It gets plenty hot here in the summer, over 100 degrees f. is not uncommon, and rugosas seem to like it just fine. I'm pretty miserly with the water too. Only one of my rugosas is a poor performer, Mme Georges Bruant, and not surprisingly she has a tea parent, the real Mlle de Sombreuil (Mme Georges Bruant was produced in 1887 before Mlle de Sombreuil became confused in commerce). She takes after the tea part of her heritage in wanting lots of water and badly mildewing. So I think it depends on the rugosa. Those that are mostly rugosa, or that favor their rugosa genes, like leaner, sandier soils and are pretty drought tolerant. The ones that are crosses with less drought tolerant roses may perform more like the other rose(s) in the cross even if they have the outward appearance of a rugosa. Melissa

You haven't gotten a knowledgeable answer on specific rose varieties. So here's some info on what to look for in various catalog descriptions. For tea and similar uses, you want to look for varieties described as having large hips. For rose water or syrup, you want to look for varieties that are listed as intensely fragrant. They probably will not be the same varieties. But there should be climbers that fit both categories. Best I can do....

Therese Bugnet does get very large. She is a great hardy rose but you only get one great bloom time from her and that is late spring/early summer. She is not thorny so is a friendly rose. There are so many other repeat or recurrent roses to pick from that will present more bloom and not be so large. If you are looking for hardy & reliable-I would recommend Cape Diamond, Morden Blush, Winnepeg Parks, Hope for Humanity and Chuckles to start with. They range in mature growth size to give you options, they will bloom all summer and they companion well with other plants. Hope for Humanity does tend to get tall but responds very well to pruning and her roses are in clusters which keep very well in a vase.

Yes, there are roses out there that will survive well below -20 but I don`t know what kind of humidity you have in the summer. That can often create problems with powdery mildew and blackspot. The Canadian rose series Explorer, Parkland and Canadian Artists groups are pretty tough for the most part. Any shrub roses(Hansa for example are also very tough - I grew it in the Northwest Territories -40 below and colder and it did fine) I would think that Quadra, John Cabot, Felix LeClerc, Henry Kelsey, Ramblin` Red or William Baffin could work for you. Some of these are REALLY thorny but vigorous. Hope that helps.