Alba Japanese Rose (Rosa rugosa 'Alba')
ROE-sah roo-GO-sah AL-bah

Deciduous Perennial Shrub in the Rosaceae Family

Rosa rugosa 'Alba' is a stunning shrub rose known for its pure white single blooms that are intensely fragrant, making it a delightful addition to any garden. This variety showcases beautiful yellow, orange, and red fall foliage, providing seasonal interest. With a height of 5 feet and a width of 4 feet, it's perfect for creating an impenetrable hedge, particularly in hot, windy locations. Rugosa roses are renowned for their disease-resistant, lightly wrinkled leaves and thrive in full sun and well-drained soils, tolerating poor, sandy, and clay soils, as well as salt and drought conditions. They bloom heavily in early summer and continue to produce flowers intermittently until frost, making them superb additions to borders, flowering hedges, or cottage gardens.

 

Plant Data

Mature Size - 60 inches tall. - 48 inches wide.
Sun Exposure Partial Shade - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Medium
Zones 2a - 9b (Usually hardy to -50° F)
Tags Attracts Butterflies, Attracts Hummingbirds, Attracts Pollinators, Attracts Wildlife, Deciduous, Formal Garden, Fragrant, Fragrant Flowers, Full Sun, Good for Accents, Good for Butterfly Garden, Good for Cottage Garden, Good for Cut Flowers, Good for Hedges, Medium, Medium, Normal Soil, Partial Shade, Partial Sun, Perennial, Reblooms, Showy Flowers, Thorns, Thrillers, Tolerant of Moist Soil, Well-Drained Soil
Bloom Period June to August
Flower Color White
 

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Pricing and Availability History

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Past Availability
2023 : 05/04 - 08/27

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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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To secure the best prices for club members and make sure we know the current plants available from each nursery, we take orders only a couple of times a month.

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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!