Description

Are you doing the environment a favor, and removing the non-native invasive multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) from your property? Here is a beautiful native plant to put in its place! Rosa blanda is a thornless or near-thornless rose with blunt leaflets and smooth upper stems and new growth (thus one of the common names). (Any thorns that occur are bristly prickles at the base of the older stems.) Five-petaled fragrant flowers are pale pink to white with showy yellow centers. The shrub has a dense, mounded habit. Spreads vigorously by root suckers once established, so a great choice for naturalizing! Berry-like rosehip fruits turn bright red in late summer, attracting birds and a variety of wildlife. The hips are an excellent source of vitamin C. Special value to native bees; provides nesting material/structure. Be careful when transplanting or pruning as it does have thorns on older, woody growth! Height: 3-5 ft. Spread: 6-10 ft. Family: Rosaceae Bloom time: June to July Sun: full sun to part shade Water: dry to medium Deer may browse when plant is young and tender due to lack of thorns photo credit: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz For more information on the dreadful invasive Rosa multiflora, please visit this website for a thorough fact sheet: https://www.ecolandscaping.org/07/landscape-challenges/invasive-plants/multiflora-rose-an-exotic-invasive-plant-fact-sheet/