Plant Guide

Other Names:  Common Wild Rose, Prairie Rose, Rosa lucida

Description:

A native flowering shrub that bears pink flowers singly, or in small clusters over a long period in midsummer, followed by edible, bright red hips that are used to make jams and tea; attracts birds and pollinators; adaptable and low maintenance

Ornamental Features

Virginia Rose features showy fragrant pink flowers with buttery yellow eyes at the ends of the branches from late spring to late summer, which emerge from distinctive red flower buds. The flowers are excellent for cutting. The fruits are showy red hips carried in abundance from early to mid fall. It has green deciduous foliage. The small serrated oval compound leaves turn outstanding shades of yellow, orange and scarlet in the fall.

This plant is primarily grown as an ornamental, but it's also valued for its edible qualities. The pleasant-tasting fruit is most often used in the following ways:

• Preserves
• Tea

Landscape Attributes

Virginia Rose is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a shapely form and gracefully arching branches. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a high maintenance shrub that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting bees to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Disease
• Spiny

Virginia Rose is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Virginia Rose will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It tends to be a little leggy, with a typical clearance of 3 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 25 years. This is a self-pollinating variety, so it doesn't require a second plant nearby to set fruit.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America.