Dart's Defender is an excellent hedge rose. Although flowering only lasts a month, it has great value as a hedge rose with its healthy and shiny leaves, making it look very fresh throughout the growth season. After flowering, it produces beautiful, round, shiny red hips, later complemented by fiery autumn colours. Add to this the fact that it is disease resistant and requires next to no care. Size approx. 150 x 150 cm in Oslo, Norway (USDA 5b?).
I wish there were more hybridizing with Rosa nitida. How about mixing with Wild Edric, Erfurt, Wasagaming, William Baffin? Or do I just have to do that myself? :-)
Thanks for the very interesting post. I have been meaning to get 'Dart's Defender'.
'Metis' is a wonderful rose too. It has beautiful foliage, is iron clad hardy, and beautiful double pink flowers that retain the luminous quality of R. nitida's. It is also a great rose for a mixed border of roses, woody shrubs and perennials.
BTW: I have several seedlings as the seeds germinate easily. None of the seedlings come close to the parent in quality.
In The Netherlands we still sell this rose under the name: rosa x rugotida "Defender" It is very similar to rugotida, the hips are a little less red, has a little more fine thorns and the autumn colours are much more beautifull. Otherwise the plants are exactly the same.
