Field rose

Photo: HermannSchachner — CC0 · source

Survives zone 4 through 9

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Rose hips are eaten cooked (jam, syrup) or infused for tea rather than raw — the fine hairs around the seeds are an irritant unless strained out. A vigorous rambler, sometimes called Shakespeare's musk rose.

Hardiness

Zone 4–9

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Sept–Oct

Mature size

Vigorous, scrambling/rambling shrub, 2.5–4 m tall, 1.5–2.5 m spread; purple stems

Light

Full sun to part shade

Soil pH

5.0–8.0 (acid to alkaline) — very soil-tolerant, prefers heavier ground

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Western, central and southern Europe, and the Caucasus — hedgerows and open woodland.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–3 yrs

Growth speed

30–60 cm/year — medium to fast.

Spacing

200 cm (79 in) apart — about 4 m² (43 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Alternate and pinnate with 5–7 oval, toothed leaflets, dull green and hairless, on trailing or scrambling stems with scattered hooked prickles.

Root system

Shallow to moderately deep and strongly suckering in the wild species — they spread by root shoots into thickets, which is exactly what makes them good hedging and awkward in a border.

Fruit description

Small oval to round orange-red hips about 1–1.5 cm long, ripening in autumn on trailing stems. ⚠ The hips are edible and very high in vitamin C, but the fine hairs packed around the seeds inside are a genuine irritant to mouth and gut and must be strained or sieved out before use.

Propagation

Hardwood cuttings in autumn root well for most wild roses; suckers can be lifted and divided. Seed is doubly dormant — the hips need warm then cold stratification, and often germinate in the second spring.

Pollination

Insect-pollinated; largely self-fertile like most wild roses.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.