Rugosa refuses to grow UP

[Kevin B]

I planted some rugosas that I picked up at the local garden center three years ago, and the pinkish red one way in the back is very robust and pushing 5' tall now, the other pinkish red one is not quite so robust; it has a little more competition, but at least it's reasonably well-shaped.

The white ones, though (Blanc Double de Coubert)... they just refuse to grow up (get any taller)! I bought a couple more a year and a half ago, from Heirloom Roses in Oregon, and they're acting the same way. No matter what I do, they keep tending horizontal, and I keep having to prune downward growth - they're only about 18" high, but at least three and a half feet wide. Meanwhile, the little Snow Pavements a few feet away are normally proportioned, about the same height, but nowhere near as spread out. I keep reading that rugosas are upright, but these seem to want to creep along the ground!

What do you think is wrong? They get as much sun, rain and the same diet as the others.

 

[Sheal]

Rugosa roses are definitely upright. I've checked information on your roses and yes, they should be upright too. I can only suggest they have been wrongly labelled by the supplier, and that perhaps you should speak to the retailer about them.

Edit: Rugosa's have very thorny stems as shown in the image below....

 

[Kevin B]

Oh, they're definitely rugosa, and the flowers' appearance and fragrance match that of the Blanc de Coubert variety. The old ones may have been grafts, but the new ones are not. But thank you for bringing up the matter of the source - I'll ask them as well.

 

[Sheal]

As a point of interest please let us know of any progress.