@jimhd a & @funcountess Rosa rugosa is the closest cultivated relative to the wild rose, and has a very thorny stem. It should come with a warning label - tends to sucker and try to take over, making it great for a fenceline or property boundary in a somewhat wild or rural area. A corporate HQ on my walking route had to remove thiers because they overhung the sidewalk & snagged passersby with their thorns. I weed-wrenched dozens of ill-placed rugosas out of my brother's expensively landscaped front yard when he moved in - they took over a dry stream, invaded the lawn, and trapped every leaf and bit of litter that blew by on their wretched thorny stems. Color me "Not a rugosa fan" - at least not in city and suburbs.

I am surprised about the report of deer eating roses - I raise Minnesota hardy shrub roses, and while the bunnies may try to nibble lower flowers, and I have to fight off the Japanese beetles, the deer have never bothered them, even when the nip the blossoms of nearby lilies or chomp on the lupine, meadow rue and columbine in the same bed. I baby just a few of my favorites nowadays - I like my easy-care plants.

Happy gardening!
Sue

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