Rosa rubrifolia (syn. Rosa glauca) – Red-Leaved Species Rose

Rosa rubrifolia (syn. Rosa glauca) – Red-Leaved Rose / Hecht Rose

Family

Rosaceae

Genus

Rosa

Species

rubrifolia / glauca

Common Names

Redoute Rose, Red-Leaved Rose, Hecht Rose

Synonyms

Rosa ferruginea, Rosa glauca, Rosa pyrenaica, Rosa romana, Rosa glauca var. rubrifolia

This species rose is grown primarily for its extraordinary foliage rather than its flowers. The leaves are a striking, metallic coppery-purple to bluish-grey, providing season-long color contrast in the garden. In early summer, it bears small, single, clear pink flowers with prominent stamens, followed by abundant, small, oval red hips in autumn. It forms a graceful, arching, vase-shaped shrub 6–8 feet tall. Extremely cold hardy and disease-free, it is a superb low-maintenance shrub for the mixed border, where its unique foliage acts as a stunning foil for green-leaved plants.