Rosa canina is also known as the Dog Rose and is often referred to as simply a wild rose, due to these plants being commonly found growing in hedgerows, waysides, woodland edges, glades, the edges of meadows, around grasslands, and other areas of our untamed landscapes across Europe, Asia, and North West Africa.  I adore this sweet and beautiful plant with its gorgeous flowers that display a rare, genuine elegance.  Rosa canina flowers are followed by long-lasting, cheerfully coloured, orangey-red hips that are a source of food for birds, small and large mammals.

Here in the UK, Rosa canina starts blooming in early summer (in June) and continues flowering throughout July.  The flowers open with varying tones of pink, single flowers, each with five petals that start life with gentle, blushed-pink-coloured petals that become ever paler as the flower ages.  The heart-shaped petals are perfectly complimented by a handsome, central circle of stamens that attracts bees, and a wide range of pollinating insects.

Dog Rose flowers produce a delicate, sweet perfume.  I find that many folks see a rose and imagine the plant’s flowers will have a more intense scent than the plant can deliver, so I hasten to add that this is not a rose with a powerful scent, but it’s a lovely plant that’s beautiful, useful, easy to grow, and is beneficial to insects and wildlife.

I recommend purchasing Rosa canina plants as bare root roses, as this is a more cost effective and environmentally friendly way to buy plants.  Buying bare root plants is also the way to purchase the best quality plants available.  When you’re considering which rose to plant, it’s wise to research the plant’s eventual size – how much space the plant takes up when it becomes a fully grown, adult plant.  Rosa canina forms a plant that spreads around 1m to 2m (3ft to 6ft) wide, and grows up to around 3m (10ft) tall.  Plants only attain their maximum height when they’re grown in and amongst other plants – for example planted in a hedgerow or grown close to trees on the edge of a woodland or forest; as the support the rose receives from its neighbours allows it to extend upwards to reach its maximum height.

Plant Rosa canina in a bright and sunny location or in light or partial shade.  These plants will happily grow in clay, loam, or chalk, as well as in silty and sandy soils.  Rosa canina plants will be content to grow in any soil, providing the soil isn’t continually wet and waterlogged or doesn’t suffer from the other extreme – being too dry all the time.  Rosa canina thrives in moist but well-drained soils, where moisture is available around the plant’s roots, but rainwater drains easily through the soil.

This isn’t a demanding plant, Rosa canina will happily grow on poor soils.  Whatever soil you have, after planting Rosa canina I’d recommend applying a mulch of bark chips or homemade, garden compost over the surface of the soil around your plants.  This will improve the soil structure and the condition of the soil, aid moisture retention, and will greatly benefit your roses.  Apply a mulch immediately after planting and then add mulches in early springtime, every year.

Monitor your plant during spring and summer time and water regularly during times of drought; this is especially important in the first year after planting.  I prefer to give my roses a whole, large watering can full of water (per plant) when I water.  I aim my watering can at the soil around my plant and try to avoid splashing the rose’s foliage.

Rosa canina is a deciduous plant that drops its leaves in autumn and wintertime.  Don’t let this concern you, Rosa canina is a hardy shrub rose that will sail through the harshest of winters without a care in the world.  Rosa canina produces long, thorny stems that help the plant climb and are useful in creating an impenetrable hedge to deter intruders.  This is an ideal plant to grow in a mixed hedgerow or as part of an edible hedge.

Rosa canina‘s rose hips are very decorative and provide a food source for birds and wildlife in winter.  These fruits can be used to make rose hip jam, jelly, or syrup, as well as rose hip tea or cordial, and can be used as an ingredient in many other culinary dishes – please follow the advice of experienced and knowledgable recipe writers to safely use these rose hips in the kitchen.

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Articles that mention Rosa canina:

• Oct. 2024 – Become a Hedgerow Hero this Autumn & Plant a Hedge!