I dead had all my rugosas by cutting just the hip(s) back to the first leaf. That's just the very end of the cane. Yesterday I noticed one that was already growing new canes without being dead headed and with still unopened viable blooms. I left it alone to see if repeat blooming was affected.
I stop dead heading in mid to late August and let the hips ripen for the winter birds.
Those tiny thorns prevent me from using my fingers.

Rugosas don't care. I deadhead the ugly ones, but it doesn't sound like that is what you are dealing with.

mad gallica is right. Whether you deadhead or not they will rebloom if your growing season is long enough (& most are). Usually the greater challenge is finding a Rugosa whose later flowers don't clash with the ripening hips (since the hips are usually tomato red).

Hi Karl, Mad_Gallica and York Rose,
I just removed all the hips using Karl's method and I did notice new growth. Here's hoping I get another good flush. This wall of roses is right by the street and I've noticed some people stopping or slowing down for a good sniff! This has a been a banner year for my Ballarina rose bush and My City of York. Would I use this same method to deadhead the Ballarina? Thanks all. /Abi

Ballerina blooms in clusters of many tiny 5 petal blooms, likewise Popcorn and Darlow's Enigma. I prune the entire spent cluster back to the first true leaf on all my roses that bloom in this manner. It keeps the bush tidy and on the smaller size with few long canes ruining it's appearance.
By deadheading rugosas, I get a faster rebloom often having new buds ready to open just about the time the old ones have all bloomed out. This especially on the hybrid rugosas. Jen's Munk is the one I noticed new canes growing quickly without having to deadhead. The new growth quickly hides the hips.

I've had my rugosa for about 8 years and found that (like mad gallica says) rugosas don't care. You simply can't make a mistake with a rugosa! After the first flush, I simply cut off or pick off the dead roses at the end of the branch. I do this because I would rather the bush puts her energies into making new roses rather than making hips. Karl, I'm curious to see how your "experiment" works out because I've never left hips on the bush early in the season.

Aeiger, I've found with my rugosa, the later flushes are never like the first. My rugosa goes through stages every season. I usually prune quite severely (sometimes a third of the bush) in the early spring because the bush tends to become leggy. Rugosas LOVE to be pruned. Then the first flush occurs, then lots of new growth, then the second lighter flush (that's when the JB's come), then more growth, and yet another lesser flush in August.

So Aeiger, enjoy your rugosa...do anything you want! She's probably the most forgiving of all roses!