveway with abundant flowers. For that I am grateful , and it remains one of my favorite roses.
Buy a Therese Bugnet Rose
For Special Conditions
This old fashioned Rugosa rose is good for semi-shady areas, hedges, poorer soils, in containers, and for Zone 3 cold climates.
How To Grow
Shown: Terese Bugnet Bloom, left. This is a Rugosa rose. Companions Jack Russel Lupine, and Clematis.
Give roses room and don’t crowd them with other plants. You will be tempted because they are garden centerpieces that invite many lovely associations. Beautiful with lupines, lilies, and footed with Lamium maculatum; lovely in bed with Phlox paniculata, Iris, and Oenothera rosea, just be sure they stay well fed with enough moisture during dry periods. Although the truth about Rugosa roses is that they don’t need coddling.
General Advice:
- Like all roses, it likes a fertile soil, so enrich it often with compost and feed in early summer.
- Well drained soil, with average moisture; Roses like a deep watering that doesn’t splash the leaves.
- Plant with graft just below the surface of the soil. Hill for protection during the winter and slowly remove that soil or mulch as the rose begins growth in spring.
- Roses love sun.
- Prune regularly, removing dead branches and old canes. Sanitize your pruning tools.
Read on for more on Roses and their care, and Heirlooms
