Rugosa roses are tough natural beauties

Looking for inspiration for landscape gardening? Spend several days overlooking the ocean. In such an environment, one can't help but notice the brown thorny stalks that will soon develop into lush foliage and rose blossoms.

Not just any rose, but a rose that is "sea-worthy" enough to thrive despite the often brutal ocean mist, sandy soil and wicked winds. Under these conditions, many common plants would ordinarily succumb. This rose is the underappreciated and underused rugosa rose.I'm beginning to think that these extremely durable plants might need a public relations director. Perhaps it is the fact that this rose is commonly used as a rootstock for roses, or that the blossoms lack the grace and flower-show beauty of hybrid tea roses.

Actually, the rugosa rose used for rootstock was specifically bred for that purpose and could hardly be expected to produce flowers worthy of consideration. Other varieties, however, yield beautiful blossoms, even though they are quite different in appearance from "traditional" roses.

In my eyes, though, they are natural beauties and one of the toughest plants I know. Rugosas are extremely hardy, surviving in the most northern climates of the country with ease. They are disease-free and rarely bothered by insects (That certainly is not a rose characteristic!).

Rugosa roses aren't picky about their soil conditions, either. Give them the worst clay soil or beach sand, and they'll do just fine. So fine, in fact, that they will

quickly form a dense and impenetrable wall of beauty. It is the non-stop display of flowers and sweet fragrance that turns heads, and noses. Single or double blossoms are available in rugosa roses, but I'm partial to the very simple and natural looking single petals. Colors range from white to yellow, pink and red, which is a pretty limited selection when compared to the wide range of colors available in standard rose varities. Foliage of the rugosa rose is another pleasing aspect of this plant. Unlike its delicate hybrid rose counterparts, the rugosa's foliage is rather bold looking. Its thick, dark-green leaves make a strong landscape statement that this is a plant to be reckoned with.Rugosa roses will spread, and spread quickly, through sucker canes. With extremely prickly canes as well, this type of plant is best used as a border or edging, far enough away from the main landscape. It's tendency to spread can be a real asset, however, if you are attempting to stabilize an ocean embankment, stop erosion or quickly cover a large open area.In the fall, after the petals have dropped, the plants produce rose hips or seedpods of a deep red-orange color.

If there needs to be a final convincing argument for the rugosa rose, you needn't look any further then right under your nose. A planting of these roses creates a fragrance that just seems to bring together the smell of the salt, sand and ocean into one.

PROPER LAWN CARE

Most lawns have been greening up quite nicely on their own, but spring is a good opportunity to really get the lawn in shape for the summer.

Seeding, reseeding, fertilizing, aeration and thatch removal if needed, should be done as soon as possible. Don't concern yourself about weeds in the lawn this early on. Many of the weeds that have begun to grow will go away after the first few cuttings.

For those more persistent weeds, wait until late May, when warmer temperatures enhance the ability of weed control products to work faster and more thoroughly.

I would, however, be concerned about stopping crabgrass from emerging. The rule of thumb of when to apply a pre-emergent crabgrass product is after the forsythia blossoms have opened, but before the lilacs bloom.

It's a good rule to follow, since it all has to do with soil temperature; three or four days in the 80s and crabgrass will begin to sprout. The choice of products to use, however, must be carefully selected. If you are starting a new lawn or doing lots of reseeding, then you need to use a product that contains Tupersan.

For established lawns the pre- emergent ingredient is sold as Balan or Team. Follow the written instructions on the back of each package for the proper application rates and safety precautions. An organic lawn product (which is the byproduct of corn syrup) has been making lots of news lately. The product claims to control crabgrass and weeds in lawns without using herbicides like the ones just mentioned.

I've tested the product and have read much of the data available about it and I'm not impressed with the actual results, nor its per square-foot cost.

Two applications are required annually, and any number of factors can yield less than desirable results and limit its effectiveness.

TOMATO HUTCH

The dozen early tomato plants that were started back in early February are now stocky, 12-inch-tall plants growing in spacious eight-inch pots. This year I've purchased a portable temporary greenhouse that will encase the plants with plenty of walk-in headroom for me and the tomato plants.

In the past I've used the Wall O'Water devices that work well in protecting the plants from the cold, but because of their relatively small size, could not accommodate the plants as they grew larger.

The plants have been adjusting to outdoor life in the confines of the coldframe and are now ready for their permanent place in the garden.

The raised soil bed had been prepared last year in anticipation of this early planting while the special IRT (infrared transmitting) mulch film was spread over the bed earlier in the month, superheating the soil to a rather toasty 75 degrees.

With the plants set in the ground, watered and staked, the plastic hutch is carefully placed over the entire bed and anchored to the soil to prevent toppling from high winds. The only thing left to do is to ventilate the interior on warm days to keep the temperature inside from rising too high.

FROM THE MAILBAG

Q: My plum trees have a number of black knotty bulbous growths on the branches. Since I've noticed these growths on other plum trees I'm wondering if it is normal? Can you tell me what this is please? - J. Sidland, Southport

A: This is a plant disease caused by a fungus that is common and often severe on plum trees; so much in fact, one might think it is normal growth on all plum trees.

Fungal spores form in the spring, but galls won't show up for six months to a year later.

From there, they will slowly enlarge eventually cutting off the flow of water and nutrients to the branches, stunting and killing the branch.

You should prune out and destroy infected twigs and branches, cutting at least four inches below visible signs of infection. Spray the tree now, before the buds open with a fungicide containing benomyl, repeating at seven- to 10-day intervals.

Also, new cultivars of plums trees have been bred to resist black knot.

Have questions? Send them to Bing J. Carbone, 46 Winthrop Woods Road, Huntington CT 06484, or e-mail them to bjcgardens@aol.com.