If you’d like to grow a rose that adds beauty to the garden, resists disease, and takes little maintenance, consider the pink shrub rose rosa glauca. It’s a species rose that’s hardy down to zone 6 and grows ultimately to about eight feel tall by three feet wide. It can be pruned down though it needs little pruning, growing densely in a large vase shape with arching canes. Those canes bloom a mass of small single pink flowers in late spring, making for a spectacular sight in the garden.

Blue Leaves That Add Interest

What makes this rose particularly special is its blue leaves. They’re stunning, offering an unusual cool hue to the garden. They contrast particularly well if paired with yellow or purple-leaved shrubs. I have mine near the deep glossy green of a red bud and a purple smokebush. If you need to screen out a street or neighbor, this particular combo would be lovely.

Overall, I’m not really a rose person. In the Northwest climate, they often get black spot and require a lot of fertilizer. I’m just not into the maintenance required. Plus, roses are thorny! I often get hurt while trimming them. But rosa glauca‘s thorns are tiny and do not dominate its stems as much. And they require very little trimming or maintenance. I only feed with fertilizer and prune every other year. I’ve never grown one in my yard or a client’s that had a disease. So, if planted in light enough soil and full sun, a rosa glauca will bloom happily for just about any gardener year after year. It’s definitely a shrub to try if you’re new to gardening!